Language of document :

Request for a preliminary ruling from the Augstākā tiesa (Senāts) (Latvijas) lodged on 3 June 2020 — AAS ‘BTA Báltica Insúmanse Company’ v Valsts ieņēmumu dienests

(Case C-230/20)

Language of the case: Latvian

Referring court

Augstākā tiesa (Senāts)

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: AAS ‘BTA Báltica Insúmanse Company’

Defendant: Valsts ieņēmumu dienests

Questions referred

Must the guarantor referred to in Article 195 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code, 1 as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2700/2000 2 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2000, be regarded as a debtor within the meaning of Article 221(3) [of the regulation] to whom, therefore, the time limit established in Article 221(3) applies?

If the answer to question 1 is in the negative, can the guarantor be regarded, pursuant to Article 232(1)(a) of the regulation, as the person subject to enforcement of the decision or the debt, or the person concerned by the enforcement, to whom, the Member State’s rules on enforcement, including those on time limits, therefore apply?

If, under the applicable laws of the European Union, the guarantor is not regarded as a debtor within the meaning of Article 221(3) of the regulation or as the subject of the enforcement of the decision or as a person concerned by the enforcement, can the requirement implied by the principle of legal certainty, which requires a reasonable limitation period to be observed, be applied to the guarantor?

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1     OJ 1992 L 302, p. 1, Special edition in Latvian: Chapter 02 Volume 004 P. 307.

2     Regulation (EC) No 2700/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2000 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ 2000 L 311, p. 17, Special edition in Latvian: Chapter 02 Volume 010 P. 239).