Philippe Heeren

Philippe helps businesses understand the impact of customs on their supply chains, ensuring that goods can move seamlessly across borders and that the duty and tax implications of those movements are well understood. In doing so, he addresses the challenges relating to customs valuation, tariffs, and origin, as well as formal customs laws (including advance rulings), customs procedures (such as bonded warehousing), and contracting with supply chain partners. His practice extends to the broad range of barriers and requirements companies face when bringing goods into the European Union and the United Kingdom, with respect to tariffs, product compliance, and novel regulatory requirements that are enforced at the border (such as deforestation regulations, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and the EU’s Digital Product Passport).

In addition to providing advisory support, Philippe assists clients in resolving disputes with customs authorities across the EU and in the UK. His support spans the entire dispute life cycle, from voluntary disclosures to customs audits, investigations, and ultimately, administrative and court proceedings. Philippe has represented several clients before the European Court of Justice – for instance, in a customs valuation matter in the X BV case (C-160/18). Customs is an operational matter; to achieve maximum impact for clients, Philippe works closely with customs authorities at both EU and national levels, and has a broad network of in-country legal partners who can make a difference locally.

With his in-house experience, Philippe knows that understanding the business and achieving results go hand in hand. Over the last couple of years, Philippe has served clients in the retail, food, textile, automotive, e-commerce, and consumer goods sectors. For his clients trading in energy products and beverages, he has developed specific experience in excise matters. Serving the public sector, Philippe has been involved in law-making efforts at both national and EU levels. He contributed to a study titled “Protection of EU financial interest on customs and VAT” for the European Parliament in 2019, and a report on the Energy Taxation Directive for the European Commission in 2017.

Philippe is a visiting lecturer on customs and international trade at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.