23 September 2022

CLECAT CUSTOMS INSTITUTE MEETS

CLECAT’s Customs and Indirect Taxation Institute (CITI) met recently to discuss important customs and trade related developments impacting European freight forwarders and customs brokers. The most important topics on the meeting agenda were the implementation of the UCC and its ongoing reform.

The CITI reflected on the state of play of the implementation of the new national entry and import systems, due at the end of this year, and the foreseen delays in many EU Member States. In a lot of cases, economic operators across the EU are confronted with major delays by their national administrations, a lack of technical and functional specifications for the new systems, and virtually no time to make the necessary IT adjustments and get ready. CLECAT members voiced serious concerns over the lack of communication and transparency at EU level surrounding the different timeframes for Member States and the lack of pro-active coordination by DG TAXUD.

CLECAT members also discussed the ongoing reform of the UCC and the poor quality of DG TAXUD’s engagement with the Trade Contact Group. In view of the currently missing meaningful discussions on the preparations of the Commission’s legal proposals, expected in December this year, the CITI discussed upcoming joint initiatives by the Trade Contact Group, aiming to re-establish the dialogue with DG TAXUD where industry is sufficiently involved to help designing effective measures for achieving EU’s policy objectives.

Other topics on the agenda of the CITI included the EU AEO program, CBAM and the implementation of the EU-UK TCA.