Crowdfunding launched by German/Swiss AOPAs to help rescue a retired pilot from bankruptcy due to German customs decision

Yes; I can see the lack of an operational need to care about it, but what about the massive injustice which has been done to this pilot, who lives in a neighbouring country and who is likely to heavily publicise what happened to him, with significant negative effects on the way Germany is perceived abroad.

If this happened to a German pilot visiting the UK I would be very concerned.

Cobalt wrote:

The thing that is so horrible about this case is that the amount payable is in no proportion to the “crime”.

Isn’t that the point. It’s not actually a crime, more like “unauthorized” or “private and unscheduled” import of aircraft into the EU, according to German customs office. You could actually argue they take it lightly, it could also be considered smuggling of goods, which is indeed a criminal act.

But why do the different EU states have so radically different practice on this issue? I can fly to Sweden, no issue whatsoever, but Germany – big problem. What about other EU states?

I actually read the law, the offence committed is specified (landing at an airfield other than a customs airfield) and the fines are specified by law – a maximum of 5,000 Euro for a deliberate and 2,500 for an accidental offence.

Peter wrote:

but what about the massive injustice which has been done to this pilot, who lives in a neighbouring country and who is likely to heavily publicise what happened to him, with significant negative effects on the way Germany is perceived abroad.

As a German I am ashamed of German laws and their application against respectable citizens from friendly countries.

It certainly is ridiculous, not least because this is not a fine for an offence, but so to speak a tax bill for having fulfilled certain criteria for duty and VAT charges.

That is, as Lionel has pointed out, the problem here, because in the fiscal system applied, it is not a out intention or negligence or… but simply about ticking the boxes of having imported a good in the EU.

As you could see from the second case quoted, the transport of passengers within the EU alone triggered the VAT (criterion: used with EU for useful activities, here: passenger transport). The other Swiss guy only got the duty for illegal import.

It mentions that the application for fairness/appropriateness is still in process, i will keep my fingers crossed.

It surprises me that the collection is not for a legal challenge in the higher courts incl ECJ. More effect than bailing out just one.

PS cant help it, just to mention – the initial doc is so badly informed that one wonders… lots of factual inaccuracies. Not critical for the case in question, but highly misleadung.

This touches on the many EU VAT threads we have had.

If you enter the EU from outside, you have something like 6 months of flying around the EU before you have to pay the import VAT. The exact situation depends on whether you hold an EU passport. If you don’t, i.e. you are a “true foreigner” then you get more time. I am sure Lionel will find the regulation

I recall @eal knew something about this.

If indeed the period is of the order of months, they could not have got this Swiss guy for straight import VAT. Which bit am I not understanding?

Is it possible the said aircraft was imported into the EU at some point in the past but import VAT was not paid, so the German customs grabbed the plane the instant they got a chance?

The passenger transport economic angle is surely nonsense unless they allege they were paying passengers. This is just bizzare.

Did they hit him with this “legal construction” simply because he landed, with passengers, at a non Customs airport? My point is this: had he landed at a proper Customs airport, German customs could have hit him for the import VAT anyway, after 6 (?) months of being based in Germany.

Someone on EuroGA, UK, was hit with exactly that in the UK, on a plane purchased from the Channel Islands, and this is completely normal and known. Although it took them a long time to catch up with him. I believe it happened during a tax investigation (he was using the plane for business travel, etc, and they just love that) and he volunteered that bit of info. The inspector must have thought it was his birthday.

Peter wrote:

Interesting how little input there is from the huge numbers German pilots who read EuroGA. One would think this would be a matter of some concern.

Well as a (more or less) German pilot, I only made good experinces with the German customs so far. Yes, you have to play by the rules, but as long as you stay in touch with the customs, there is really nothing to complain about.

I fly several times a year between Germany and Switzerland without any issues, even from non-customs airfields. My phonecalls with the HZA Bielefeld or Saarbrücken have always been very politely and solution-oriented. For example: My homebase is not a port of entry, nor can we have customs clearances O/R or PPR. But according to a special rule, you may leave Germany from any airfield or airstrip without customs clearence if:
1. Your airplane is EU-registered and will be re-imported again
2. All people on bord may travel visa-free in Schengen
3. You have no goods above the allowed amount to declare

Most Flugleiters don’t know the above mentioned rule, so I got some very angry threads of a Flugleiter once, that he would not allow me to take-off to Switzerland without flying to an airfield with customs first. And if I would ignore ‘his’ instructions, he would report me immediately to the “Luftaufsicht” (CAA) and customs officials. After the thread, I just called the local HZA and they gave me their OK to just go on with my flight. I even have an official written statement from the HZA Bielefeld, which I can show to every unwilling “Flugleiter” or possible uninformed customs officer in the future. And yes, it escalated once. After I uploaded this flight from my homebase to a Swiss airfield, some a*hole reported my video to the CAA and customs (it was not the flugleiter). Thank god I informed the customs about my flight before, so they called me very friendly that they wouldn’t investigate at all, and the guy from our local CAA closed the case immediately after the first interrogation.

Returning to Germany is an other case of course, where you really have to enter via a port of entry or via a “special” airfield with customs O/R or PPR, as mentioned before. The German VFR AIP needs a very carefull interpretation. This is where the German VFR AIP fails completely. Everything which is not noticed, is not allowed. For example: If the AIP mentions “CUST non-Schengen 24 PPR”, then customs from Schengen is not allowed, even it sounds very strange and unusuall. The same counts also for allowed airplanes to land on that specific airfield. If for example “GLD(P)” is not mentioned, I may not land on that specific airfield with a motorglider (TMG). If “UL” is not mentioned, I may not land with an ultra light on that specific airfield etc. So if “CUST” doesn’t show up, or only shows “non-Schengen 24 hrs PPR”, you have to assume that other possibilities are not allowed, even if it sounds that strange. If you want to have a “Einzelbefreiung” (single approval for single entry at a non-customs airfield/airstrip), customs will ask to pay for their service. According to HZA Bielefeld, one “Einzelbefreiung” costs around 50-90 euros.

The real customs-trap comes however, if a EU-citizen is travelling with a HB-immatriculation from CH to the EU, or if a Swiss-citizen is travelling with an EU-immatriculatin from the EU to CH. Be very carefull with it and only fly from/to real ports of entry and NOT from/to airfields with customs O/R. Note, that airfields with customs O/R are never real customs airfields (even if customs are informed), but are only open for “tolerated” traffic. This means, if you have something to declare, you always need to fly from/to real PoEs!! This is the second trap, which needs attention by anyone crossing customs borders.

In Switzerland, I only once had a customs check upon arrival from Germany in LSZQ. Very polite officers, they had more interest for our passports than for our luggage. In CH, there is no seperation between immigration and customs officers, so their border police aka “Grenzwachtkorps” (GWK) do both jobs at the same time. The procedure on small airfields with “tolerated” intra-Schengen traffic, is very straightforward. You need to fill out a GenDec-look a like form, which you send to the airfield. Sometimes sending this form is enough, or you have to call the airfield to activate the customs declaration, which is described very clearly. In the end, you’ve always something on paper to prove that you tried to do your homework.

I do feel sorry for the pilot who trapped into the customs-trap in EDFW, however, the AIP never mentioned that customs was available O/R from Switzerland. Nonetheless, the DFS fails like I said before completely to separate immigration and customs correctly. They both mention this under the “CUST” section of each airfield, which is misleading. Furthermore, the Flugleiter of EDFW failed also to say anything about it, and most of all: The bill from the customs is simply outrageous and has nothing to do with justice.

So yes, I agree that doing your customs “homework” is VERY important. In case of any doubt, contact customs and never trust the AIP or airfield itself. On the other hand, if you communicate with customs in advance, there is nothing to complain about or to be afraid of and there is truly no reason to avoid Germany because of this. I even learned to know some friendly and cooperative customs officials during my “journey”.

P.S. It seems, that German customs have access to all flightplans. Even if you’re coming from another EU-country, always expect a random check by German customs, especially if you’re coming from a country where customs may expect smuggled goods (drugs, cash, cigarettes etc.). At my homebase, customs officers showed up several times to check airplanes coming from the Netherlands.

@Peter
For customs, if you declare your plane as means of transport at a customs point, you get an ad hoc exemption (and do not have to pay the duty). You just fly in somewhere, no exemption, duty applies.

Whether the passengers are paying or not is irrelevant. The tax laws (AFAIK European) state that just bringing something into the EU does not trigger rhe VAT obligation. It needs more.
Such as a transport (paid or unpaid) as an economic use within the EU.
Again, if you declare your plane at a customs airport, you are exempted on the spot – if you just…

And yes, customs is a totally unrelated branch of government, little to do with DFS a limited company acting on behalf of government, let alone the airport employee/volunteer (who may or may not have ever crossed a border)

Fiscal admin is often the most powerful, cheating the state for what they consider theirs is the most punishable offence….

Thanks Frans for the detailled clarifications that is a lot than just “do your homework” !

Peter wrote:

If you enter the EU from outside, you have something like 6 months of flying around the EU before you have to pay the import VAT. (…)

If indeed the period is of the order of months, they could not have got this Swiss guy for straight import VAT. Which bit am I not understanding?

Yes, that kind of temporary import without paying customs duty nor VAT is possible. However, the decision of the Münich court says that you can have this “something like 6 months” only if you properly follow the procedures… which includes landing at a “full customs airport” or (without cargo) at a “special aerodrome” or got a one-time authorisation from the customs authority to land elsewhere. The relevant quote in my comment 38:

• Temporary import under exemption of import duties is also exempted from VAT. However, since the the correct procedure for temporary import was not performed, this exemption does not apply.

Peter wrote:

The passenger transport economic angle is surely nonsense unless they allege they were paying passengers. This is just bizzare.

The point is not that the plane was used for for-profit/commercial economic activity. Their point is that by transporting passengers from Würzburg and Jena, he deprived suppliers of passenger transport the opportunity to provide that transport. As in they might have taken the train instead, or a taxi, or rented a German plane, or who knows. The same way that if you import a car, you have to pay VAT on it, because you are going to use it for non-commercial transport (of yourself, your family, …), but that non-commercial transport is in competition with other transport methods: had you not bought the car, you’d have taken more bus, tramway, cab, etc. They call that “entering the economic cycle of the Union”.

Peter wrote:

Did they hit him with this “legal construction” simply because he landed, with passengers, at a non Customs airport?

On the dry legal facts, yes. That’s what’s unfair about it. On the “why they got interested in him” angle, one can imagine a lot of things. As you wrote “said aircraft was imported into the EU at some point in the past but import VAT was not paid”, that the former girlfriend/wife of the customs authority worker left him for the Swiss pilot and he holds a grudge, or simply that they saw a way to get money for the state, which is their role (and get a pay bonus?). None of that is in the legal record.

My point is this: had he landed at a proper Customs airport, German customs could have hit him for the import VAT anyway, after 6 (?) months of being based in Germany.

Yes, but the plane was not intended to be based in Germany, and wasn’t.

Peter wrote:

Someone on EuroGA, UK, was hit with exactly that in the UK, on a plane purchased from the Channel Islands, and this is completely normal and known.

Yes, the Channel Islands are not part of the EU VAT area. So import from the Channel Islands to the UK mainland (main isle?) triggers import VAT. Not customs duty, because they are part of the EU Customs area :)