In October 2018, the European Commission’s Customs Expert Group (CEG) decided to abolish the “domestic sale” concept introduced in the wake of the initiation of the Union Customs Code (UCC). The domestic sale principle precludes sales transactions where both the buyer and seller are established in the EU from being regarded as a sale for export. The sale for export is the relevant sale for the determination of the customs value based on the transaction value. The abolition of the concept may have an impact on the customs valuation of goods for transactions between EU-established parties.
While the abolition of domestic sale has not yet come into effect for all EU member states (because the European Commission has not released updated guidance), some countries, such as Belgium, have decided to take action by implementing the abolition through unilateral guidance, which potentially creates an unequal playing field for market operators in the EU.
Source: Deloitte
