CLF, a leading UK wholesaler of sports nutrition and health foods, has condemned an EU decision that leaves the business facing an import duty bill of nearly £150,000. This is ‘despite the test that determined the bill being exposed as flawed.’
CLF Distribution has been informed that the EU’s Director General for Enterprise and Industry will not intervene to amend an EU regulation on the testing of whey protein products that is used to determine duty levels.
Repeated scientific analyses have found the testing processes to be flawed, with ‘CLF liable for back import duty and facing further incorrectly calculated duty if the company imports some of its whey protein products.’
The Director General had been expected to approve a short-term fix to the testing process while longer-term scientific analysis was carried out. He is understood to have rejected the short-term measure after EU member states claimed other affected businesses might try to claim for overpaid duty.
CLF has claimed that the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) decision to enforce the duty bill despite the testing being proven flawed represents an unfair penalty on responsible trading, and has also forced the company to suspend imports to avoid further incorrect duty bills.
CLF has also noted that its chocolate-flavoured whey protein products are not affected by the incorrectly calculated duty payments because they are subject to a different commodity code.
The HMRC has claimed it is obligated to demand payment of the import duty unless the EU changes the law.
Testing of whey protein products
Under EU Commission Regulation No 900/2008, processed agricultural products are subject to testing to determine their import arrangements, including how much import duty they should be subject to. Whey protein is subject to testing to calculate milk fat content. This is done by testing for butyric acid as a ‘marker’ of milk fat.
CLF notes that the test is inaccurate in the case of whey protein products. This is due to the depletion of the butyric acid marker in the milk ingredient of whey protein that comes about as a result of manufacturing processes.
Robin Holliday, Managing Director of CLF Distribution, said “The situation is nothing short of a travesty. It’s taken four years, but everyone from the HMRC to MEPs and officials in Brussels have accepted that the way in which import duty has been calculated in this instance was completely wrong. There was a straightforward solution on the table, and it is both disappointing and unacceptable that the Director General has turned it down.”
He continued, “The EU might revise its testing and legislation but this could take years. We’re expected to pay the HMRC now and have suspended imports of some of our products because the duty on them would also be calculated incorrectly. Not only is this unfair to us and our customers, it sets a terrible example and says to businesses that even if they’re in the right and are adhering to EU law, they can’t expect the EU to stand up for them.”
CLF Distribution is the leading UK wholesaler of premium sports nutrition, organic and health food products, vitamin and mineral supplements, personal care and household products.
