Italy: Simplified procedure for relief from the import duties of reimported goods

As part of the initiatives adopted by the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) to support economic operators, the possibility of streamlining the process relating to reintroduction activities for the release for free circulation of previously exported goods was recognised.Art. 203 of Regulation 952 of 2013 (UCC) provides for the exemption from import duties for goods that, after being initially exported from the territory of the Union, are reintroduced there and are declared for release for free circulation. This relief is granted if the goods are reintroduced in the state in which they were exported.

This implies that at the time of re-importation of these goods, it is possible to request the relief from import duties of the reimported goods by presenting a copy of the export declaration and other suitable documentation to make it possible to check the identity of the goods to be imported with those previously exported and to demonstrate that they have been reintroduced in the state in which they were exported.

For companies operating in the e-commerce sector with certain requirements, a simplified procedure for relief from the duties of reimported goods has been introduced.

Two lists have been established at the Customs Department called, respectively, “RETRELIEF (Returned goods – Relief from import duty”) and “e-commerce RETRELIEF (Returned goods – Relief from import duty”), in which subjects who carry out the free reintroduction of previ-ously exported goods, following online direct sales transactions, can be enrolled. Registration lasts one year.

The subjects admitted to this regime are divided into two categories depending on whether they make online sales with or without the use of online e-commerce platforms or marketplaces. The former group is registered in the “e-commerce RETRELIEF (Returned goods – Relief from import duty”) register, the latter in the “RETRELIEF (Returned goods – Relief from import duty”) register.

Subjects who make sales through the marketplace can request registration in the aforementioned register if they carry out a minimum number of 50 reintroductions per month; while for those who do not use marketplaces, a minimum number of free reintroductions per month is not required for registration.

As for the other subjective requirements, these are substantially identical for both groups of operators and are represented by:

• possession of the authorisation for customs clearance at the “approved place” as well as for the “authorised transit recipient”;
• identity between the outgoing and reintroduced goods, provided that the exported goods have maintained the same state;
• identity between the declarant in the export and in the reintroduction;
• use of the EORI number and fulfilment of the criteria referred to in Article 39, letters a) and b) of the UCC;
• traceability of the single product by means of a unique identification code;
• possibility for the Customs Office to access the accounting system of the subject or the marketplace for the purposes of customs controls.

Operators registered in the register in question will be subject to fewer checks, mainly retrospectively and on a quarterly basis, founded on the analysis of the operator’s commercial documentation and accounting records.

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