Articles

In 2023, Cote d’Ivoire introduced a new and modern system of advance customs rulings. This development followed two workshops organised in Cote d’Ivoire in May 2023 with the German Alliance for … Trade Facilitation and under the aegis of the EU-WCO Programme for the Harmonized System in Africa funded by the EU . The workshops were part of a wider capacity-building programme to support Cote d’Ivoire in meeting its WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement obligations - in particular, Article 3 of the TFA which requires signatory parties to provide an option to apply or advance rulings on origin and classification.

News in week 23: EORI number-related updates and practical challenges; EU’s customs pre-arrival safety and security system ICS2 is live for maritime and inland waterway transport; Carbon Border … Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) updated/new publications; tariff-rate quotas for certain agricultural products from Ukraine; 60,4 % anti-dumping duty on imports of steel ropes and cables from China, Morocco and Korea; registration of titanium dioxide from China for anti-dumping purposes; registration of certain alcohol from China for anti-dumping purposes, estimated tariff rate 156,5%; notice of the impending expiry of anti-dumping on imports of steel road wheels; insights from the third meeting of the WCO Data Innovation Hub; conference on the accession of Azerbaijan to the WTO.

Recently, trade relations between Turkey and Israel have been shaky. Although Turkey and Israel have had a free trade agreement for many years, Turkey announced that it would stop all trade with … Israel, to which Israel responded that it intended to abolish the free trade agreement and also impose additional 100% tariffs on imports from Turkey. This crisis will not only affect the two parties, but possibly also EU traders.

The replacement of the AEO with a new designation of "Trust and Check Trader", as proposed under the EU customs reform, is not just a change of name. The European Commission is introducing with … this concept both additional requirements and new restrictions in comparison to the current AEO facilitations, as well as removing almost all existing facilitations for non-AEOs. Since under the EU Customs Reform proposal all responsibility for fiscal and nonfiscal compliance will lie with importers and exporters, AEOs who currently benefit from customs simplifications but are not importers or exporters (indirect customs representatives will be treated as such), but rather carriers, warehouse keepers or direct customs representatives, will lose their privileged status as trustworthy economic operator. In this article, the author explains the proposed rules for T&C and the negative consequences for economic operators who will lose this status, as well as the loss of facilitations currently available for economic operators without AEO status.

The EU communication on tariff classification is of interest to anyone using or considering using Binding Tariff Information (BTI) decisions, as well as anyone interested in the correct classification … of goods. Let's take a look at some of the international measures published in the latest communication that concern the classification of smartwatches, robots, food supplements, dental products, festive articles, parts and accessories and a conservatory (garden room).

The previous article discussed the legal basis for the customs valuation of certain types of fruit and vegetables and the verification of the accuracy of such valuation. This article focuses … on a specific case considered by the Bulgarian courts and subsequently referred to the Court of Justice of the EU. The Court of Justice of the EU has issued a preliminary ruling, which should bring more clarity for the procedures related to customs valuation of fruit and vegetables imported into the EU.

News at a glance: Phase 5 of the Common Transit Procedure has been successfully launched; progress in the transposition of certain provisions of the Union Customs Code into the Customs Code of … Ukraine; customs authorities have resumed documentary inspections for customs compliance, which have been suspended since 24 February 2022; a new version of the automated customs risk analysis system based on artificial intelligence has been launched.

Authors of the article speak about their personal experiences regarding the early days of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). David Savage, based in Ireland, discusses the challenges … encountered by importers in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, while Svitlana Siurik as a trade compliance professional, based in Belgium, recounts her experiences from the perspective of a large multinational company.

This article is the first, introductory part of the article based on the judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). This judgment concerns the customs valuation of certain types of fruit … and vegetables in the EU, which has its own peculiarities compared to the valuation of other goods. Therefore, in this article, the author explains these peculiarities of the customs valuation mechanism and in the second part, the judgment itself is reviewed.

News in week 22: Updated UCC guidance documents on customs debt; restrictive measures in view of the situation in Russia on equipment which might be used for internal repression; higher tariffs … on Russian and Belarusian grain products; the list of sanctioned persons has been expanded to include more persons supporting Russia's war in Ukraine; additional trade preferences for Ukrainian products; guidance document on CBAM implementation for importers of goods into the EU; EU and Australia agreement on sustainable critical and strategic minerals; Council gives its final approval to the ecodesign regulation; EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement - final step towards implementation; additional trade preferences for products from Moldova; imposition of an anti-dumping duty on tubes and pipes from China; correction of the regulation imposing an anti-dumping duty on fasteners from China; revision of the expiry date of the anti-dumping measures on aluminium foil from China; EU requests WTO consultation on Colombia’s compliance in frozen fries dispute; European Economic Area Agreement - the 30th anniversary of its entry into force; and more news!

News at a glance: Duty suspension window for 2024; proposed changes to the current customs legislation; deadline for switching to CDS for exports; new inbound border checks and a Common User … Charge for SPS goods introduced; updated notice - bicycle parts relief under end-use; maps of the Forth Green Freeport tax site; excise duty hydrocarbon oils rates for road fuel gasses; temporary removal of tariffs for cut flowers; Belarus import sanctions; further sanctions on Iran; UK Government public consultation on CBAM; data tables on the number of customs declarants and declarations in 2023; AEO status holders - 1222 companies currently on the list; updated guidance on attending the Sevington inland border facility.

An Israeli magistrate court recently ruled on the classification of industrial robots used to lift goods in logistics warehouses. The Court rejected the customs' position and ruled in favour … of the importer. Both parties submitted decisions from foreign customs authorities and WCO decisions supporting their position and the Court found the importer's references more convincing. In this context, the question arises as to whether or not the decisions of foreign customs authorities are relevant in court.

The new, revised Pan European Mediterranean (PEM) rules of origin will enter into force on 1 January 2025 for all parties of the PEM Convention. Traders importing and exporting within the PEM … origin cumulation zone will be able to use the new, more business-friendly and flexible rules. Even when trading with countries that have not opted to use transitional rules.

Did you know that customs duties are one of the European Union's own resources? Therefore, when you challenge customs decisions to calculate customs duties, you are essentially challenging EU … revenue. In this overview of a recent judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union, we answer the question of whether, in the event of a dispute with customs, the collection of import duties (customs duties and VAT) is suspended until the outcome of the proceedings is known.

Every year since 2003, the European Commission has published its annual report on Safety Gate, the European Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products. The reports cover the alerts identified … during the year and the measures taken by countries to eliminate or minimise the risks. It is worth noting that this system covers not only EU Member States, but also Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. In March, the annual report was published for 2023, with a record number of notifications, which emphasises the need to further mobilise efforts and improve tools to improve the safety of goods entering the European market. An important new tool – The General Product Safety Regulation - is discussed in this article.

Last year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued a judgment on interpreting and clarifying the provisions of the Community Customs Code. This article seeks to explore the particular … field of customs law within the EU, focusing on the rulings of the ECJ on customs debt, debtors' obligations and notification procedures. Through an examination of the case and its implications, the author's aim is to provide insights into the practical implications of the case for businesses and regulators alike operating under the current legislation.