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The Customs Ecosystem Congress in Liège brought together representatives of the European Commission, Member States, business, and academia to discuss how to translate EU Customs Reform into practice. CLECAT welcomed the opportunity to build a more coherent and efficient customs system, while stressing that its success will depend on close cooperation with the professionals who manage customs processes every day.

Held on 13–14 October under the theme “From text to practice”, the Congress marked the first anniversary of the Vilnius Manifesto. The congress examined the practical development of the EU Customs Data Hub, the EU Customs Authority, the Trust & Check framework and the future approach to risk management.

A clear message emerged from the business discussions: the reform offers an important opportunity for greater harmonisation, simpler procedures and more effective controls, but delivering these benefits will require sustained cooperation. Adoption of the legislation is the beginning of a transition that will take years to become an operational reality across European supply chains.

Businesses want a customs system in which the same rules are interpreted and applied consistently across Member States. They also welcome better risk assessment, allowing customs authorities to concentrate resources on unsafe goods, fraud and non-compliant operators, while making it easier for legitimate trade to operate. Achieving this balance will depend on the quality of the implementing rules, the readiness of digital systems and the ability of authorities and businesses to prepare together.

A new customs operating model

The European Commission’s presentation on digital implementation emphasised that the EU Customs Data Hub should be understood as a new customs operating model, rather than simply a central database or a digital version of existing declarations.  The ambition is to create a shared operational environment in which information is obtained closer to its source and reused by customs authorities according to their responsibilities and access rights. Common data and services would progressively replace the replication of processes across national systems. This should support a more complete view of supply chains, more consistent risk assessment and a common basis for applying customs measures.

The Commission also highlighted the scale of the delivery challenge. Legal development, system design, integration, testing and business onboarding will have to advance in parallel. The first major deadline is 1 July 2028, when the Data Hub is due to become operational and mandatory for e-commerce flows. The presentation outlined the subsequent opening to other traders from 2031 and the broader transition towards 2034.

This timetable leaves limited room for fragmented preparation. European and national systems will need to work together while handling high volumes, operating around the clock and meeting demanding requirements for security, data protection and governance.  The Commission linked these implementation requirements to the enabling conditions identified in the Vilnius Manifesto: coherent digital transformation, structured stakeholder engagement, resilience and professional competence. Business participation in pilots, including from 2027, will be essential to test how the future arrangements work with real transactions and different supply-chain models.

CLECAT: professional advice remains essential

Speaking in the panel on Trust & Check, the import process and risk management, CLECAT President Dimitri Serafimoff stressed the continuing importance of customs representatives and freight forwarders as professional advisers and facilitators of compliant trade. Their contribution extends well beyond submitting information. They help businesses interpret legislation, organise customs procedures, identify inconsistencies and manage the practical relationship between goods, commercial documentation and regulatory requirements. As customs becomes increasingly dependent on shared data, this expertise will remain essential to making the new system work.  Dimitri underlined the importance of retaining a meaningful and accessible role for Authorised Economic Operators. CLECAT expects substantial volumes of trade to continue to be handled by businesses operating under AEO status. The future system must therefore deliver practical benefits for these operators, alongside the enhanced simplifications envisaged for Trust & Check traders.

Trust & Check offers opportunities, but its technological, organisational and data requirements will demand considerable preparation. Businesses will have different capacities to meet those requirements, and many will continue to rely on external customs expertise. Implementation must accommodate this diversity and ensure that smaller companies can continue to access efficient customs services.

Mr Serafimoff also raised concerns about the exposure of customs representatives where indirect representation is required, particularly in arrangements involving non-EU businesses that cannot themselves access the relevant trusted-trader framework.  Under indirect representation, the representative can become jointly liable for the customs debt. This creates a significant commercial risk where the representative depends on information supplied by another party and cannot fully control or independently verify the underlying transaction.

CLECAT therefore stressed the need for clear and proportionate responsibilities, reflecting who holds the information, who can verify it and who controls the relevant commercial decisions. A more integrated data environment should help clarify these responsibilities and support cooperation between the parties involved.

Mr Serafimoff also pointed to the unresolved interaction between customs and VAT as a continuing obstacle to making centralised clearance fully effective. Greater customs harmonisation must be accompanied by workable arrangements for the related fiscal obligations if businesses are to benefit from simpler cross-border operations.

Business confidence will be equally important. Companies need a clear understanding of how commercially sensitive information will be accessed, protected and used within the Data Hub. Awareness, practical guidance and testing will be necessary to turn the legal framework into a system that businesses are ready to use.

Day one: building on Vilnius through the Liège Declaration

The first day brought together signatories of the Vilnius Manifesto to review progress and discuss the next phase of cooperation. CLECAT, which has signed the Vilnius Manifesto, joined this work on the Liège Declaration, intended as its first annual update.

The declaration carries forward the Manifesto’s six principles: a customs ecosystem that is unified, cooperative, simplified, digitised, resilient and professionally competent. Its focus is on translating those principles into practical cooperation as the reform moves into implementation.

The priorities discussed included joint research and impact analysis, stronger links between business and academia, investment in customs training and pilot projects to test procedures and digital solutions before wider deployment. Combining academic analysis with operational experience can help identify problems early and provide policymakers with evidence on how proposed arrangements will affect trade.

For CLECAT, the Congress reinforced a constructive message: the sector supports the reform’s objectives and wants to contribute to their delivery. Greater harmonisation and better risk management can bring substantial benefits, but the timetable and scale of change present a shared challenge. Continuous cooperation between policymakers, administrations, technology providers, academia and customs professionals will be essential to turn the reform into reliable, efficient services for European trade.