Although the Member States are not required to have the same systems of penalties for offences relating to value added tax payable on importation and for offences relating to the same tax in connection with transactions within the country, since the two categories of offence cannot be equally easily detected, the degree of difficulty in detecting an offence cannot justify a manifest disproportion in the severity of the penalties laid down for the two categories of offence. Such disproportion arises, thus constituting a failure to fulfil the obligations arising from Article 95 of the Treaty, where offences committed on importation give rise to the confiscation of the goods in respect of which the offence was committed and a fine equivalent to the value of those goods or up to twice that amount, whereas offences under the domestic system are punishable only by a fine proportionate to the amount of tax evaded.
Citations:
C-276/91, [1993] EUECJ C-276/91
Links:
Jurisdiction:
European
VAT
Updated: 21 June 2022; Ref: scu.160804
