Articles

News in week 19: Five EU countries sign an agreement on uniform customs control measures related to sanctions against Russia and Belarus; Lithuania - in 2023, goods to/from Russia or Belarus … were not released in 42,660 cases; derogation from the rules of preferential origin granted to Cabo Verde for certain fishery products; imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products originating in Indonesia - countervailing duties extended to Taiwan, Türkiye and Vietnam, and also anti-dumping duties extended to Taiwan and Vietnam; countervailing measures concerning imports of biodiesel from China and the United Kingdom - termination of the investigation; WCO Global AEO Conference; updated version of WCO Risk Management Compendium.

This article continues the overview of certain aspects of the EU Customs Reform. In a previous article, the author described why and how the Commission intends to impose the obligations for importing … goods on a single person, the importer in three variants: the regular importer, the deemed importer (for e-commerce) and the indirect customs representative representing both types of importers. In this article, the author focuses on the proposed import procedure, which consists of several consecutive steps.

News in week 17: 20th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement; directive on criminal penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures; resolution on the prohibition of products made with … forced labour; customs valuation and the meaning of 'in substantially the same quantity'; changes to tariff quotas following the EU's FTA with New Zealand; new representative import prices for certain poultry meat from Brazil; impending expiry of anti-dumping duty on imports of persulphates from China; infringement proceedings against Spain for failure to collect import duties on textile products; South Africa challenges the EU's prohibition on the importation of citrus fruit; World Intellectual Property Day highlights the link between IPRs and SDGs; Commission proposed Association Agreement with Andorra and San Marino to the Council; documents for non-commercial movement of certain pets; Irish Customs - many export declarations have not been correctly closed out.

Continuing a series of articles on the main legal aspects of the proposed EU customs reform, the author focuses on a key player in the import process: the importer. The Commission proposal is … based on a new vision of this actor and his responsibilities. This article describes and analyses the three variants under this concept: the basic rules for importers, the special rules for deemed importers, and the rules for indirect customs representatives who are treated as the (deemed) importer. Furthermore, it addresses the question of what happens when the wrong person has been named as an importer by an actor in the supply chain or a customs representative.

News in week 13: Classification of goods in the Combined Nomenclature - products made of combinations of paper materials, a van-type vehicle, a part of a pillow, footwear having an upper made … of 100 % wool, and a smart watch; extension of the Union’s tariff quotas for jute and coconut-fibre products; anti-subsidy investigation - mobile access equipment designed for the lifting of persons, originating in China; Transitional CBAM Registry user manual for Declarants, CBAM Quarterly Report structure and sample files; CHED - amended requirements to deduct quantities stated in the customs declaration; amendments of a regulation concerning import of ovine and caprine animals and products derived from these species.

Editors' note: We are starting a series of articles on the most important legal aspects of the proposed EU Customs Reform. This article deals with the concept of 'Trust and Check Trader', an … enhanced version of the 'Authorised Economic Operator' concept. The author describes the relevant part of the Impact Assessment prepared alongside the legislative proposals, the differences of treatment between future Trust and Check Traders and other economic operators, and provides an assessment of the proposed changes.

News in week 8: News at a glance: UCC delegated and implementing acts - amended provisions on customs status, Union transit, etc.; EU adopted 13th package of sanctions against Russia; FAQs 'No … re-export to Russia' clause; updated 'List of common high priority items' (items used in Russian military systems); updated guidance on implementing due diligence to shield against Russia sanctions circumvention; ozone-depleting substances - new rules for import, export, etc.; HFC phase-down - new provisions; PEM Convention - amendments, updated tables specifying cumulation possibilities; 13th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference - European Council conclusions; and more news!

News in week 4. WCO dedicates 2024 to 'Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose'; EU's white paper on export controls and new guidelines on data gathering and processing; uniform … regional restrictive measures implementation in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia; preparation for linking the excise system EMCS to export system AES; FAQs about CBAM; updates to the tariff measures for poultrymeat, open mesh fabrics of glass fibres and mixtures of urea and ammonium nitrate; extension of protective (SPS) measures for bivalve molluscs from Türkiye.

News in week 52: Changes to import duties on certain products from 2024.01.01; changes to tariff quotas (reduced import duties) from 2024.01.01; EU-UK trade - transitional rules of preferential … origin for electric accumulators and electrified vehicles; Anti-Coercion Instrument enters into force - possible new tariffs and trade restrictions in the EU; farewell event for WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya.

News in week 48: Amendment of EU's GSP Regulation; UCC Work Programme 2023 revision; updated UCC Guidance on Special Procedures other than Transit; EU completes ratification of state-of-the-art … trade agreement with New Zealand; Transitional Rules for Ukraine are now in ROSA (Access2Markets); a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of certain polyethylene terephthalate (PET) originating in China; tariff classification of a multifunctional apparatus in a housing with front control buttons, to be installed in the dashboard of a motor vehicle; and more updates!

A recently published EU Official Journal contains a communication in accordance with Article 34(7)(a)(iii) of the Union Customs Code on decisions relating to binding information issued by the … customs authorities of the member states concerning the classification of goods in the customs nomenclature. In this article, we provide an overview of some of the international tariff measures listed in the communication.

Editors’ word: 2024 is the year of the wood dragon (Chinese zodiac sign). How do we classify such a dragon? :-) We can start the discussion with wood and its products, among which we find a dragon … tree* (4407 29), and an old legend says that when a dragon dies, it is reborn as a dragon tree... such an interesting fact in the run-up to the New Year. Despite the importance of dragons in 2024, we won't find anything new about them in next year's Combined Nomenclature. However, we invite you to take a look at the other changes - check for any new developments related to your imports or exports. Thank you to Virginija Dordzikienė for the overview.

News in week 39: Prohibition to import iron and steel product processed in a third country that incorporate iron and steel products originating in Russia enters into force on 30 September - see … Irish Customs notification and explanations; on 1 October, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) enters into application; provisional list of CBAM National Competent Authorities; regulations related to entry of goods into Northern Ireland; the UK inform about world’s first fully digitalised goods shipment; and more updates.

The recent ECJ judgment (July 2023) highlights the obsolescence of the legislative framework established by the Commission in 1996. In theory, the European Union’s blocking statute makes it possible … to protect European companies against laws with extraterritorial reach. However, it appears that its scope and use have not achieved the objective initially set, namely, to neutralize the effects of foreign legislation.

News in week 30: Updated FAQs on sanctions against Russia and Belarus (11th package) concerning luxury goods, customs related matters, imports, purchase and transfer of listed goods and transit … of listed goods via Russia; CJEU clarification regarding amendment of a customs declaration in case excess quantity of goods is discovered after the release of the goods; temporary trade-liberalisation measures supplementing trade concessions applicable to products from Moldova; and more updates.

News in week 22: More trade-related cooperation agreed between the EU and the US in the Trade and Technology Council; WTO dispute panel established to review EU duties on Indonesian steel products; … regulation on tariff cassification of a cooling mat for dogs and cats; anti-dumping duty on imports of rebars originating in Belarus; and more updates!