European Express Association

The European Express Association · Rue de la Science 41 · B-1040 Brussels · Belgium Tel: +32 2 234 68 60 · Email: [email protected] · Web: www.euroexpress.org Brussels, 19th September 2022 EEA position paper on the recommendations of the Wise Persons Group on the Reform of the EU Customs Union 1. The European Express Association (EEA) welcomes the objective of the EU Commission to propose a comprehensive reform of the legislative framework, the working and governance of the EU Customs Union before the end of 2022, but we consider the timeline (before the end of 2022) to be very challenging.

EU Customs Union before the end of 2022, but we consider the timeline (before the end of 2022) to be very challenging. 2. We understand that this reform package, which should be implemented by 2030, will envision new, more modern customs rules to ensure the security and integrity of the EU Single Market, reduce opportunities for fraud, and facilitate legitimate trade. It will also increase synergies within customs, and with other authorities, for more efficient border controls and trade facilitation so that EU Member States harmonize procedures and Customs act as one.

…efficient border controls and trade facilitation so that EU Member States harmonize procedures and Customs act as one. 3. The EEA agrees that the European Union needs to take a new approach, ensuring customs legislation is fit for purpose both for today and the foreseeable future. Therefore, the changes proposed should work to this principle in order to make the customs union effective and efficient, serving the overall competitiveness of the European Union. 4. Today, the members of the EEA process a very high number of customs declarations through customs in all EU Member States. As such – they are well placed to provide subject matter expertise in many DG TAXUD working groups.

EU Member States. As such – they are well placed to provide subject matter expertise in many DG TAXUD working groups. 5. We point out that our members have adopted AEO standards in various Member States, are collaborating with national customs administrations and other government agencies on multiple levels, have worked closely together with DG TAXUD and the Member States in the development and implementation of the VAT reform and have been frontrunners in the deployment of ICS2 Release 1. As such, our members are committed to customs and trade compliance and have significantly contributed to the increased safety and security of the supply chain as well as being instrumental in the increased collection of VAT revenue. Ref. Ares(2022)6467584 - 19/09/2022 The European Express Association · Rue de la Science 41 · B-1040 Brussels · Belgium Tel: +32 2 234 68 60 · Email: [email protected]…

…la Science 41 · B-1040 Brussels · Belgium Tel: +32 2 234 68 60 · Email: [email protected] · Web: www.euroexpress.org 6. Through its members, the EEA has participated in the Foresight initiative, as well in providing testimony to the Wise Persons Group. 7. In our letter dated 15 April 2022, we have asked for a meeting of the Trade Contact Group dedicated to the report of the Wise Persons Group. Prior to this meeting we requested to provide our feedback to some of the recommendations of the Wise Persons Group, as well as making recommendations that support a comprehensive reform of the working and governance of the EU Customs Union. Such reform must look at increasing the safety and security of EU citizens while at the same time providing trade facilitation to legitimate trade.

…the safety and security of EU citizens while at the same time providing trade facilitation to legitimate trade. Both objectives need to be achieved taking into account the realities of today’s supply chain as well as the availability of new technologies. We strongly believe that future customs legislation should maximize both compliance and facilitation for legitimate trade by providing clear rules supported by smart technology, based on the realities of today’s and tomorrow’s supply chain.

…by providing clear rules supported by smart technology, based on the realities of today’s and tomorrow’s supply chain. In order to do so, we call for: - a review of the AEO status – providing more tangible benefits to holders of the AEO status, including green lanes and mutual recognition; - re-assessing the current ‘de minimis’ threshold of 150 Euro, based on academic data; - expanding the IOSS scheme to more participants and increasing the current threshold; - moving to a systemic control system rather than a transactional one at the border; - expanding the use of the Single Trader Interface to all customs declarations – which allows declarants to submit declarations to one customs interface, rather than submitting data to customs interfaces of every single Member State; - implementing centralized import and export clearance according to the timelines established in the UCC work…

…for customs and other government agencies controls, allowing to process shipments through an electronic one stop shop. The EEA also wishes to emphasize that rules should be applicable to all similar economic operators – and that there should be no exceptions that could lead to competitive disadvantages for one industry. 8. We have summarized the recommendations of the Wise Persons Group, and have provided our position on each of the statements, which you will find below.

…of the Wise Persons Group, and have provided our position on each of the statements, which you will find below. The European Express Association · Rue de la Science 41 · B-1040 Brussels · Belgium Tel: +32 2 234 68 60 · Email: [email protected] · Web: www.euroexpress.org Recommendation 1: The European Commission should by the end of 2022 table a package of reform proposals, including of the Union Customs Code, implementing the recommendations contained in this report, relating to processes, responsibilities and liabilities, and governance of the European Customs Union. EEA position on Recommendation 1: The European Union needs to take a new approach, ensuring customs legislation is fit for today’s and tomorrow’s supply chain, instead of yesterday’s.

…a new approach, ensuring customs legislation is fit for today’s and tomorrow’s supply chain, instead of yesterday’s. In order to make the customs union effective, recommendations in terms of governance, legislative and process improvements should be considered. Customs rules should be easy to understand, easy to apply and easy to control. The aim of the Union Customs Code was to: - Streamline customs legislation and procedures - Offer greater legal certainty and uniformity to businesses - Increase clarity for customs officials throughout the EU - Simplify customs rules and procedures and facilitate more efficient customs transactions in line with modern-day needs The opposite has happened. Economic operators are facing a significant increase of rules and thousands of pages of base acts, implementing acts, delegated acts and transitional delegated acts.

…of rules and thousands of pages of base acts, implementing acts, delegated acts and transitional delegated acts. The current legislative framework is not fit for purpose. Any new legislation should seize the potential of e-commerce: the opportunities still presented by e- commerce for businesses and consumers are significant, as online retail continues to grow rapidly. The EEA agrees with the reform, we however perceive the timeline as potentially unrealistic, which puts the preparation of the most suitable and appropriate rules at risk. Reform of the legal requirements should take into account the needs of the current international trade of goods, and not only fit to transitional types of businesses. We recommend that proposals would be sufficiently discussed and negotiated with all stakeholders involved in applying and maintaining the rules, including trade.

…discussed and negotiated with all stakeholders involved in applying and maintaining the rules, including trade. We have 6 months left before the established deadline for the package, until now trade has not received any information on the plans, is not in the position to assess and comment the proposals, timelines, milestones, etc. We propose that the Commission takes the required time to develop proposals in order for the proposals to be based on detailed public assessments and through thorough consultation with trade and other relevant stakeholders. We trust the Commission considers the feedback received in one Trade Contact Group meeting as insufficient feedback for proper consultation, as to date, we have not received any proposals from the Commission.

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Brussels, 16 October 2023 EEA Position on the Reform of the Union Customs Code Introduction EEA would like to express our appreciation for the proposals presented by the European Commission on 17 May 2023, which outline significant reforms to the Union Customs Code and related legislation. These reforms aim to address the shortcomings of the current legislation and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of customs procedures within the European Union (EU). In particular, the proposal introduces the European Customs Authority, the EU Customs Data Hub, and the Trust and Check Trader status. We commend the Commission for its dedication to enhancing customs operations and believe that these reforms could contribute to a more seamless and secure trade environment. EEA would like to welcome the opportunity to comment on the proposal on the reform of the EU Customs Union.

EEA would like to welcome the opportunity to comment on the proposal on the reform of the EU Customs Union. We consider that the input from the express industry is not only valuable but critical. As we continue to closely cooperate on the IT developments under the current Union Customs Code and the related Work Program, it is equally important for EEA to contribute at the earliest possible time to the fundamental and wide-ranging customs reform that will shape the legislative framework and functioning of the EU Customs Union in the decades to come. Along these lines, we would like to formally express our willingness and readiness to work with the EU institutions and the EU Member States to ensure a balanced and successful customs reform. We hope that this will be recognized and EEA will become a strategic partner in the upcoming negotiations. 1.

…reform. We hope that this will be recognized and EEA will become a strategic partner in the upcoming negotiations. 1. Trust and Check Trader We acknowledge that the proposal contains positive elements that can greatly benefit trade. The concept of Trust and Check Trader (T&C Trader) aligns with existing concepts such as Authorized Economic Operators (AEO), Entry into the Declarants Record, self-assessment, and centralized clearance, already introduced with the Modernized Customs Code. This alignment is crucial for creating a consistent and coherent customs framework that promotes efficiency and reduces administrative burdens for traders.

…a consistent and coherent customs framework that promotes efficiency and reduces administrative burdens for traders. We appreciate the effort to integrate these concepts into the reform package, we however encourage the legislator to actively work with trade through Implementing and Delegated Acts to ensure that the Trust and Check Trader will be a status that can be easily obtained and maintained by SMEs. We also emphasize that Member States should apply the same authorization and control criteria, in order to ensure a fair level playing field for all legitimate economic operators. The European Express Association · Rue de la Science 41 · B-1040 Brussels · Belgium Tel: +32 2 234 68 60 · Email: [email protected] · Web: www.euroexpress.org Page | 1 Ref. Ares(2023)7379941 - 30/10/2023 The T&C Traders concept is an important step-up in a customs-to-business partnership arrangement.

- 30/10/2023 The T&C Traders concept is an important step-up in a customs-to-business partnership arrangement. However, further to the current text of the Proposal, only importers or exporters can have access to the newly established status and the related facilitation measures. Other actors of the supply chain should act as importers or exporters in order to be able to apply for the T&C Trader status (e.g. carrier). An express carrier, being in the role of a customs representative, will be able to enjoy the T&C Trader benefits only under a limited number of scenarios. A customs representative having T&C Trader status can only be recognized as such when acting as an indirect customs representative, considered to be the exporter or importer.

…be recognized as such when acting as an indirect customs representative, considered to be the exporter or importer. On the other hand, when acting as a direct customs representative, the customs representative may apply T&C Trader benefits only if the represented person also has a T&C Trader status. EEA strongly believes that the carrier in its own role and with the associated tasks and responsibilities, plays a sufficiently important role in the supply chain to be able to apply for the T&C Trader status and benefit from the simplification provided for, also without being considered as importer or exporter. EEA would like to highlight as well, that with the new concept of the T&C Trader status, sunsetting the AEO Simplification status and only keeping the AEO Safety and Security status, traders will be faced with an ‘all or nothing’ situation.

…status and only keeping the AEO Safety and Security status, traders will be faced with an ‘all or nothing’ situation. EEA requests to consider keeping the AEO Simplification status and create the T&C Trader status on the top of the existing possibilities. We also emphasize the need to include robust safeguards for the T&C Trader status to prevent cybersecurity risks from happening which may compromise the whole system itself and threaten operators’ systems as well. 2. Customs Representation and ownership of responsibilities of the different actors in the supply chain It is particularly unfortunate for the express industry to see that the reform does not provide any facilitation on the requirement to arrange for each and every shipment an empowerment when acting as a direct or indirect customs representative.

…to arrange for each and every shipment an empowerment when acting as a direct or indirect customs representative. The reform should take a greater leap towards creating future-proof systematic empowerment rules that can alleviate one of the main bottlenecks the express industry has endured for years. Simply put, our proposal is to remove the obligation of the formal empowerment for express consignments transported with single transport contract on the condition that carriers have the instructions to arrange door-to-door service and that should be enough as a deemed or as an implicit agreement.

…the instructions to arrange door-to-door service and that should be enough as a deemed or as an implicit agreement. EEA would like to emphasize the need to reconsider the rules on the customs representative’s empowerment and drive the national practices in one direction, to ensure a level playing field for the different actors in the supply chain and taking into account the reality of the volumes and the achievable measures to handle them. In addition to the rules on empowerment, the EEA would like to highlight that the indirect representation holds significant risks for declarants/importers/exporters, particularly in view of new (non-fiscal) legislation on CBAM, deforestation, forced labour.

…particularly in view of new (non-fiscal) legislation on CBAM, deforestation, forced labour. The European Express Association · Rue de la Science 41 · B-1040 Brussels · Belgium Tel: +32 2 234 68 60 · Email: [email protected] · Web: www.euroexpress.org Page | 2 Over the past years, we have seen a dramatic increase of the liabilities imposed on customs and supply chain intermediaries in connection with tasks which are often beyond their control. This trend translates into a disproportionate transfer of financial and non-financial risks and increases the administrative burden to legitimate operators. It is important to conduct a thorough risk assessment and develop appropriate safeguards to protect the interests of logistics service providers.

…a thorough risk assessment and develop appropriate safeguards to protect the interests of logistics service providers. Clear guidelines, transparency, and accountability should be established to ensure that indirect representation does not create unnecessary risks or disadvantages for businesses. A balanced approach that safeguards both trade facilitation and compliance is essential. EEA underlines the need to reassess the statement of the Wise Person groups, namely “to collect data from those who have information which can be used to validate declaration” and “private actors must provide data, with costs for non-compliance”. Ownership of data and the linked responsibility is a key element in the changed environment.

…costs for non-compliance”. Ownership of data and the linked responsibility is a key element in the changed environment. The new approach to provide information by the relevant source and link the responsibility to that provider results in a situation where carriers in their role can only cover limited responsibility of the information they are generating. In the role of the customs representative, information is provided to the representative, who however can only cover limited responsibility, namely on the fiscal risk, but not on the non-fiscal part of the relevant requirements. For bridging the gap EEA proposes to consider enabling the carrier to act as Data Provider, without the binding nature of the customs representation nor the carrier as the proposal currently limits.

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originalus šaltinis (PDF) ↗