Customs Law
Volledige vakbeschrijving
The importance of international customs law continues to grow at an increasing rate, not in the least because of various geopolitical circumstances (e.g. the Russo-Ukrainian war and the Chinese- U.S. trade wars). The course ‘Customs Law’ connects with this development and aims to provide students with a solid professional and theoretical foundation in EU customs law. Students will familiarize themselves with concepts such as origin and tariff determination, valuation methods, the fight against irregular importation (smuggling), and the incurrence of customs debts. Further, students will obtain a solid understanding of the formalities associated with importation and customs procedures. After this course, students will be able to understand customs rules and practices in most jurisdictions. The focus lies on an international approach to the basic concepts in customs law. Various current developments in customs are studied (e.g. the Brexit and the associated Windsor framework). The EU Customs law framework functions as the primary foundation for the course, which – not unimportantly – has been officially certified and recognized by the EU as a “State-of-the art” customs law module (see here for more information).
Doelstellingen van dit vak
During the first week of teaching, students learn the essential concepts and the key legislative instruments in the field of customs law. In each of the following weeks, one or two key concepts are explored more in-depth so that at the end of this course, the students will have a thorough understanding of the core features of customs law. The teaching method is dynamic and interactive, based not only on theory but also on practical knowledge. The Intended Learning Outcomes for Customs Law are as follows:
- Describe, understand and explain the relation between customs law and international trade and contract law, the role of the WTO and the EU;
- Identify, recognize, understand and distinguish the principles and foundations of customs law;
- Know the various legislative instruments and sources of case law in customs law;
- Describe, understand and explain the legal nature, characteristics, backgrounds, and systematics of the customs law, both within and outside the EU;
- Describe, understand and explain the general concepts of customs law and closely related concepts;
- Identify, recognize, understand and distinguish the elements of the customs procedures, special procedures, customs arrangements, etc.;
- Understand customs valuation methods and understand how customs valuation interacts with VAT and transfer pricing;
- Describe, understand and explain the origin / preferential origin concept;
- Describe, understand and explain customs tariff rules, the nomenclatures, harmonized system, classification rules, and other aspects of tariff rules;
- Describe, understand and explain when and how a customs debt may arise and who is in what situation to be considered the customs debtor;
- Have a deep understanding of the mechanisms of importation and exportation of goods;
- Solve real-life cases in customs law from a theoretical and practical point of view;
Voorwaarden
None
Aanbevolen voorkennis
Basic tax law concepts and principles
Aanbevolen literatuur
- S. Armella, ‘EU Customs Code’, 2017, Bocconi University Press
- E.M. van Doornik