Facts
The complainant [S.] was requested by the Federal Customs Administration to pay unpaid import duties of CHF 195,739.70 without justification. The complainant had imported raw soil products duty-free into Switzerland from 1990 to 1999, although they did not originate from the plots of land specified in the yield certificates. The Federal Customs Commission confirmed the decision of the Federal Customs Administration, and the complainant filed an administrative appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
The parties are
- The complainant [S.] , represented by lawyer Christian Heydecker
- The Federal Customs Administration
- The Federal Customs Commission
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court examined the requirements for customs exemption of raw soil products according to Art. 14 No. 23 of the Customs Act (CustA). The customs exemption requires that the soil products originate from plots of land in the foreign economic zone that are managed by their owners, usufructuaries or tenants, and that the manager has their domicile in the Swiss economic zone.
The court found that the complainant had not fulfilled the formal requirements for customs exemption, as he had not submitted a proper declaration of the managed plots of land. The provision of Art. 28 para. 5 of the Ordinance to the Customs Act…