Deutsche Post AG – CJEU Judgment (European Union, 2019)
CJEU judgment — not a DPA enforcement action
This is a Court of Justice ruling, not an enforcement action by a data protection authority. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
The Court of Justice of the European Union looked into whether Deutsche Post AG needed to collect and share personal tax data to meet customs requirements. The case focused on balancing data protection with regulatory needs.
What happened
Deutsche Post AG was required to collect and share personal tax data for customs purposes.
Who was affected
Individuals managing customs matters at Deutsche Post AG, whose tax data was requested.
What the authority found
The Court of Justice examined whether collecting tax data was necessary and proportionate under EU customs and data protection rules.
Why this matters
This ruling highlights the ongoing tension between regulatory compliance and data privacy. It underscores the need for companies to carefully assess the necessity and proportionality of data collection, especially when dealing with sensitive information.
GDPR Articles Cited
The German Customs Authority, through a self-evaluation questionnaire, requested of Deutsch Post AG, all those natural persons who are in charge of managing customs matters (or those responsible for dealing with such matters) to send, among other things, the Tax Identification Numbers and the details of the tax offices responsible for their taxation. The German Customs Authority stated that, if there were no cooperation, it would be impossible to determine whether the requirements, which were laid down in the German Customs Code as well as in the Commission Implementing Regulation (2015/2447/EU), were satisfied. If it would be impossible to make that determination, then the German Customs Authority is obliged to revoke any customs authorisations held by Deutsche Post. Deutsche Post AG expanded upon the nature and extent of the personal data of third parties that must be submitted so that an undertaking can qualify for the customs status of an authorised economic operator (AEO). According to EU Regulation 2015/2447, customs authorities shall, after recognising the status of AEO, provide to the customs user some simplifications. For example, customs authorities shall not re-examine those criteria which have already been examined when granting the status of AEO. Deutsche Post AG claims that individuals who are undertaking affected by the fulfilment requirements raised by the German Customs Authority, are numerous. It also claims that some of those individuals are unwilling to agree to the transmission of their personal data. The third claim of Deutsche Post AG was that the collection of Tax Identification Numbers is neither necessary nor appropriate for determining the reliability of an entity, in terms of customs law, and the verification of the individual tax situation of all the individuals affected is disproportionate in relation to the objective. The main argument of the German Customs Authority is that the exchange of these data is necessary to ensure unmistak
Outcome
CJEU Judgment
A judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union, typically on a preliminary reference from a national court.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Deutsche Post AG in EU
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Judgment Date
16 January 2019
Authority
Court of Justice of the European Union
GDPRhub ID
gdprhub-cjeu-2506About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Deutsche Post AG - European Union (2019). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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