Three Administrative Decisions Set Aside: Case А62-6883/2018

Subject of the dispute and outcome

The carrier challenged three separate administrative decisions issued by the customs authority. Each decision imposed a separate fine. The judicial acts applied Article 16.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences to the alleged conduct; that legal classification belongs to the historical dispute and is not presented here as a statement of current law.

The courts found all three decisions unlawful and set them aside because the alleged administrative offence was not proven in relation to the transports examined. The fines shown above are amounts imposed as administrative penalties, not money received by the carrier. The materials do not establish any withdrawal of claims by the customs authority.

Material circumstances and evidence

The dispute concerned different transports, not a single shipment. The general context was food products from the Netherlands, with the transit procedure started in Belarus, followed by carriage through Russia to Ukraine.

The courts assessed the circumstances of each transport, the materials before them and the established direction in which the goods were being carried. On the facts examined, it was not proven that the goods were intended for delivery and circulation in the transit country. A reference to a general practice of possible abuse did not, by itself, substitute for evidence establishing the alleged administrative offence in relation to this carrier and the specific transports examined.

The evidentiary basis of the particular case was therefore central to the outcome. The judicial result does not establish a general rule that any transit movement on a similar route is permissible and cannot automatically be applied to other transports.

Judicial history

1. 24 December 2018 — Arbitrazh Court of Smolensk Region. The three administrative decisions were found unlawful and set aside.
2. 17 May 2019 — Twentieth Arbitrazh Appellate Court. The decision remained in force and the customs authority's appeal was dismissed. The operative part of the same appellate act was announced on 8 May 2019.
3. 19 August 2019 — Arbitrazh Court of the Central District. The previously achieved outcome favorable to the carrier remained unchanged.
4. 19 December 2019 — Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. A judge refused to refer the customs authority's cassation complaint for consideration by the panel. The last act examined is No. 310-ЭС19-23024 dated 19 December 2019.

The final stage did not amount to a new determination of the dispute on the merits: the panel did not consider the complaint. The earlier outcome — the finding that the three administrative decisions were unlawful and their annulment — remained unchanged. Refusal to refer the complaint was not a withdrawal of claims by the customs authority.

Limits of the conclusion and sources

The complete subsequent history of the case and enforcement of the judicial acts have not been verified. This summary therefore makes no statement about refunds of fines, compensation, other payments, later judicial stages, negotiations or other events following the acts examined.

The historical outcome is confined to the circumstances of this particular case and the legal assessment contained in the judicial acts examined. It is not guidance on the regulation applicable to a present-day transport operation.

The official sources used are the appellate judicial act and the last judicial act examined. Information about the first-instance and cassation stages is established from the contents of the acts examined.

If you already have a document relating to a similar customs dispute, you can get in touch and state the type of document, the date you received it and the specific situation. Any possible steps require assessment of the particular materials, without any promise of an outcome.