Mutations du cadre douanier et fiscal - Parquet Européen, contentieux douanier et ses particularités pénales March 4, 2022 - ADVENIAT
On Friday 4 March 2022, Maitre Gaspard de BELLESCIZE spoke at the conference "Regards sur les transports en 2022: Permanence et évolutions", organised by Lyon 2 and the Master 2 "Droit des transports et de la logistique".
In particular, he developed the issues related to the European Public Prosecutor's Office, customs litigation and its penal particularities, and ended with the current situation concerning the draft "Sanctions Directive".
1. The European Public Prosecutor's Office has been operational since the European Commission's implementing decision (EU) 2021/856 of May 25, 2021. As of June 1, 2021, the European Public Prosecutor's Office officially takes up its functions, for :
"Investigate, prosecute and bring to trial the perpetrators of criminal offences against the financial interests of the Union (preliminary investigation or flagrante delicto/investigation)
These include:
- Fraud against the EU's financial interests ;
- Corruption ;
- Money laundering ;
- Cross-border VAT fraud.
At the central level, the European Public Prosecutor's Office is a single, supranational body, 'independent' of the European Union. Under the leadership of Laura Codruţa Kövesi, the body sets the strategic direction for criminal investigations and prosecutions.
At the French level, David Touvet, Emmanuel Chirat, Mona Popescu and Cécile Soriano have been appointed as Deputy European Public Prosecutors for five years.
Few cases opened in France, but several monitored by the firm.
2. With regard to customs litigation and its particular criminal aspects, this conference enabled us to see how a customs inspection is carried out, and to discuss the liability of the manager:
- Start of the check
- Drafting of minutes
- Notice of survey results
- Comments from the auditee
- Summons to the drafting of the minutes of notification ;
- Notification report (criminal risk for the manager and the company, as well as, if applicable, transaction with the customs).
The presumption of guilt specific to customs law was also discussed, as were contemporary attempts to align customs law with criminal law: the right to error, Article 414-2, which finally mentions intent.
"Any act of smuggling or undeclared import or export is punishable by five years' imprisonment and a fine of between one and two times the value of the object of fraud, when committed intentionally and when it relates to goods not mentioned in Article 414.
3. Finally, the draft "Sanction Directive" 2013/0432/COD, promising fundamental advances for customs matters, withdrawn by the European Commission on September 9, 2020, was discussed.
ADVENIAT is closely monitoring this project, whose return has been announced.