Despite considerable progress on the part of Member States, some have encountered difficulties with the digital implementation of the Union Customs Code, according to a European Commission report published on Thursday 2 October.
The Member States’ shared dedication led to significant advancements in the implementation programme in 2024, with successful rollouts of the Guarantee Management System, the third version of the Import Control System (ICS2), the first phase of the ‘Proof of Union Status’ project and the fifth phase of the ‘New Computerised Transit System’. However, some Member States continue to experience difficulties in meeting certain project deadlines, particularly those relating to imports and exports.
As a result, delays experienced by some Member States have a negative impact on the other stakeholders, limiting the benefits and causing additional costs for the Commission, other Member States and European businesses.
The Commission believes that it remains essential for all stakeholders to sustain their efforts and dedicate the necessary resources to meet the final 2025 deadline. Otherwise, further delays will continue to have repercussions on other Member States and will disrupt the consistent operational framework intended to benefit all economic operators uniformly. This implies prolonged and intensified demands on resources for additional conformance testing, coordination, and extended system maintenance on the side of the Commission, Member States and economic operators.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/iqp (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)