When customs investigate.
Import duties, anti-dumping duties, misdeclared goods, an unclear country of origin, and the customs investigation service is at the door. Customs criminal law is quieter than the big business-crime cases, and it is growing faster. We defend companies and individuals: from the search to the main hearing, together with the tax and sanctions questions that regularly run alongside.
Call in confidence · +49 69 24746870
At the border,
the details decide.
When the goods become an investigation.
Search by the customs investigation service
The customs investigation office is at the door. We are reachable at short notice and take over immediately.
Anti-dumping duties (China)
The allegation of circumventing EU anti-dumping duties, once solar modules, today e-bikes, steel and more. Origin, transhipment, declaration.
Import duties and import VAT
Alleged evasion of customs duties or import VAT, section 370 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) applies to import duties too.
Smuggling and receiving
Smuggling (§ 373 AO) and receiving goods obtained by tax evasion (§ 374 AO), and the excise-duty cases behind them.
Misdeclaration and origin
Tariff classification, customs value and country of origin, the recurring points of contention in customs proceedings.
Seizure and confiscation
Seized goods, secured assets and the threatened confiscation of proceeds.
Import duties are taxes, and their evasion is a criminal offence.
At its core, customs criminal law is tax criminal law: import duties and excise duties fall under section 370 of the German Fiscal Code (AO), supplemented by special customs offences, breach of a ban (§ 372 AO), smuggling (§ 373 AO) and receiving goods obtained by tax evasion (§ 374 AO). What looks like a technical customs question, tariff classification, customs value, country of origin, quickly becomes the centre of a criminal investigation.
A particular focus of ours is the circumvention of EU anti-dumping duties on goods manufactured in China. We defended numerous cases on solar modules years ago; today the same subject arises with e-bikes, steel and further product groups. These cases are technical, international and document-heavy, and that is precisely where the defence is decided.
Customs and sanctions questions frequently interlock. We defend customs criminal law together with export control and sanctions from a single source.
One partner. From the first call to the conclusion.
From the outset you speak with the partner who actually runs your case, not with an apparatus.
Customs criminal law: briefly explained.
Is customs evasion the same as tax evasion?
In essence yes, import duties and excise duties fall under section 370 of the German Fiscal Code (AO), supplemented by special customs offences such as breach of a ban (§ 372 AO), smuggling (§ 373 AO) and receiving goods obtained by tax evasion (§ 374 AO).
Who comes knocking, the tax office or customs?
In this field, regularly the customs authority or the customs investigation service. The customs administration and the main customs offices have their own investigative powers, including seizure and the power to interrupt operations.
Why is this field growing right now?
Anti-dumping duties on goods manufactured in China, once solar modules, today e-bikes, steel and other product groups, and the tightening of the controlled movement of goods make circumvention and misdeclaration a growing area of investigation.
The information on this page is general in nature and does not replace advice on the individual case.
Let's talk,
in confidence.
A customs search, an anti-dumping allegation, or open questions? Speak directly with the partner.
Call in confidence · +49 69 24746870