Important ECJ rulings on customs value of defective goods and VAT taxable basis of leasing

Customs value of defective goods (X BV, C-661/15, 12/10/2017)

An importer may adjust the customs value declared upon importation where it is established that, at the time of release into free circulation, there was a manufacture-related risk that the goods might potentially become defective in use, and in view of this, the seller, pursuant to a contractual warranty towards the buyer, grants the latter a price reduction in the form of reimbursement of the costs incurred by the buyer in modifying the goods in order to exclude that risk.

The time limit for the price adjustment is three years. It is not necessary for the importer of record to prove that the goods were actually defective upon importation. Demonstrating the potential risk is sufficient.