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Electronic customs (‘e-customs’) is a major development for the EU's Customs Union. The project aims to replace paper-format customs procedures with EU-wide electronic procedures to create a … more efficient and modern customs environment. Each year the European Commission releases a report on progress in developing electronic systems. The latest report was published in February 2023.

In December 2022, Regulation (EU) 2022/2399 establishing the European Union Single Window Environment for Customs was published which amends at the same time two Articles of the UCC. The title … of this Regulation is misleading insofar as it suggests to the reader that its aim is to establish an EU Single Window for Customs. So, what is actually the aim of this Regulation? How will our work change in the future? What is the meaning of the UCC amendments introduced by this Regulation? We thank Michael Lux who kindly agreed to answer these and other related questions.

EU Regulation provides a new legal framework to improve information sharing and digital cooperation between customs administrations and other government authorities in charge of enforcing non-customs … formalities at the EU border. What are these non-customs formalities?

Since 2016, when the Finnish Government decided to digitalize all public services, Finnish Customs has been working on the development of digital services to improve its customer service. In … 2017 the Administration explained, in the pages of this magazine, how it tested the innovation potential of a hackathon to identify solutions that would make it easier to access information about Customs regulations and procedures. In this article, we take a look at the latest tools implemented by Finnish Customs to enhance its capacity to help its customers – namely a chatbot and a contact management system.

A fundamental requirement for information to flow seamlessly across different IT systems is that they all speak the same language. Cross-border regulatory agencies retaining the right to determine … the data they require should all use a similar language and have harmonized the way in which the required data is submitted. This is also critical for enabling economic operators to use the same system to comply with the requirements of different administrations and countries.

Customs authorities are showing a growing interest in adopting artificial intelligence (AI), the broad category of science that entails simulating human thinking capability and behaviour. As … stated in a joint paper published by the World Customs Organization, (WCO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) entitled The role of advanced technologies in cross-border trade: A Customs perspective, “around half of Customs authorities use some combination of big data analytics, AI and machine learning, while the other half plans to do so in the future.”

New regulation establishes the EU Single Window Environment for Customs (SWE-C) and amends the Union Customs Code (UCC). One of the objectives of SWE-C is to enable the seamless flow of data … between the administrations of exporting and importing countries, as well as between customs authorities and economic operators, allowing data entered in the system to be re-used. What does it mean for business? What steps have been taken so far in practice? What lies ahead? What is changing in the UCC?

Obviously, customs could not stay aside from all the processes related to the economic downturn, being an important element in the global supply chain. Customs regulation can significantly affect … the course and results of international trade in both directions: either to aggravate problems or to contribute to their solution. What customs trends can be identified today?

Overseeing the digitalisation of business processes is a particularly great challenge for executives responsible for customs and foreign trade - in addition to those presented by trade wars, … Brexit and sanctions, which can change on a daily basis. The influence of digitalisation on production, purchasing, distribution and logistical processes relating to customs and foreign trade law demands serious change. At the same time, digitalisation offers the chance to develop efficient and future-proof solutions. But what is important to consider…?

The ‘single window’ is a trade facilitation measure, allowing parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardised information and documents with a single-entry point to fulfil all import, … export, and transit-related regulatory requirements, thus reducing duplication, time, and costs.

The European Maritime Single Window environment (EMSWe) aims to improve administrative procedures in maritime transport by introducing a single window for reporting formalities for ships to harmonise … processes and data exchange with economic operators. Legal acts establish that the latest date for the system to be operational is no later than 15.08.2025.

In the year 2021, there has been a major breakdown in the customs practices in the EU and the changes will continue over the next years for many reasons: data provisions and data quality will … become the new hobbyhorse for customs authorities, more significant facilitations will be granted to companies who have the AEO status for e-commerce flows, etc. We provide a brief overview of the changes, highlight the role of customs experts in turning challenges into opportunities, and share some thoughts on what is needed to become a member of the big family united under the customs topic.

Customs administrations and trade operators both want to reduce the complexity of compiling and exchanging data. However, there can be tension between the Customs administration’s need to access … data and the company’s need to protect confidential information. This article presents two solutions for analysing and reporting data which ensure strong data protection by allowing access to the data without the need to move them around.

In response to EU and other countries’ sanctions, Russia and Belarus retaliated by imposing export bans on certain products to what were branded ‘unfriendly countries’. As a result, some products, … although not subject to EU import restrictions, cannot be imported because they cannot be taken out of the exporting country. So how can one learn which goods are restricted? Information on export prohibitions, restrictions and tariffs are now available on Access2Markets.

Viena pagrindinių diskusijų temų 2019 m. PMO konferencijoje dėl Suderintos sistemos (SS) ateities krypties buvo SS kompleksiškumas. Buvo išreikštas susirūpinimas dėl SS klasifikavimo sudėtingumo, … ypač mažoms ir vidutinėms įmonėms, kurioms suteikiama galimybė dalyvauti pasaulio ekonomikoje, bet jos nebūtinai turi tam reikalingų priemonių.

Customs put the pieces of the various authorities' puzzle together and release the goods with an overall decision. Therefore, among many other players, the customs administration plays an extremely … important role in effective operations in the port, and close cooperation among all the stakeholders is an obvious guarantor of quality. In this part, we examine the tasks and challenges facing the logistics industry, the core mandate of customs and their challenges, and how can another dimension of effective process flow be created?

The aim of Port Community Systems (PCS) or trade Single Windows (SW) activities is not to replace existing systems. Rather, it is to create a sufficient landscape of electronic infrastructure … and exchange mechanisms to link the administrative processes with the operation of all stakeholders involved. Collaboration/ cooperation is the key to getting everyone on board and creating the right modern environment for an effective port. This can create an attractive environment for trade and, thus, an increase of economic activities. So, what role do PCS play, and are or can they be a building block for the process?

Instead of stacking file folders on shelves, more and more companies today are moving towards using systems for digital archiving. Today, people spend around two thirds of their working time … processing documents. Creating, checking, sending, filing - all this costs them a lot of time and often also nerves. In the article, you will learn about the advantages of electronic archiving and what to look for when choosing digital archiving software.