New customs legislation in the EU

For some time, the EU has been working to ensure that all information is transmitted electronically between businesses and customs authorities. All changes will be implemented by 2025.

The changes will be implemented in three parts: new legislation, new IT systems and standardised work processes. The purpose is to simplify the legislation and administration surrounding customs procedures for companies and customs authorities alike. The assumption is that all procedures should be electronic, for example, when exchanging information between public agencies and the corporate sector, but also when exchanging information between customs administrations in the EU.

Supporting legislation for the Union Customs Code

The implementing legislation currently consists of two parts: a Delegated Regulation (previously the Delegated Act) and an Implementing Regulation (previously the Implementing Act), as the Lisbon treaty has introduced provisions for decision making.

Decisions in multiple instances

The European Commission adopted the Delegated Regulation at the end of July 2015. It was subsequently sent to the Council and the Parliament for inspection. Neither had any objections. The final text was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) on 29 December, 2015. The Implementing Regulation was adopted on 24 November, 2015. This regulation was also published in OJ on 29 December, 2015.

Transitional rules until the IT systems have been implemented

The transitional rules apply in cases where the necessary IT systems have not been implemented until the IT systems are operational, yet no later than 31 December, 2025. The rules can be found in the Transitional Delegated Act, which also contains proposals for rules to temporarily modify the Delegated Regulation. Some exceptions have also been introduced in the Implementing Regulation. The Implementing and Delegated Regulations also contain a special section (IX), which stipulates how to handle authorisations during the transition.

To obtain an overview of the current rules, it is also necessary to consult the work programme, which is updated at least once per year.

Thus, it is a complex picture that requires the reading of several parts in parallel.

The new customs legislation in the EU requires new national legislation

As a consequence of the new customs legislation in the EU, national laws have to be reworked. Thus, the Government launched a customs legislation inquiry, who submitted its final report (SOU 2015:5) “En ny svensk tullagstiftning” (New Swedish customs legislation) on 6 February 2015. This report has been sent for consultation, and the Riksdag adopted the new Customs Act on 4 March, 2016. The new Customs Act entered into force on 1 May 2016. The Government has also decided to introduce a new Customs Regulation.

At the same time, Swedish Customs developed a new Customs Ordinance and new provisions by 1 May 2016. In principle, the entire Customs Ordinance and other provisions were re-worked. The structure in the new provisions should be adapted to the new customs legislation, and any regulations that no longer apply should be removed. The external consultation was conducted in March, and the legislation was adopted on 7 April 2016.

Swedish Customs participated on several levels

The relationship between the different parts of the legislation and the corresponding decision-making body can be described as follows.

• The Union Customs Code (EU)
• Implementation Regulations, DA/GA (EU)
• The Customs Act (Riksdag)
• The Customs Regulation (Government)
• The Customs Ordinance (Swedish Customs)
• Provisions (Swedish Customs)

Staff from Swedish Customs has participated in the legislative procedure on all levels. In the EU, Swedish Customs participated in the negotiations for the Implementation and Transitional Provisions in the Customs Code Committee and the Customs Code Expert Group. Swedish Customs has also had representatives in the customs legislation inquiry that developed the report on the new Customs Act and Customs Ordinance.

It is our aim to share our insights to the greatest possible extent, but we do not currently have all the answers. This will be the case during certain periods for several years, until the legislation and all the IT systems have been implemented.

Mer information

Union Customs Code (EU-kommissionens informationssida)

Electronic customs (EU-kommissionens statusrapporter)