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DRAFT OPINION (COM(2023)0258 – C90175 – 2023/0156(COD))

On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013

INTA-PA-756044

Committee on International Trade · Rapporteur: Saskia Bricmont

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The Committee on International Trade's draft opinion on the proposed regulation establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority sets out amendments to the Commission proposal. It asks the committee responsible to take into account changes on e-commerce rules, the Trust and Check trader status, the EU customs data hub and the EU Customs Authority. It also proposes a cooperation framework between customs and other authorities, a minimum common core of customs infringements and non-criminal sanctions, and a Customs Advisory Board of civil society organisations. The amendments bring multilateral environmental agreements into the Code, tighten monitoring of authorised operators, and set earlier dates for the data hub.

Committee position. The rapporteur supports the overall direction of the revision but proposes amendments to clarify or strengthen the Code, covering coherence with other legislation, cybersecurity, civil society early warnings, the circular economy, sanctions circumvention and controls on authorised operators.

Key points

  1. The draft opinion supports the overall direction of the revision but proposes amendments to clarify or strengthen the Union Customs Code.
  2. It calls for coherence between the Code and other legislation involving customs, such as CBAM, the Deforestation Regulation, the Forced Labour Regulation, the Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive and REACH, and for multilateral environmental agreements to be better factored in.
  3. It asks that customs and their IT systems be treated as critical infrastructure and adapted to the European economic security strategy and cybersecurity legislation.
  4. It proposes that civil society organisations be able to send early warnings to customs about goods likely to breach EU legislation, to enrich the EU Data Hub and intensify controls.
  5. It asks the EU Customs Authority to foster a common EU approach on a possible adjustment of the Harmonized System to support the circular economy.
  6. It calls for a more explicit role for customs in fighting circumvention and indirect violations of Russian sanctions or future sanctions.
  7. It requires that benefits granted to Authorised Economic Operators and Trust and Check traders be matched by controls, with the status repealed for non-compliance with fiscal and non-fiscal legislation such as the Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive.
  8. The amendments add the EU's trade volumes to Recital 1 and cite the Wise Persons Group finding that the Union's border is as strong as its weakest entry point.
  9. They require customs authorities to monitor compliance of Authorised Economic Operators at least every 2 years and of Trust and Check traders at least every 2 years.
  10. They require Trust and Check traders to grant customs access to their electronic systems, allow release of goods without active customs intervention and defer payment of the customs debt, and remove preferential status for breaches of non-fiscal obligations.
  11. They establish a Customs Advisory Board of seven civil society representatives to give input on the customs dimensions of other legislation and send early warnings.
  12. They bring forward the dates for the EU Customs Data Hub: voluntary use from 2031, full development by 2035, and reassessment of authorisations from 1 January 2035 to 31 December 2035.

Who is affected

  • Economic operators, including Authorised Economic Operators and Trust and Check traders, face tighter monitoring and loss of status for non-compliance.
  • Civil society organisations gain a role through the Customs Advisory Board and can send early warnings to customs.
  • Member States must connect to the EU Customs Data Hub, cover customs infrastructure in national cybersecurity strategies and reassess authorisations.
  • The EU Customs Authority is tasked with new duties on cybersecurity, sanctions, the Harmonized System and the customs revenue gap.

Figures and deadlines

  • EU imports and exports combined were worth approximately €4 trillion in 2019, around 25 % of the EU's GDP.
  • Close to 700 million items enter the EU each year, more than 350 million are declared for export and another 15 million transit via the Customs Union.
  • Close to 33 items are declared every second for a customs value of about EUR 150,000.
  • More than 350 pieces of EU legislation regulate placing on the EU market or other restrictive measures, a number that has nearly quadrupled over the last 20 years.
  • Customs authorities must monitor Authorised Economic Operator compliance at least every 2 years.
  • Customs authorities must perform in-depth monitoring of Trust and Check traders at least every 2 years.
  • The pecuniary charge for customs infringements related to deemed importer obligations may be up to 6% of the importer's total turnover in the preceding financial year.
  • The EU Customs Data Hub must be fully operational by 31 December 2035, with voluntary use from 1 March 2031.