A New Creative Ruling of the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation on Customs Penalties: Time for a EU Harmonized Customs Regime?

摘要

A recent ruling (No. 1397/2013) of the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation on customs penalties has identified new aspects of the long running debate around the call for a harmonized EU customs penalties regime. This ruling supports the applicability of domestic customs penalties to cases that fall outside the scope of the applicable law. This article first offers an overall picture of customs penalties at EU level; next, after a brief introduction to the applicable law covered by the case, we will briefly comment on the controversial ruling. Lastly, we will offer some conclusions as to the consequences rising from an inconsistent interpretation of a domestic customs penalty regime in one EU Member State.