Belgium told to extend port customs opening hours

Belgium has been told by the European Commission that it needs to extend customs opening hours at its major ports and to drop or reduce charges for certain customs services.

The commission, which claims that Belgium is not currently complying with EU customs rules, has given it two months to get into line or risk being taken to the EU Court of Justice.

Under an agreement covering the European Economic Area, which includes members of the European Free Trade Agreement as well as the EU, border crossing points are supposed to stay open for at least 10 consecutive hours on weekdays and at least six on Saturdays.

“The opening hours of customs offices at Belgium’s larger ports do not respect this agreement for trade in goods with member countries of the European Free Trade Agreement, even though Belgium and, in particular, the port of Antwerp, is a port of entry to the European Union for goods from these countries,” the commission said.

It also claimed that, under current Belgian customs legislation, importers and exporters are obliged to pay for certain services even though, in practice, they are not provided.

It added that fees charged for certain out-of-hours customs services were excessive in relation to their real costs.

In both cases, it said, the charges were equivalent to additional customs duties, which were expressly forbidden under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

“Such charges are contrary to the treaty because they interfere with the Common Customs Tariff and the uniformity of the common commercial policy,” it said. (source: BairdMaritime)

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