Journal

News in week 4: International Customs Day 2022; UCC Work Programme Progress Report 2021 on progress in developing electronic systems; EU refers China to WTO following its trade restrictions on … Lithuania; EU challenges Egyptian import restrictions at the WTO; anti-dumping duty on imports of acesulfame potassium, and certain tube and pipe fittings, of iron or steel; and more news!

As future specialists start learning how to fill in the customs declaration, several questions often arise: are the ‘customs declaration’ and the ‘Single Administrative Document’ two names for … the same declaration? Why do they have to learn to fill in both the SAD boxes and the data elements? How do they relate to each other? Let us answer those questions.

Customs declaration is defined as an act whereby a person indicates a wish to place goods under a given customs procedure. The data you need to provide to customs depends on the customs procedure … you choose. Therefore, it is appropriate to start analysing the completion of the declaration from the customs procedure. This is the data element ‘1/1 Procedure’ of the electronic declaration or box 37 'Procedure' of the paper-based declaration, that is, the Single Administrative Document (SAD). In the future, the data element ‘1/1 Procedure’ will be replaced by two ten-digit data element codes: ‘1109001000 Requested procedure’ and ‘1109002000 Previous procedure’.

To provide proper customs information, an importer needs knowledge. Online resources make acquiring it easier than it used to be. We overview online resources available in Canada for tariff classification, … adjustments to transaction value, the origin of goods, commercial invoice, customs accounting declaration, calculation of duties and GST. This information is also useful for European (and other) exporters who sell their goods to Canada and want to know more about the import requirements of the country of destination.

News in international trade at a glance: the duty-free limit for parcels has been raised to 150 Eur; the government announced an ambitious plan - five new FTAs; imports of some kinds of cheese … subject to safeguard investigation; anti-dumping duty on imports of potato starch, wood panels and thermal insulation materials; abolition of excise stamps on certain types of alcoholic beverages.

The article highlights the trends in Europe regarding the application of electronic CMR consignment notes (e-CMR). Which countries use the e-CMR? Why other countries do not? What are the benefits … of using e-CMR for import, export and transit of goods?

The Court of Justice of the EU has interpreted for the first time the Blocking Regulation. The ruling confirms that it is possible to terminate contracts with a US designated person without providing … reasons. However, in civil proceedings it is for the EU party to prove that, when it sought to terminate a contract, it did not seek to comply with US sanctions in the absence of an authorisation by the European Commission.

Point of view on these aspects of trade, customs and career: Don’t just trade, provide global service. As a trader, respond positively to the role Customs plays within global trade. Six points … to consider when planning your career as a customs advisor.

Mark Neville is the author of a book on International Trade Laws of the US and is working on a new book on customs valuation. In an interview, Mark kindly shares information about the books and … his philosophy of writing a book or an article.

India has more than 20 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in place and is negotiating FTAs with many new trade partners. One of the important ongoing negotiations is the India-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership … (ETP). What opportunities do FTAs open for businesses and what could be expected from the India-UK ETP?

Importer’s questions: Does an importer have the possibility to learn the transaction values of identical or similar goods imported by other EU importers? How do customs apply those values at … the time of customs clearance? In order to answer these questions, let’s take a look at a customs information system (IS) of an EU member state, where the customs valuation-related data are stored, and at the rules and the practice of using the data.

Importers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are often unaware of trade defence instruments (TDIs) and face the consequences of newly introduced measures unprepared, thus incurring … unforeseen costs. Is it possible to prepare for this and thus, albeit partially, manage the risks associated with the introduction of TDIs? One mean to manage such risks would be regular monitoring of the regulatory environment. Of course, this requires resources, but it is equally important to know the process and deadlines for setting the TDI, as well as why different sizes of measures apply to the same product imported from the same non-EU country and where to find the necessary information. Thus, this is to be discussed in the article.

The newly released book “Cross-Border Logistics Operations: Effective trade facilitation and border management” discusses the role of customs and other border agencies within the wider context … of logistics and supply chain management. We invite you to read an excerpt from the book on extensive compliance requirements and to watch the interview with the author Prof. Dr. Andrew Grainger.

The first edition of the “Textbook of European Customs Law” was published 30 years ago. This year, the 10th edition was released. We talk to co-author Prof. Dr. Hans-Michael Wolffgang about the … book, studies and why businesses should invest in the customs education of their employees.

Customs agents (brokers) play a significant role as intermediaries between importers/ exporters and customs. Dr. Momchil Antov wrote a book on the topic of customs representation. We talk to … Mr. Antov about the book, customs developments in Bulgaria and what aspects should traders consider when hiring a customs broker.

The new version of the Combined Nomenclature, applicable as of 1 January 2022, was adopted by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1832 of 21 October 2021. We review the most important … amendments, of which there are many.