As announced in the September action plan on modernisation of the Customs Union (see EUROPE 12569/4), on Wednesday 28 October, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal to establish an “EU Single Window” for customs.
In addition to a customs declaration, some goods entering the EU have to undergo multiple regulatory formalities with different authorities — in particular in the field of health, safety, environment, agriculture, fisheries, international heritage and market surveillance — a procedure that is often cumbersome and time-consuming for both businesses and authorities alike.
The proposed one-stop-shop will allow businesses to complete all of the border formalities on a single portal in a given Member State, explained the Commission. Customs and other authorities will then be able to automatically check that the goods in question comply with European requirements and that all necessary formalities have been completed.
The Commission estimates that, as a result of to this initiative, EU businesses could save up to €690 million in customs formalities in the first seven years of gradual implementation and between €140 million and €200 million per subsequent year.
“This initiative is also important for EU trade, because it puts our commitments under the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement into effect”, said Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, at a press conference.
The agreement requires the parties to establish or maintain a single window that allows traders to submit documentation and data requirements for the import, export or transit of goods via a single entry point to participating authorities or agencies.
The Commission’s proposal is only the first step in the creation of this window, which will be gradually implemented over the coming ten years. More specifically, it establishes a legal basis to make it mandatory to use the existing pilot project ‘EU CSW-CERTEX’ in all Member States.
The Member States will first have to set up national single window portals that will allow businesses to load information relating to the goods they bring into, or take out of, the EU. These national portals will then be interconnected via the ‘EU CSW-CERTEX’ so that all of the competent authorities can access the relevant data.
The annex to the proposal containsthe list of EU non-customs formalities required for international trade in goods that will be integrated into the EU Single Window, a process that will be gradually implemented until 3 March 2025.
All costs related to the development, integration and operation of the ‘EU CSW-CERTEX’ system, including any interfaces with EU non-customs systems, shall be borne by the Commission, while Member States will have to bear any costs related to interfaces with national single window customs portals.
The funds allocated to this legislative proposal are covered by the budget for the customs programme as proposed by the European Commission in 2018 for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The effective implementation of this initiative will nevertheless depend on sufficient resources being made available at the end of the negotiations taking place on the 2021–2027 MFF, says the Commission.
See the proposal for a Regulation: https://bit.ly/3jEqvYF (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)