Amendments to Customs Declarations: Is the Article 241 Penalty Applied Per Line Item?

How Is the Correction Penalty Applied in Customs Declarations? A Critical Clarification on Article 241

One of the most frequently encountered issues in customs procedures is the correction of errors in declarations after the fact and the question of how the resulting irregularity penalty is to be applied. Penalties imposed under Article 241/1 of the Customs Law can translate into significant costs for companies, particularly in multi-item declarations, which makes the method of application critically important.

A Ministry circular dated June 12, 2017 provided clarification on uncertainties arising in practice. In summary, it was observed that at certain customs directorates, since each line item in a declaration is treated as a separate declaration, a separate Article 241/1 penalty was being applied for each line item subject to correction. For example, in vehicle imports, cases arose where information such as chassis number, engine power, and exemption code was entered incorrectly due to oversight, and upon requesting a correction, the penalty was multiplied by the number of line items, resulting in disproportionately high amounts.

However, the Ministry's assessment draws attention to a critical point. Article 7 of Annex 82 to the Customs Regulation defines the violation not in terms of the declaration item, but directly in terms of the failure to complete the customs declaration in accordance with Annex 14. This means that even if the error spans multiple line items, the determining factor for the penalty should be the declaration itself, not each individual line item.

This approach is of great importance for uniform application, particularly in multi-item declarations. If the same error is converted into a penalty as many times as there are line items, it can create a disproportionate burden for companies. For this reason, the circular clearly states that in applying the Article 241/1 irregularity penalty, the customs declaration as a whole should be taken as the basis rather than each individual line item.

In conclusion, this circular has brought greater clarity to the question of whether the penalty for a correction to a customs declaration is applied on a per line item basis or a per declaration basis. It is important for companies managing import and customs processes to take this framework into account, particularly when submitting correction requests.