- Legal Inquiry to the CJEU: The Court of Appeal of ‘s-Hertogenbosch has referred a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding whether the deficit in ethyl alcohol shipment should be considered an irregularity in the Netherlands (entitling them to levy taxes) or whether the unknown cause of the deficit should be attributed to Belgium (the Member State of dispatch).
- Background of the Case: X, a Belgian company, shipped ethyl alcohol to the Netherlands under excise duty suspension but reported a loss of 13,971 liters upon arrival. X paid the due excise duty of €48,294 but contested the tax, leading to a ruling from the Zeeland-West-Brabant District Court that the Netherlands was not entitled to levy the taxes.
- Pending Resolution: The Court of Appeal has paused the proceedings until the CJEU provides clarification on the nature of the irregularity and which Member State has the right to impose taxes based on the circumstances surrounding the deficit detection.
Source Taxlive
