Your customs lawyer in Paris

Customs law is a highly technical area of law requiring particular expertise. Our public law lawyers work alongside clients in their financial dealings with foreign countries. They advise businesses and individuals alike in their dealings with customs: from customs declarations and seizures to the most sensitive cases.

What is customs law?

Customs law governs trade in goods and services between France and other countries around the world. It covers a set of rules and procedures designed to protect the national economy and collect tax revenue.

It is an area that is constantly evolving, in line with European and international law. In practice, it concerns :

• Financial relations with foreign countries;
• customs clearance operations
• Taxation issues relating to the transport of goods;
• customs offences (investigations, seizure of goods at customs)
• Customs disputes.

Why consult your customs lawyer?

Securing import-export activities

Goldwin Avocats advises and litigates in various areas of customs law. Customs law is essential for professionals in legal matters relating to international trade. As soon as a company exports or imports goods from a foreign country, it is confronted with customs issues. Customs regulations and procedures are complex. They represent a major financial risk for companies. It’s best to be accompanied by a lawyer specialising in customs law, to avoid making a potentially costly declaration error! Your lawyer can also help you optimise your supply chain. Every stage in the supply chain can generate additional costs, from the purchase of raw materials to delivery to the customer. By assessing the customs value of your goods at the right price , you gain financial agility.

Customs also monitor cross-border movements of waste, which are subject to specific regulations under the Basel Convention. Companies must comply with a notification and prior written consent procedure, in order to determine the nature of the waste (classification, hazardousness) and the purpose of the transfer (recovery, disposal). The customs authorities check the origin, destination and route of the waste.

Managing the customs clearance procedure

Your lawyer will assist you during the customs clearance procedure, which involves assigning the goods the customs procedure that corresponds to their destination, before paying customs duties and VAT. He helps companies to complete customs formalities and obtain the necessary authorisations to import or export goods. It can also help themobtaincustoms approvalsfor centralised customs clearance or reverse charge of import VAT.

Securing cross-border movements of funds

Your lawyer is also essential when it comes to financial relations with foreign countries: cross-border movements of funds, foreign investments in France and transfers of capital. These specific provisions make it possible to combat money laundering from illegal trafficking (arms or drugs). For example, when an individual transfers sums, securities or assets of €10,000 or more to or from a Member State of the European Union, without the intermediary of a payment or credit institution, they must make a declaration to customs on a specific form. The penalties for failing to comply with this reporting obligation are extremely severe, ranging from a customs fine of 50% of the amount involved in the offence to prosecution for money laundering. It is therefore advisable to be vigilant and to seek the advice of a specialist lawyer to ensure the security of the transaction.

Navigating the different customs regimes

The Customs Code is based on a complex system that provides for several types of customs procedure. Your lawyer can help you make sense of them to optimise your business and avoid additional customs costs!

Customs transit

The purpose of the customs transit procedure is to facilitate the transport of goods between two different customs territories, in order to simplify customs clearance operations. It generates a temporary suspension of applicable duties and taxes.

Customs warehousing

This procedure involves storing goods under customs supervision before they are moved to another destination.

Customs excise duty

Excise duties are indirect taxes applied to certain products such as alcohol, mineral oils and manufactured tobacco.

Temporary admission

This system applies to goods imported temporarily and intended for export in their unprocessed state. Temporary admission allows suspension of taxes and total or partial exemption from customs duties.

Temporary export

This scheme allows Community products to be exported to a third country, before being re-imported with exemption from import duties.

What should I do if I come under customs control?

Customs officers have the power to carry out checks at the time of customs clearance or afterwards. To do this, they have extended powers:

• The right to inspect people and goods;
• The right to obtain any necessary documents;
• Right of access to business premises, warehouses, business transport vehicles and even homes;
• A right of seizure.

Your lawyer will intervene to ensure that the customs authorities carry out their inspection in the correct form. Sometimes a seizure is unfounded or the procedure is flawed. In such cases, your lawyer will assist you in contesting the procedure, seeking the return of the goods seized and compensation for the moral and financial loss suffered.

Calling on your lawyer for customs taxation

Although the customs administration manages the collection of certain indirect taxes and contributions, it is difficult to identify all the tax obligations relating to customs. What duty do I owe? How are customs duties calculated? What customs penalties are incurred?

Your lawyer can advise you on the various aspects of this highly technical area of taxation, including :

• Customs duties levied when goods are imported;
• VAT on imports;
• Energy taxation, which includes the domestic consumption tax on energy products (TICPE), the domestic consumption tax on natural gas (TICGN) and the domestic consumption tax on coal (TICC);
• Taxes on tobacco, beverages and alcohol;
• Environmental taxes;
• Taxes on passenger and freight transport ;
• Dock dues (specific taxes for overseas departments);
• Free zones under customs law.

Management of customs disputes by your lawyer

A customs lawyer represents his clients, whether companies or individuals, in court or before a criminal court in the event of a dispute with customs. What should you do if your customs declaration is rejected? What should you do in the event of a customs inspection? How does a customs investigation work? What rights do you have if goods are seized by customs? Contact your lawyer for expert advice.

He or she will assist you in your defence in the event of an offence (customs contravention or offence, problem of import or export without declaration) or customs detention. In particular, your lawyer will ensure that your right to be heard by the customs authorities before an unfavourable decision is taken against you is respected, a general principle of law enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

In conclusion, the complexity of customs regulations requires the services of a specialist lawyer. Don’t ignore sound legal advice and ensure effective representation during customs procedures. Contact your expert public law lawyer in the 16th arrondissement of Paris!