Articles

News in brief: safety and security declarations, reduced data set and Single Window delayed. UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) consultation response and plastic packaging tax consultation … response published. Two new Tariff notices issued. New guidance on internal market movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. New guidance on preventing Russian export control and sanctions evasion. Trade remedies notices: registration of imports of biodiesel originating from China. Trade remedies notices: registration of imports of certain engine oils and hydraulic fluids from Lithuania and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Tobacco Duty: changes to rates from 30 October 2024. Postponement of the Tariff Data Structure – Autonomous Suspensions.

News in week 44: Combined Nomenclature 2025; WCO exploratory study on the possible strategic review of the HS; definitive countervailing duties on imports of electric vehicles; initiation of … an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of choline chloride; EU-Colombia, Peru trade agreement - next step; CBAM updated documents; Commission opens formal proceedings against Temu.

Everyone knows how crucial accurate customs classification is to global trade compliance. In this article, the author explores the importance of accurate data in customs classification, which … data matters, and how to trust the data you are working with. She also explores the evolving role that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play in assigning tariff codes now and potentially in the future.

The topic of sanctions is of particular importance in EU Customs Law, as sanctions are relevant tools for ensuring the proper enforcement of the latter in EU Member States. In this regard, the … Proposal of 17 May 2023 for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, highlights the negative effects of the lack of harmonization in terms of customs sanctions. It is emphasized therein that customs penalties vary greatly across Member States and are subject to evolution over time; in addition, the significant divergences between Member States in the application of sanctions against breaches of customs legislation can lead to a distortion of competition, loopholes and “customs shopping”.

This article talks about the meaning of “ex” before commodity codes listed under Annex I of the EU Deforestation Regulation. With confusion around the interpretation of these codes, it’s one … of the points that would need to be clarified before the Regulation can be implemented.

Customs valuation disputes are very common worldwide. In Israel, valuation disputes concerning foodstuff supervision costs were resolved few years ago, in favour of the State. It was ruled that … these supervision costs are inseparable from the goods value, and therefore dutiable.

In this article, the author outlines the content of his presentation and the subsequent questions and answers session during the meeting of the Council's Customs Union Working Group (CUG) on … 19 September 2024, in Brussels. The author was invited by the Hungarian Presidency as a customs law expert.

UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement. Suspension of 30 arms export licenses to Israel. Moving the “Rest of World” sheepmeat, poultry and beef to Northern Ireland. Important updates on the implementation … of the Windsor Framework, the TSS system and the 'Not for EU’ labelling for retail products across Great Britain. New TRA anti-dumping investigation on Chinese tin mill. New trade sanctions against Iran. Launch of the ‘Apply for a SIEL’ service (LITE) public beta.

News in week 39: Union Customs Code Annual Progress Report 2023; EU Single Window Environment for Customs - amended regulation, laid down rules for information exchange; compilation of the national … control lists adopted by Spain, The Netherlands and France; pilot project for a 'comparative study on best practices for a stronger EU sanction enforcement'; updated guidance for industry on preventing Russian export control and sanctions evasion; new CBAM Self Assessment Tool; Commission Annual Report on the EU’s Anti-Dumping, Anti-Subsidy and Safeguard activities; Commission decision to register all imports of products under anti-dumping or anti-subsidy investigations; classification of panties, at importation declared as ‘incontinence management system’; and more news!

It would seem that customs compliance is one of the most complex and pressing issues for all companies and individuals involved in global trade. But is this really the case? Is there a widespread … understanding of how important it is to be aware of customs legislation and regulations and to keep up to date with the frequent changes and innovations? This question was discussed by experts from the EU, the UK, Brazil, Israel, Pakistan and Côte d'Ivoire at the 23rd Author's Meeting. The discussion revealed that many problems hindering customs compliance are similar in many countries. We invite you to read an overview of this discussion below.

News at a glance: significant amendments to the Ukrainian Customs Code; introduction of a new automated customs clearance system at all road checkpoints on the national border; clarification … of the customs classification of goods intended for the generation and storage of electricity; permission to export bio-methane from Ukraine; gradual annual increases in excise duties on fuels.

In June 2024, the EU took another step towards building a climate-neutral and circular economy and a greener environment. This is the adoption of the new Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European … Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 - Ecodesign for Product Sustainability Regulation. The purpose of these innovations is declared to be quite noble - to increase product durability, reliability, maintainability, modernisation, reusability and recyclability, as well as to reduce waste generation and generally negative environmental impacts. Time will tell whether these goals will be achieved, as the first phase of implementation of these innovations is scheduled for July 2026. This article will help you understand what manufacturers, importers and other stakeholders can expect in the near future and the role customs will play in monitoring compliance with the new requirements.

In this article, the author explains the changes to Title V of the proposal for a reformed Union Customs Code (R-UCC) in comparison with the current Title V UCC and also addresses provisions … that have been shifted to other Titles (in particular Title IV).

Editorial note: Sanctions are one of the examples of growing number of border restrictions and prohibitions. This is impacting a number of companies involved in global trade. The nature of sanctions … is becoming more diverse and the list of sanctioned persons is growing. As a result, importers, exporters and other actors have no choice but to be more careful in choosing who they work with. Especially in light of the recent updates by the Council of the European Union on the understanding of who is a sanctioned person.

The import of furs of wildlife into the State of Israel is under a strict supervision of the Nature and Parks Authority, which is department of the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection. … This is part of a larger issue of importing animals or parts of them, but in this article we will focus on the import of furs into Israel. It’s an interesting example, which we believe is not common elsewhere, due to a very specific piece of Israeli law. This law forbids importing wildlife fur, unless they meet the conditions of one of a very few exceptions. One of the key exceptions is fur for religious purposes. The Israeli Customs Authority, which is authorized to supervise imports, serves as the Nature Authority long arm to check the compliance of imports when a shipment containing animal fur arrives in Israel.

Can companies rely on Binding Tariff Information (BTI) issued for their competitors’ goods for the classification of their own products? This question was examined in the European Court of Justice … (ECJ) in its ruling, which raised the issue of the classification of optical fibre cables under Combined Nomenclature (CN) subheadings 8544 70 00 and 9001 10 90. The case also considered the principles of legal certainty and legitimate expectations that businesses increasingly need to rely upon to justify various decisions.