Arjan Wolkers

Background

In 1996, Arjan graduated from Leiden University in Tax Law, specializing in indirect taxes. After his graduation, Arjan gained extensive experience in the Trade & Customs practice of KPMG Meijburg & Co. He then worked for Hertoghs advocaten where he further specialized in procedural tax law, particularly in the field of indirect taxation.

Arjan has been working at Ploum as a senior lawyer in the Customs, Trade and Logistics practice since June 2020.

Arjan advises on matters such as customs duties, excise duties, anti-dumping duties and VAT on imports. He regularly finds possibilities for his clients to reclaim overpaid import duties via a so-called refund procedure.

The complex rules governing the import of goods regularly lead to a difference of opinion with the customs authorities regarding their interpretation application of the rules, often resulting in high additional assessments. Arjan has extensive knowledge and experience in the field of litigation and represents his clients in tax objection and appeal proceedings before the Dutch courts and the European Court of Justice.

Arjan is the author of the course on European Tax Law – Indirect Taxation at Kluwer, and of many scientific contributions in the field of customs, excise and VAT for the tax journals NLFiscaal and NTFR. He also regularly gives presentations and training courses in the field of customs law.

Examples of recent work

• Arjan advises and litigates in proceedings relating to the import of goods. These proceedings include disputes about the origin of goods, tariff classification or the interpretation of complex customs or excise provisions.
• Arjan litigates in refund procedures and has an eye for opportunities to reclaim overpaid duties on imports, based on developments in case law or the interpretation of the regulations.

Memberships and additional functions

• Associate member of the Dutch Association of Tax Advisers
• Author of the course “European Tax Law – indirect taxes” of Kluwer (Navigator)
• Annotator for the tax magazine NLFiscaal
• Annotator at the Dutch Journal of Tax Law (NTFR)
• Providing presentations and training (e.g. speaker at the symposium of the Supreme Court of 11 April 2019 on the occasion of the publication of the book “Customs Law” by D.G. van Vliet, former vice-president of the Dutch Supreme Court)

Publications (in Dutch)

• Ethylalcohol voor productie frisdrankaroma’s; uitleg inzake vrijstellingaccijns, NLFiscaal (2023/128)

• Naheffing accijns voor vergunninghouder AGP; brief gold als naheffingsaanslag. NLFiscaal 2022/2283

• Intracommunautair vervoer onder accijnsschorsingsregeling; keten van transacties. NLFiscaal 2020/1169

• Tariefindeling van scheepscasco’s; schepen voor vaart in volle zee. NLFiscaal 2020/0724
• Prejudiciële vragen; CDW vs. DWU; douaneschuld door verjaring tenietgegaan? NLFiscaal 2020/0318
• Naheffing van bedragen die als accijns zijn teruggevraagd ondanks goede trouw. NLFiscaal 2019/2711
• Fraude in het douanerecht: verstrekkende gevolgen. BTW-bulletin 2019/74
• Strafbare feiten gepleegd door zaakvoerder; medeschuldenaar accijns. NLFiscaal 2019/2476
• Herziening van douaneaangifte; lidstaten bepalen tijdstip mededeling. NLFiscaal 2019/2079
• Geen vrijstelling douanerechten bij plichtsverzuim. NLFiscaal 2019/1362
• Postonderverdeling gps navigatiesysteem met diverse functies. NLFiscaal 2019/1178
• Geen heffing accijns mogelijk ten aanzien van in Luxemburg veraccijnsde tabaksproducten die een particulier naar Nederland heeft laten vervoeren. NTFR 2019/902
• Tariefmuren en Mijlpalen: drie jaar Douanewetboek van de Unie. WFR 2019/92