Abandonment to the State
Procedure by which an operator relinquishes goods to the State to avoid payment of customs duties.
Abandonment to the State (or customs abandonment) is a customs-approved treatment by which the holder of non-Union goods voluntarily relinquishes ownership to the State. This procedure avoids payment of customs duties and taxes, with goods being transferred to public property.
Abandonment is authorised by customs authorities provided the goods have sufficient economic value to cover procedure costs and their disposal does not generate disproportionate costs for the administration. Dangerous, perishable, or valueless goods are generally directed toward destruction rather than abandonment.
Abandoned goods are then sold at auction by the state property administration. Sale proceeds first cover storage and sale costs, then any customs duties, with the balance paid to the Treasury.
Abandonment differs from confiscation, which is a penalty imposed by a judge in case of customs offence. Abandonment is voluntary and does not constitute a penalty. It represents a pragmatic solution when customs duties exceed the commercial value of the goods.