EC Examines Evasion Of Anti-Dumping Duties

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

24 May 2006

It emerged this week that the European Commission has been engaged in discussions with authorities and business representatives from the United Arab Emirates with regard to the evasion of anti-dumping duties.

According to the EC:

"False declarations of origin are a classic method used by fraudsters when they try to evade European Union anti-dumping duties. Smugglers ship goods such as steel products, chemical compounds or office material from, say, China or India through another country thereby trying to conceal their real origin before entering the European Union territory."

"The evasion of anti-dumping duties harms the European taxpayer and has the added consequence that products which enter the EU market in this way can cause serious damage to legitimate businesses."

Director General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Franz-Hermann Brüner went on to add that:

“Reinforcing international cooperation is an essential tool in the fight against this type of fraud."

During a seminar hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in Dubai, OLAF discussed the issue of evasion of anti-dumping duties with representatives from the Federal Ministry of Economy and Planning, UAE Customs, the Chambers of Commerce and Industry from several Emirates and the Free Zone Authorities.

This dialogue was aimed to strengthen and develop the long-standing co-operation between the UAE and OLAF and their joint fight against commercial fraud.

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