Asda Stores v HMRC

In Asda Stores v HMRC (A3/2013/1958 – 27 March 2014) the Court of Appeal rejected Asda’s argument for a broad purposive interpretation of the concept of ‘price’ in the Community Customs Code (‘the Code’).

Asda bought clothes and hangers from a supplier which sourced the hangers from sub-suppliers specified by Asda. Asda paid the clothes supplier for both the clothes and the hangers. Unknown to the clothes supplier the value agreed between Asda and the hanger supplier was less than paid to the clothes supplier and so the hanger supplier would pay a ‘rebate’ to Asda.

Under the Code art 29 the customs value of imported goods is ‘the price actually paid or payable’. Asda argued that under a purposive interpretation of the Code it should not be charged on values in excess of the net sums it had paid. HMRC contended that the rebate...