Bypassing punitive tariffs on solar modules – Investigations against numerous companies

According to newspaper reports, the public prosecutor’s office is currently conducting investigations against at least 12 companies in Germany with the support of the customs authorities. Together with Chinese companies, they would be suspected of having circumvented the current anti-dumping duties on solar panels from China.

The goods were first shipped from China to countries such as Malaysia and Taiwan, where they were provided with false documents. In other cases, suppliers are said to have promised their customers partial repayment of the purchase price and thus circumvented the minimum price regulations.

In such cases, in addition to the subsequent collection of customs duties, there are also regular consequences under penalty law and often even considerable consequences under criminal law. It cannot be ruled out, therefore, that unsuspecting companies that buy the goods concerned will be targeted by the authorities and that the solar modules will even be confiscated. This could paralyze entire solar parks or solar power plants if customs suddenly confiscate modules that have not been properly cleared through customs.

Dieser Artikel wurde am 10. August 2018 erstellt. Die fachliche Zweitprüfung hat Rechtsanwalt Dr. Tristan Wegner durchgeführt.