Several agricultural companies reported they had received an unusual letter from the Customs and Excise Agency requesting tax payments on agricultural vehicles. However, these vehicles were previously exempt from tax.
The Centrale Paysanne (Bauerenzentral) professional association of Luxembourg farmers said it was aware of the issue and that several of its members had been in touch after receiving the invoice. Director Laurent Schüssler said it was understandable that its members were concerned, particularly as tractors used for agricultural purposes remain exempt from tax.
After the association contacted the Customs and Excise Agency to query the invoices, it would appear the matter was quickly resolved, with the letters dismissed as an error. Affected farmers were advised to ignore the invoices by customs, while those who had already paid the requested tax could contact the central customs offices for a refund.
The Customs and Excise Agency clarified to the Bauerenzentral association that a number of internal changes had taken place amid their usual procedures, with the consequence that invoices had been automatically sent out by mistake for vehicles which fall into the tax-free category. Schüssler told RTL that Customs advised the programme was not easily stopped, which meant that further invoices and reminders could be issued over the coming weeks, although recipients will not have to pay and should simply ignore the letters.
The Agency said it did not know exactly how many people received a bill in error, but estimated that there could have been several hundred recipients.
Although RTL contacted both the Customs Agency and the Ministry of Mobility to obtain confirmation of the error and further advice for those affected, at the time of writing there had been no response from either authority.
However, two urgent parliamentary questions have been submitted to the relevant departments, and ADR MPs Alexandra Schoos and Fred Keup, and CSV MP Octavie Modert, all tabled questions on the subject in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday.
