Italian Criminal Law and Customs Law Violations: A Brief Overview

Abstract

Since 1992, by the entry into force of the Community Customs Code (hereinafter 'CCC'), a single customs code has been applicable throughout each of the Member States of the European Union (EU). It is well known that such customs code does cover most of customs issues but not all. In particular, it does not cover the penalty system, which relates to customs regimes. This is true both concerning administrative law/civil penalties as well as criminal law ones. The EU Member States sovereignty to implement the penalty system which they consider most effective of course has brought a quite diverse approach from Member State to Member State. In case of severe customs law violations, many EU Member States do provide for criminal prosecution along with administrative law or civil law fines and penalties. This article briefly describes the main features of the Italian criminal law system related to customs matters. It explains that the Public Prosecutor and the Customs Agency often do not coordinate, and there is uncertainty and unpredictability across the whole system. Therefore, companies face difficulties planning a proper and sound compliance mechanism.