Logistics professionals highlighted the need to reform the EU Customs Code on Wednesday 26 March at a conference organised by the European Logistics Platform (ELP). They considered the existing system to be too complex and unsuited to current practices. The text is currently being negotiated by the EU Council (see EUROPE 13543/23).
Arno Bijl, customs manager for the Benelux countries at Siemens Energy, reported that many companies are reluctant to register as an ‘Authorised Economic Operator’ (‘AEO’), which means voluntarily meeting a series of criteria and working closely with customs authorities to secure the supply chain and benefit throughout the EU. In his view, the administrative burden is too great and the benefits too few. He mentioned the particular case of small entities that only have to make a few declarations a year.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also face other problems, according to Eva Cartwright, policy officer at CLECAT, the association representing freight transport and logistics professionals. “Even if you have customs expertise within your company, you still need to obtain authorisation to connect to customs software, and that requires a high level of digitalisation that SMEs don’t have”, she stressed. This software is also very expensive.
For his part, Olivier Thouard, Global Customs Leader at CEVA Logistics, fully supports the reform, as complexity is increasing and the number of customs declarations has doubled every year for several years and will continue to rise. However, he believes that the reform should not focus solely on online commerce, but should also protect intermediaries. “In France, most AEOs are logisticians, but they’re not involved in sales and don’t manage the supply chain”, he points out. However, he explained, for example, that if a children’s toy is imported, complies with standards and procedures, but proves fatal to the consumer, it is the importer who is legally responsible and not the manufacturer (see EUROPE 13571/30). He also criticised the lack of harmonisation of criminal laws, which affects the country through which importation takes place.
The professionals unanimously deplored the system set out in the text proposed by the European Commission, which makes indirect representation compulsory. This means that responsibility for imported goods would no longer lie with importers, even those based in the EU, but with the customs representative, whose role is to complete customs formalities on import, export and transit, and who is recognised by the General Administration of Customs and Excise.
MEP Dirk Gotink (EPP, Dutch), rapporteur on customs reform and host of the conference, welcomed the work currently being done in the EU Council, which “will be way beyond what has been presented”. According to a representative of the Polish presidency met on site, the aim is to reach a provisional agreement at the Ecofin Council in June. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)