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EU rules on restricted goods need to work for the people handling shipments at the border. That was CLECAT’s message at a CustomsClear online roundtable on 24 September 2026. CLECAT called for logistics and customs professionals to be involved when sectoral rules and the systems used to enforce them are designed, rather than only when problems emerge during clearance.

The discussion, moderated by CustomsClear co-founder and director Enrika Naujokė, examined how businesses identify and check EU prohibitions and restrictions (P&R), keep their screening processes up to date, and deal with differences in interpretation across Member States. The scale of the task is considerable: the Commission’s Integrated EU Prohibitions and Restrictions List, updated in September 2026, covers 383 EU legal acts. That figure does not include sanctions or national measures outside the list.

Eva Cartwright, CLECAT’s Senior Manager for Customs, explained that sectoral legislation is often developed without enough consideration of how supply chains operate or what information is already available in customs systems. Some rules assume that importers or exporters deal directly with customs, even where a customs representative handles the formalities. Key terms such as operator, representative and importer may also have different meanings in sectoral legislation and the Union Customs Code.

These differences have practical consequences. Missing P&R information can hold up a shipment, while separate sectoral systems can require the same data to be entered manually more than once. Rules may also be interpreted differently between Member States. Where liability placed on customs agents is out of proportion to the information they can verify, some may have to increase their charges or decline to act as representatives.

CLECAT sees potential in the Commission’s new approach to P&R under the customs reform. But businesses also need improvements before the reform’s new tools become available. CLECAT therefore calls for simpler existing procedures and better coordination between Commission services. Logistics and customs experts should be involved from the start in sectoral legislation and IT development, with access to relevant expert groups and regular engagement with DG TAXUD’s P&R team.

CLECAT also calls for more consistent use of the Commission’s Better Regulation Guidelines, an updated Blue Guide, realistic expectations about liability, and sustained national training supported by centrally developed materials. Together, these steps would help businesses comply with the rules while reducing avoidable delays at the border.