The inevitable advance of globalisation and ensuing growth in international trade have reinforced the already important role played by the customs authorities. European Union and national customs regulations are becoming increasingly complex and often insufficiently grasped by companies. Customs law covers a wide variety of areas : 

• Protecting national borders 
• Customs duty and VAT, indirect duties and parfiscal taxes, antidumping duties 
• Enforcing health and environmental regulations
• Protecting industry against counterfeiting 
• Taxing products subject to excise duty (alcohol, tobacco and oil products). 
• Customs and environmental taxation

Although customs law is tending to become more accommodating, infringements can nonetheless lead to severe penalties.

Our Practice Areas

We advise and assist our clients in the following areas: 

• European Union commercial policies: antidumping regulations, tariff suspension, etc. 
• Trading with non-European Union countries: preferential relationships, ordinary law relationships 
• Calculating customs liability (origin of goods, customs value, tariff classification) 
• Royalties (customs value based on transfer pricing) 
• Choice of suspension scheme at importation or exportation 
• Handling customs disputes and settlements, proceedings with the customs authorities in France and other legal jurisdictions 
• Circulation of products subject to excise tax 
• Other taxes levied by the customs authorities (general tax on polluting activities, warranty tax on precious metals, heavy goods vehicle import duty, etc.)

Our Approach

• Experience recognised as being authoritative
  Our team is reputed to one of the market leaders by clients and leading directories. 
• Capability for global reach:
  We anticipate clients’ needs by providing them with advice on their policies in all areas covered by the customs authorities or by carrying out audits of their customs practices. We provide support to clients in the scope of their customs-related litigation, customs taxation (tax on polluting activities), indirect taxation at all stages of the proceedings (objections to assessment notices, settlement agreements, court proceedings, specific commissions – Litigation Committee, Customs Conciliation & Expertise Commission, etc.). 
• Maximum availability
  To respond in the best possible manner to our client'needs, we ensure maximum availability and we personally monitor the matters to which we are entrusted.

Our Clients

We provide advice to all types of companies carrying on international trade (ioffshoring, mports, exports, etc.) ranging from SMEs to large groups in business sectors as diverse as spirits, textiles, high technology waste or pharmaceutics.