The dock dues

In the regions of Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion, a tax known as ‘dock dues’ is applicable.

The operations subject to dock dues are as follows:

• Imports of goods;
• Supplies of goods, made for consideration, by persons engaged in production activities there (the ‘taxable persons’).

Production activities shall include the manufacture, processing or renovation of tangible movable property, as well as agricultural and extractive operations.

Any change in the condition of goods, whether or not there is a change in tariff heading, with the exception of packaging or handling operations, shall be considered to be processing.

The delivery of property is the transfer of the authority to dispose of tangible personal property as an owner. The supply of services does not fall within the scope of this tax.

The regional councils (or the general council in Mayotte) may also establish a regional dock dues whose base is identical to that of the dock dues.

The taxable amount shall consist of:

• For imports of goods, by the customs value within the meaning of Community rules;
• For supplies of locally produced goods, by the price excluding value added tax and excise duty.

The dock dues and the regional dock dues shall be payable:

• In the case of imports of goods, when entering one of the five regions mentioned above or when the goods are released for consumption, when entering under a customs or tax suspension arrangement;
• For deliveries of goods, at the time of delivery.

They shall be liquidated:

• For imports of goods, on the customs declaration;
• For supplies of goods, on quarterly declarations made by taxable persons at the customs office with territorial jurisdiction.

Taxable transactions

The dock dues and the regional dock dues shall apply:

• Imports of goods, regardless of their origin (so-called « external » dock dues);
• Supplies of goods made for consideration by persons engaged in production activities (sea dues known as ‘internal’).

Exempt transactions

• Mandatory exemptions (Articles 4, 5 and 8 of the Law 2004-639 of 2 July 2004 on dock dues, as amended by Law 2015-762 of 29 June 2015):
  • Exports (Article 4-1° and 3° of the law);
  • Imports of local products within the Antillean-Guyanese market (Article 4-2° of the Law) except for certain goods listed in I of Article 5;
  • Imports of goods benefiting from the exemptions applicable to other duties and taxes in force (Article 8 of the Law).
• Optional exemptions (Articles 6, 7 and 7-1 of the Law): Regional Councils (or the General Council in Mayotte) have the option to exempt:
  • Imports of certain types of goods (article 6 of the Act);
  • Supplies of goods made by taxable persons by setting a zero rate or a reduced rate (section 7 of the Act);
  • Imports, releases for consumption and deliveries of goods intended for the refueling of ships and aircraft and fuels (traced/colored) intended for professional use (article 7-1 of the law).

Operations now « out of scope » of this tax

Deliveries made by persons with an annual turnover of less than €550,000 relating to their production activity are now outside the scope of the rules on dock dues (Article 2 of the Law).

Rate

The dock dues scheme introduced in 2004 and amended in 2015 allows, for a limited number of products listed in Council Decision 940/2014/EU, the introduction of a rate differential between locally produced goods (internal dock dues) and identical imported goods (external dock dues) in order to allow overseas economies to compensate for the structural handicaps they face.

The rates of internal sea dues and external sea dues are set by deliberations of the regional councils (or the general council in Mayotte).

Formalities

Customs is the administration of collection, control and recovery of dock dues. Taxable persons must identify themselves with its services by providing a copy of their declaration of existence and by communicating their turnover and the nature of their production. This approach is mandatory and concerns you if you are engaged in a production activity (manufacturing, processing or renovation) of tangible movable property or an agricultural or extractive activity, provided that your company has a production turnover of greater than or equal to €300,000.

You will also have to sign a quarterly declaration (« quarterly declaration ») to pay the dock dues you owe.

Contacts

GUADELOUPE

Pointe-à-Pitre Customs Office
Lysa Impasse André Ampère building
CEDEX / BP 2201
97,196 JARRY

• Tel: 05 90 89 76 00
• Fax: 05 90 89 59 00

MARTINIQUE

Lamentin Customs Office
Airport – Freight Terminal
PO Box 81005
97232 LE LAMENTIN

• Tel: 05 96 51 73 96
• Fax: 05 96 51 95 30

MAYOTTE

Regional Directorate of Customs and Indirect Duties of Mayotte
Economic Action Hub
8 Avenue de la Préfecture
97615 DZAOUDZI

• Tel: 06 39 64 23 73
• Fax: 02.69.61.02.07

GUYANA

Customs office of Degrad des Cannes
Port – ZI Degrad des Cannes
97354 MONTJOLY

• Tel: 05 94 25 23 40
• Fax: 05 94 25 23 57

THE MEETING

Saint-Denis-Gillot Customs Office
Saint-Denis-Gillot Airport
New terminal at Bal-Fret 13
97438 SAINTE MARIE

• Tel: 02 62 94 05 49
• Fax: 02 62 94 03 70