On 3 September 2026, through a written adoption procedure, the Council of the EU approved the Draft Regulation establishing the Union Customs Code, the European Union Customs Data Centre and the European Union Customs Authority and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.

This decision gives the green light to the fundamental element that forms the backbone of the Customs Reform package, presented by the European Commission on May 17, 2023, which consisted, in addition to the aforementioned new Union Customs Code, of a proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff treatment of distance sales of goods and Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 on the abolition of the duty-free threshold, as well as the Proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards the rules of VAT relating to taxable persons who facilitate distance sales of imported goods.

As the next steps, the European Parliament is expected to approve the final text during this month of September 2026, after which it will be signed and published in the Official Journal of the EU. From July 1, 2028, e-commerce companies will be required to use the new data center to register imports and exports of the EU And, from March 1, 2034, this obligation will be extended to all operators.

With the approval of this regulation, the necessary regulatory elements are put in place for an ambitious reform of the customs framework of the EUThe most comprehensive of its kind in decades, it provides the Union with a more modern set of tools and innovative new instruments to further facilitate global trade, especially in the field of electronic commerce, collect customs duties more efficiently and tighten controls on non-compliant, dangerous or unsafe goods. The aim of all this is to increase the competitiveness of the business sector of EU, while increasing the safety and security of the citizens of the EU.

Without being exhaustive, given the limited length of this document, the fundamental elements of this new Customs Code are briefly described below. EU:

1. New relationship with economic operators

   Centralized dispatch is becoming widespread, so that operators will only be able to deal with the customs office of their establishment.

   The figure of the operator is created trust & check", a reliable operator whose computer systems are accessed by Customs, so that it does not need to submit customs declarations, submitting periodic self-assessments. The criteria and conditions for becoming "trust & check trader" They are based on the criteria of the current Authorised Economic Operator (AEO). This ensures that the trader is transparent to customs authorities by granting them access to their electronic systems to maintain a record of their compliance and the movement of their goods. Transparency comes with certain benefits, in particular, the possibility of self-clearing goods and deferring payment of customs debt.

   Under this scheme, companies that provide comprehensive information on the movement and conformity of their goods, in addition to meeting other strict criteria, will benefit from simplified customs procedures that will save them time and money.

   The most reliable companies will be able to put their goods into circulation within the EU without customs having to intervene at all.

2. Customs Data Center of the EU (Data Hub)

   The EU Customs Data Centre presents a new data paradigm that integrates and gradually replaces the current 27 national customs IT systems with a centralized cloud-based system.

   This future Customs Data Center of the EU It will allow, in a centrally developed environment, the redefinition and collection of strictly customs data, but also data related to commercial operations and the supply chain logistics, enabling customs supervision and risk analysis, and also, under certain circumstances, sharing this data with different authorities involved in the customs process, including those prosecuting fraud.

3. Creation of a European Customs Authority (EUCA)

   The regulations create a new decentralized customs agency of the EU, called the Customs Authority of the EU (EUCA) which will coordinate the governance of the Customs Union.

   The Customs Authority of the EU will analyze the constantly updated import and export data stored in the new Customs Data Center of the EU. This allows for an initial global and strategic analysis of risk management through the use of a central platform where importers and exporters can interact with customs authorities. EU. This will help Member States to identify the highest risk cargo whose inspection should be a priority.

   The Authority, through the management of the "Data Hub"It will help establish priority areas for control and risk criteria, and coordinate crisis management at the scale of the EU in the customs field. In its governance functions for the Customs Union, it will also be responsible for coordinating cooperation with other authorities.

   The EUCA It will be headquartered in Lille (France) and will become operational in 2027.

4. E-commerce

   The updated Union Customs Code will enable more effective management of the exponential increase in electronic commerce.

   Third-country e-commerce platforms will be considered the importers of the goods they bring into the EU for sale and, therefore, it will be them—and not the end consumer of the EU— those responsible for ensuring that all customs formalities and customs duty payments are carried out.

   The legislation also includes a new system of penalties for e-commerce operators who fail to meet their customs obligations, such as ensuring compliance with the rules of the EU and the appropriate fees are paid. The most serious cases of non-compliance can result in fines of up to 6% of the company's annual import value of goods in the previous year, the removal of certain customs privileges, and even restrictions on access to online platforms.

   Finally, to help offset the increased costs of tracking the growing number of small parcels entering the EU Due to e-commerce, a processing fee will be introduced at the scale of the EU for small packages. The Commission will set the amount of the fee before Member States begin to apply it.

   The processing fee is independent of the Council's previous decision to abolish the customs duty exemption that has been applied to imports valued at less than 150 euros.

In conclusion, we can affirm that with the approval of the regulations on the new Customs Code of the EU The necessary regulatory frameworks are introduced to meet the ambitious objectives set by the so-called Customs Reform package. Once this framework is established, the equally ambitious task of its actual implementation remains, which must be developed in the coming years.