Opinion of Mr Advocate General Capotorti

Mr President,

Members of the Court,

1. At a space of only a few months from the judgment delivered by the Court on 24 April this year as a preliminary ruling in Case 65/79 Châtain, the Court is faced with another question of interpretation concerning Regulation No 803/69 of the Council of 27 June 1968 on the valuation of goods for customs purposes. On this occasion also, the case involves an importer who is charged with using invoices for a value greater than the true value in order to effect an illegal transfer of currency abroad and it is therefore criminal proceedings which are pending before the national court. However, the salient point in the question framed by that court is not whether the customs authorities have power to reduce the value declared by the importer but really whether it is possible to fix a value for customs purposes which is less than the normal price of the goods. Accordingly, in the light of what is clearly provided for in the aforementioned regulation, and leaving aside the solution found in the Châtain judgment, it appears to me a simple matter to give an answer in the negative.

2. Article 1 of Regulation No 803/68 stipulates that: For the purpose of applying the Common Customs Tariff, the value for customs purposes of the goods imported shall be taken to be the normal price, that is to say, the price which they would fetch... on a sale in the open market between a buyer and a seller independent of each other. Article 9 thereafter confirms that the price paid or payable may be accepted as the value for customs purposes provided that, inter alia, it corresponds, at the time it is agreed upon, to prices on a sale in the open market between a buyer and a seller independent of each other.

3. The considerations advanced hitherto are, in my opinion, sufficient to answer the question put by the Tribunal de Grande Instance, Paris, the purpose of which, it is worth repeating, is essentially to ascertain whether a lesser value than the normal price of the goods may be determined for customs purposes on the basis of a declaration made by the forwarding agent. However, in the course or this case the Commission interpreted the question from the national court as if it concerned primarily whether or not it was open to the customs authorities to determine a value less than the price invoiced and paid. Assuming that interpretation to be correct, the issue would be resolved in limine on the basis of the abovementioned judgment in the Châtain case which held that the adjustments to the value for customs purposes declared by the importer which are provided for by the Community regulations are exclusively adjustments in an upward direction and accordingly rejected the proposition that Community law permits national authorities to determine the value for customs purposes below the price declared (and supported by the invoices), even though that price proves to be higher than the normal price of the goods.

4. In conclusion, I suggest that the Court answer the question of interpretation put by the Tribunal de Grande Instance, Paris, by order of 11 Februar 1980 by ruling as follows:

1 Translated from the Italian.