Customs law
All Kanzlei Dr. Schmitz lawyers also represent clients in matters concerning customs law. Companies are supported with issues such as tariff classification. We also offer advice and representation in obtaining binding tariff information
and provide clients legal support during customs inspections. This is because inspections conducted by customs authorities may on occasion result in proceedings for administrative offences and fines as well as criminal charges and it is therefore sensible to engage the advisory or defence services of a lawyer early on.
We also act as defence lawyers in illegal cash transfer cases or for searches based on suspected money laundering at borders.
Customs law is even more stringent than tax law, which means that a resolute and clear position must be adopted in relation to public authorities. The implementation of customs law is based on the Tax Code and collateral plays an important role.
The actual customs duty which is or would have been payable on imported goods is often a matter of dispute which our lawyers also often take on.
A significant amount of legal advice concerns the validity of certificates of origin. The potential retroactive effect of customs inspections poses the risk of substantial financial losses.
The law firm and its lawyers have been very successful in this field. They have, for example, won a complex and lengthy case before a tax court in eastern Germany which concerned the identity of goods. The suing company was successfully supported by our law firm for more than 7 years.
Our lawyers have, for example, worked on a spirits tax case relating to a bonded warehouse for a cleaning company.