Appeal to the Customs Office in Braunschweig (Germany) – massive penalties for Polish transport operators
On behalf of a transportation company, the law firm filed an appeal with the German Customs Office in Braunschweig (Hauptzollamt) against a decision assessing a tax imposed under article 15 abs. 2 of the German Energy Tax Act (Energiesteuergesetz).
The charges are imposed on Polish carriers because, according to the position of German customs, they bring fuel into the German tax area outside the main fuel tank and use it for business purposes in Germany. Controversy surrounds the definition of “main fuel tank,” which, according to the implementing regulation (EneregieStV), is only the tank factory-installed by the vehicle manufacturer. Meanwhile, many transporters install perfectly legal and approved larger capacity tanks in their fleets, but these are not accepted during the German tax inspection.
According to the law firm, this practice by German customs is wrong and contrary to EU law, which guarantees the freedom to provide services from one member state to another. In addition, the very practice of imposing tax decisions is flawed, as it does not take into account the peculiarities of the operation of transport companies, which use the same fuel not only in Germany, but in all transit countries.