- The court ruled that the inspector was right to charge interest on arrears to X BV for the import duties and VAT included in the UTB.
- X BV imported goods from Russia as a direct representative of Y BV and paid import duties and VAT.
- X BV informed the inspector that a lower customs value was used in the calculation of import duties and VAT and requested a payment invitation (UTB).
- The inspector charged interest on arrears for both import duties and VAT based on internal policy not aligned with the Tax Administration.
- The court considered that the inspector charged interest on the customs debt based on Article 114, paragraph 2, DWU, but that the DWU does not imply that VAT on import is part of the customs debt.
- The court referred to the answers to the preliminary questions it posed to the Supreme Court.
- The Supreme Court answered that Article 22, paragraph 1, of the OB 1968 Act provides the legal basis for charging interest on arrears in the sense of Article 114, paragraph 2, DWU on VAT on import.
- The court concluded that charging interest on arrears to the taxpayer in accordance with Article 22, paragraph 1, of the OB 1968 Act, with corresponding application of Article 114, paragraph 2, DWU, is not contrary to the requirement of legal certainty as referred to in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU.
- Article 22, paragraph 1, of the OB 1968 Act provides a sufficiently determined, clear and foreseeable legal basis for charging taxpayers with interest on arrears in respect of VAT incurred on import.
Source: taxlive.nl
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
