Customs status of goods of the Union - POUS system

The electronic system for proof of the status of Union goods – POUS, allows economic operators to obtain electronically proof of the customs status of Union goods by requesting a visa for the proof or by requesting its registration in the case of authorised issuers of proof of status.

This trans-European system is used to store, manage and retrieve evidence of Union status in the form of T2L/F and customs manifests for goods (issued by an unauthorised issuer). Since the implementation of the customs manifest for goods must be linked to the European Maritime Single Window, this part of the project will be covered in phase 2.

The POUS system is therefore divided into two phases:

• Implementation of the T2L(F) electronic document with all the necessary functionalities (in production on 16/01/2024);
• Implementation of the Customs Merchandise Manifest (CGM), including information exchange with the European Maritime Single Window environment (in production in 2025).

The date set for the closure of the national electronic T2L/F system is February 29, 2024.

The period of coexistence during which both systems can be used to obtain proof of the Union's customs status will be from 16 January 2024 to 29 February 2024.

Any person established in the Customs Territory of the Union (TAU) who meets the following:

• Absence of serious or repeated violations of customs legislation and tax regulations
• Demonstration of a high level of control over its operations and the flow of goods, which allows for the correct performance of customs controls

It may be authorized to issue:

• T2L/F without having to apply for a visa
• The customs manifest of the goods without having to request a visa and registration of proof from the competent customs

According to article 199 of the Implementing Regulation ( EU ) 2015/2447 (RE), the following means may be used to prove the customs status of Union goods:

1. Data from the transit declaration of goods included in the internal transit regime.
2. T2L or T2LF data
3. The customs manifest of goods
4. The invoice or transport document for goods with a value of less than 15,000 euros
5. The fishing logbook, landing declaration, transhipment declaration and vessel monitoring system data, as appropriate
6. Proof of status in notebooks TIR , ATA or in forms 302
7. Registration plates and registration documents for motor vehicles registered in a Member State
8. A Union customs declaration of status for goods of the Union for packages, containers, pallets and similar items (other than containers) returning empty from other Member States, provided that there is no doubt as to their status
9. A declaration of the customs status of Union goods carried by travellers (goods not intended for commercial purposes) shall suffice, unless there is any doubt.
10. The excise duty declaration data referred to in Articles 21, 26 and 34 of Council Directive 2008/118/EC

The T2L/F data used as a basis for establishing the customs status of the goods may only be used for the first presentation of the goods.

In cases where the T2L/F is used for only part of the goods on the occasion of their first presentation, a new proof of status must be provided for the remaining part of the goods.

As a general rule, T2L/F documents are valid for ninety days from the date of registration or, when in accordance with article 128 of the Delegated Regulation there is no obligation to register the customs manifest of goods due to having an authorisation from an authorised issuer of proof of status, from the date of its establishment.

However, at the request of the person concerned and for duly justified reasons, customs may set a longer period of validity for the test.

The POUS system does not provide for the possibility of indirect registration in the national system of T2L/F issued/registered in the POUS central repository by another Member State.

However, on a provisional basis, in cases where the electronic system of the Member State issuing the T2L/F is unavailable, the data of these documents may be indirectly entered into the national electronic system.

Its use as proof of the Union Statute will be permitted until Phase 2 of the POUS system goes into production . U Once this phase goes into production, the shipping company manifest may no longer be used as proof of the customs status of Union goods

They can continue to be processed in the destination country as they were before the implementation of the POUS system, since these copies have not been migrated to the central POUS repository.

In the case of Spain, the indirect registration system can continue to be used to include them in the electronic system of the AEAT and then proceed to date them.

As of March 1, the Export system, AES P1, may be used exclusively in the following cases:

• Exports to Andorra for the generation of the T2L document.
• Exchanges between the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands with the Canary Islands and vice versa for the generation of the T2LF document.

In exchanges other than those mentioned above, the POUS system will be the only one enabled to process requests for registration and/or endorsement of proof of status as Union goods.

In these exchanges, you can choose any of the following alternatives:

• Using the POUS system to apply for T2LF registration and/or visa, using the national indicator when sending said application (NationalOnlyRequest tag with value 1)
• Use of the AESP1 export system, including the code C620 in the AESP1 shipping declaration data element “supporting documents”.

Customs declarations in the framework of trade with special tax territories are included in article 134 of Commission Delegated Regulation EU 2013/2446 (DA), which establishes the mutatis mutandi application of chapters 2 and 3 of Title VIII of the Customs Code. of the Union, chapters relating to exit formalities and export and re-export.  

Therefore, these exchanges generally require the presentation of a SAD of expedition. In the event that the conditions set out in Appendix XVI of the SAD Resolution “Simplifications in national trade of community goods with the Canary Islands” are met, no SAD will be required for issuance in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned Appendix.

In these exchanges, the procedure described in the aforementioned Appendix may continue to be used to obtain the T2LF, and the intention to use the simplified procedure must be included in the invoice or other commercial or transport document, including the expression “T2LF – Merchandise without shipping declaration”.

This document will act as a shipping/departure document and as proof of the Union merchandise status.

The POUS system is the only system enabled to obtain the registration and/or endorsement of proof of status of Union goods in these exchanges.

Customs declarations in the framework of trade with special tax territories are included in article 134 of Commission Delegated Regulation EU 2013/2446 (DA), which establishes the mutatis mutandi application of chapters 2 and 3 of Title VIII of the Customs Code. of the Union, chapters relating to exit formalities and export and re-export. 

Therefore, these exchanges require the presentation of a SAD of expedition. In these cases, the code C620 will not be included in the data element of the AESP1 dispatch declaration “supporting documents”.

1. Exchanges between the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands with the Canary Islands and vice versa:
   • Option a): through the POUS system
   • Option b): through the AESP1 shipping declaration
   • Option c): through the procedure described in Appendix XVI DUA Resolution
2. Exchanges between the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands with special tax territories (other than the Canary Islands):
   • Registration and visa, or registration only in the case of an authorized issuer of proof of customs status, exclusively through the POUS system.
3. Exchanges between the Canary Islands and special tax territories (other than the Canary Islands):
   • Registration and visa, or registration only in the case of an authorized issuer of proof of customs status, exclusively through the POUS system.

According to current customs regulations, data in T2L/T2LF documents cannot be modified or cancelled.

In those situations where at the time of applying for a visa and/or registering proof of status, definitive data is not available (including, but not limited to, bulk goods), the following may be done:

• Apply for the visa and/or registration of proof of status once they have the final data, or
• Apply for a visa and/or registration of proof of status with the provisional data available to you, and in this case you must send a new visa and/or registration application with the final data.