Hot on the heels of the German Federal Fiscal Court’s publication of its final decision in the Hamamatsu case, UK Customs (HMRC) have today published updated guidance on the customs valuation of imports, replacing its previous guidance (Notice 252).
What jumps out at first glance is a seeming change in policy with regards to the valuation of goods sold between related parties, with HMRC advising “you will not usually be able to use Method 1 [Transaction Value] with a margin-based transfer pricing model.”

On Monday 31 October 2022 the European Commission published the updated Combined Nomenclature (CN) for 2023. The declaration of goods upon import, export, or when subject to intra-Community trade statistics between EU Member States is based on the CN. This sets the customs duty rate that is applicable as well as determines how the products are handled for statistical purposes. Thus, the CN is an essential working instrument for industry and the customs departments of the EU Member States.

The European Union made the decision to establish a single window for customs (or its official designation: “EU Single Window Environment for Customs”) in order to facilitate international trade, speed up the customs clearance process, and lower the likelihood of fraud. On 24 October 2022, the Council of the European Union enacted a new regulation that establishes the necessary framework for digital cooperation between customs and associated competent authorities.

The Annual Compliance Conference begins next week and attracts over 6,000 in-house senior legal and compliance professionals from across the world. This leading compliance conference will be held across five weeks from 6 September – 6 October 2022. We will be virtually delivering our cutting-edge insights and guidance on key global compliance, investigations and ethics issues. Our global experts will provide practical insights and analysis on significant developments:
• anti-bribery
• corruption and economic crime
• customs and FTAs
• ESG, supply chain and product compliance
• antitrust and competition
• export controls, sanctions and foreign investment

Click here to view the full agenda and register your interest in joining us virtually at this must attend global compliance conference for senior in-house legal and compliance professionals.

Welcome to our Virtual Global Trade Conference, a virtual offering for all our clients and friends worldwide. Baker McKenzie’s international trade compliance lawyers from around the world discussed the major developments impacting international trade, in 75 minutes sessions which took place from 20 to 21 July 2022.

Annual Compliance Conference

Our popular Annual Compliance Conference, which attracts over 6,000 in-house senior legal and compliance professionals from across the world, will be held across five weeks from 6 September – 6 October 2022. We will be virtually delivering our cutting-edge insights and guidance on key global compliance, investigations and ethics issues. Our global experts will provide practical insights and analysis on significant developments across:
– anti-bribery
– corruption and economic crime
– customs and FTAs
– ESG, supply chain and product compliance
– antitrust and competition
– export controls, sanctions and foreign investment

Click https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/insight/events/2022/10/annual-compliance-conference to register your interest in joining us virtually at this must attend global compliance conference for senior in-house legal and compliance professionals.

We are pleased to invite you to our Virtual Global Trade Conference on July 20 and 21. In lieu of our annual conference in Bellevue, WA, we are excited to again provide a virtual offering available to all our clients and friends worldwide! Please join our international trade compliance lawyers from around the world as they discuss and examine the major developments impacting international trade. The conference will be comprised of 75 minute sessions over the course of two days and clients will also get the opportunity to request a virtual one-to-one meeting with our International Trade attorneys to discuss relevant topics of interest. Visit our events page for more information and to register.

In the midst of regulatory developments, increased enforcement and greater coordination amongst customs and transfer pricing regulators, businesses need to stay abreast of the latest considerations with respect to the interaction between transfer pricing and customs valuation within their supply chain.

In the session on 23 June, senior tax and transfer pricing professionals will share their observations on the latest customs and transfer pricing developments in the EMEA region and provide practical guidance on how to mitigate risks on these issues.

The UK government has introduced a bill to help bring into force the UK-Australia and the UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreements (“FTAs“).

The bill is a key step in ratifying the FTAs but before they come into force, Parliament must scrutinise the FTAs, agree the bill and pass secondary legislation to make the changes required to the UK’s procurement regime to meet the terms of the FTAs.

Representatives of the EU and New Zealand held negotiations from 14 to 31 March 2022, discussing most areas of the future free trade agreement between the jurisdictions. According to a two-pager published by the European Commission, EU’s request to be exempt from New Zealand’s import customs fees is the only outstanding element in the text as far as the topic “Trade in goods” is concerned.