EU’s Revised Customs Code Takes Effect, Keeps Free Zones

FTZ News: The European Union’s revised Union Customs Code entered into force this week after its publication in the Official Journal on Sept. 19.

The European Commission said Monday on its Taxation and Customs Union site that Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, adopted Sept. 16 by the European Parliament and the Council, replaces Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013 and will be applied in stages. Member states have 12 months to implement the new rules.

The code keeps free zones. Under Article 148, a member state may designate part of its customs territory as a free zone, fix the area and the entry and exit points, and communicate information on operating zones to the Commission and the European Union Customs Authority. Zones must be enclosed. Their boundaries and gates are under customs supervision, and officers may check people, goods and vehicles. Article 149 requires prior customs approval before a building goes up inside a zone. Industrial, commercial and service work is allowed if customs law is met and the activity is notified in advance. Customs authorities may restrict or prohibit an activity based on the goods involved, customs supervision, safety and security, or concerns over compliance.

The European Union Customs Authority, known as EUCA, is seated in Lille. Commission planning originally put staff at about 250 by 2034. A Council document on amendments agreed in the legislative process raised the later-year figure to 285. Those are staffing targets, not the present headcount. A Commission task force, including seconded national officers, is preparing the agency. The agency is expected to begin operational work in 2027. National customs services continue to carry out controls.

The regulation also establishes the EU Customs Data Hub, which is intended to become a common customs interface and eventually replace the patchwork of national systems. The European Parliament has cited more than 111 customs IT systems across the member states. The Commission estimates that replacing those systems could save member states more than €2 billion a year in operating costs. The Hub is scheduled to be available for e-commerce operators from July 1, 2028, with voluntary use by other traders beginning in 2031 and mandatory use in 2034.

A separate trader status, Trust & Check, is available to firms that meet compliance tests and give customs enough supply-chain information. Qualifying companies may submit customs data once, face fewer routine controls and, in some cases, release goods themselves.

The Commission has put 2025 low-value e-commerce volume at about 5.9 billion items, about four times the 2022 figure, with most of that low-value traffic originating in China. The €150 duty exemption ended July 1. A temporary €3 duty applies to those consignments until July 2028. A handling fee on small parcels is due by Nov. 1; the amount is to be set in a Commission delegated act. Platforms that sell at a distance into the Union may be treated as the importer.

Zone designation remains a national decision. Information on operating zones now also goes to the authority in Lille. Ordinary traders are not required to use the Data Hub on the September dates. Member states have 12 months to implement the code./.


Credit: MirageNews