Joint and Several Liability for Import and Motor Vehicle Taxes

Facts

The appellant [X.] was the director of [Y. AG] , which was commissioned by [A. GmbH] to import vehicles from abroad. The customs clearance was carried out by [B. AG] International. It turned out that only part of the effectively taxable consideration was declared for 147 imports. The Schaffhausen Customs District Directorate initiated administrative penalty proceedings and obliged the appellant to pay motor vehicle tax, value-added tax, and default interest. The appellant appealed this decision to the Federal Administrative Court, which dismissed the appeal.

The appellant then appealed to the Federal Court and requested the annulment of the judgment of the Federal Administrative Court as well as the decision of the Federal Customs Administration and the ruling of the Customs District Directorate. He argued that he did not belong to the circle of persons liable for customs duties and therefore was not jointly and severally liable for import and motor vehicle taxes.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined the joint and several liability of the appellant for import and motor vehicle taxes. It found that the appellant, as director of [Y. AG] , had caused the imports and was therefore to be qualified as the principal in the customs sense. The court found that the appellant was thus jointly and severally liable for the import and motor vehicle taxes.

The court also rejected…