The European Union´s customs legislation is harmonised through the Union Customs Code (“UCC”) . The UCC includes the obligation for Member States to provide for penalties for failure to comply with the customs legislation and establishes that such penalties shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall notify to the Commission the national provisions in force with regard to customs penalties, within a certain timeframe from the date of application of such provisions and, without delay, of any subsequent modification of those provisions.
Member States have, therefore, the choice of customs penalties . Drawn directly from national legislation in Member States, the systems of penalties vary across Member States and are subject to evolution over time. This report is meant to provide a broad overview of the individual system of penalties in each Member State in accordance with the UCC. It is a blueprint of the legal situation in Member States, based on the input provided by them in a project Group established by the Commission for this purpose. Member State submitted detailed country reports and validated the accuracy of their legal provisions.
Source consilium.europa.eu
