Appeals

Under Article 117 of the Customs Act No. 88/2005, a liable party may appeal decisions by the customs authorities concerning:

• Liability for charges

• The amount of import charges

• Matters forming the basis for the determination of import charges

Appeal deadline

If the dispute concerns goods that have already been cleared through customs, the appeal deadline is 60 days from the date of customs clearance.

Appeals may be sent either by post or by email to: upplysingar@skatturinn.is

You may use the following appeal form, but this is not mandatory.

Ruling

The customs authorities must issue a ruling within 30 days from the completion of evidence gathering.

The ruling must be sent to the importer in a verifiable manner.

The ruling must include reasoning and state whether it may be appealed to the National Tax Tribunal under Article 118 of the Customs Act or to the Minister of Finance.

The Internal Revenue Board is the highest administrative appeals authority in tax and customs matters. The Board is an independent institution and operates independently from Iceland Revenue and Customs and the Minister of Finance. The Internal Revenue Board operates under Act No. 30/1992 on the Internal Revenue Board.

Appeals

Under Article 118 of the Customs Act No. 88/2005, a liable party may appeal certain decisions and rulings by the customs authorities to the Internal Revenue Board.

This applies to:

• Reassessments under Articles 111–113, cf. Article 114

• Rulings by the customs authorities on corrections under Article 116

• Appeal rulings under Article 117

• Decisions by the customs authorities under Article 21 and Article 145(2) of the Customs Act

See the appeal form and further information on appeals to the Internal Revenue Board.

Appeal deadline

The deadline for appealing to the Internal Revenue Board is three months from the date the decision or ruling by the customs authorities was mailed.

Further procedures before the Internal Revenue Board are governed by Act No. 30/1992 on the Internal Revenue Board.

For matters not covered by the provisions above, for example:

• Granting licences for customs brokerage or bonded warehouses

• Decisions on refusal or suspension of customs clearance, and similar matters

the procedures are governed by the general appeal provisions in Chapter VII of the Administrative Procedures Act No. 37/1993.

Under the Administrative Procedures Act, an administrative decision may be appealed to a higher authority in order to have it annulled or amended.

Appeal deadline

Such an appeal must be submitted within three months from the date the party was notified of the administrative decision, unless otherwise provided by law.

If a decision by the customs authorities cannot be appealed to the Internal Revenue Board, it may, under Article 26 of the Administrative Procedures Act, be appealed to the higher administrative authority, which in customs matters is the Minister of Finance.

General procedural rules and appeal deadlines under the Administrative Procedures Act apply to such cases.

A ruling by the Internal Revenue Board is the final decision at the administrative level.

Referral of a matter to the courts does not suspend or alter the Board’s ruling until a judgment has been issued, cf. Article 118(11) of the Customs Act.

It is always permitted to bring a case directly before the courts. Neither the Customs Act nor other special legislation limits this right or requires administrative appeal procedures to be exhausted before court proceedings may begin.

This may be appropriate, for example, in matters concerning the powers of customs authorities relating to searches, arrests or seizures.

Act No. 19/1991 on Criminal Procedure applies to such cases.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman is authorized to examine how customs authorities handle individual cases.

Individuals may request such a review from the Parliamentary Ombudsman, who may also decide to investigate a case on their own initiative.

The role of the Parliamentary Ombudsman is to supervise the administration of the state and municipalities on behalf of Parliament, as provided for in Act No. 85/1997 on the Parliamentary Ombudsman, and to safeguard the rights of citizens in their dealings with public authorities.

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly by an administrative authority may submit a complaint.

A complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman must:

• Be submitted in writing, with all available supporting evidence attached

• Be submitted within one year from the administrative decision concerned

If the matter can be appealed to a higher administrative authority, a complaint cannot be submitted to the Parliamentary Ombudsman until the higher authority has issued its ruling. In such cases, the time limit is calculated from the date of that ruling.