A network of companies fraudulently importing Chinese tube and pipe fittings via several countries in South East Asia, to evade high EU customs duties, has been uncovered.
Investigations carried out by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and authorities in several EU Member States, in co-operation with Indian and Taiwanese customs, led to the recovery of €9 million in customs duties.
Resultant criminal proceedings in Germany and the UK have led to prison sentences for three of the persons involved.
OLAF investigations into the imports were triggered by information from the EU industry concerned and the customs authorities in several Member States. They had noticed changes in the trade pattern, namely away from the primary sources of tube and pipe fittings in China to unknown suppliers in countries not commonly known as producers of that product.
Imports of goods, claimed to be made in Japan, by a German importer attracted the attention of Belgian Customs because the freight was actually loaded in the port of Dalian in China and then routed via Japan to the EU.
Close co-operation between German, Belgian and Dutch customs quickly led to the detection of further fraudulent imports into the EU from India and Taiwan with false commercial documentation of origin.
The two UK offenders were sentenced to a 12-months’ suspended sentence and two years’ imprisonment respectively. A third faces a financial penalty.
An anti-dumping duty rate of 58.6% on certain Chinese tube and pipe fittings of iron or steel was imposed in 1996. The duty was subsequently extended to include imports from Taiwan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines as a result of circumvention practices identified.
