he Duty is a tax levied by customs on the import of goods from countries outside the EEC, and payment of the same allows these products to move freely within the territory of the European Union. This operation is called “Release for free circulation” (same goes for Switzerland).
In the European Union, all member states collect the duty on behalf of the European Union (which is why the Duty is also called “Own Resource”) and is the only form of taxation imposed by the European Union on natural and legal persons residing there to finance their activities. The identification of the Duty to be applied can be found in the Customs Tariff.
The Duty can be:
– “ad valorem,” when a percentage is applied to the invoice value;
– “specific,” when a quota is applied per unit of measurement (number of pieces, kg, liters etc.).
The extra-EC freight charge (i.e., the portion of freight charges from departure to the EU border) is also a taxable basis for applying the duty.