- Changes in Laws and Regulations
- General Customs Act
Changes in Laws and Regulations
The European Union has been adapting laws and regulations in the area of customs laid down in the Community Customs Code over the past few years, and will continue to do so in the coming years. An important change is what is referred to as the 'security change'.
It is based on the following official communications:
- 'A simple and paperless environment for Customs and Trade and
- 'On the role of Customs in the integrated management of external borders’ (Offical communication to the Council, European Parliament and European Economic and Social Committee, numbered COM(2003) 452)
The security change consists of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 648/2005 and Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1875/2006. These regulations regulate the amendments of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2913/92 and Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2454/93.
New Community Customs Code
Since the Community Customs Code was out-of-date, the European Commission put forward a proposal in 2005 for a complete revision of the Community Customs Code. This was partly prompted by a number of developments over the past few years in international trade.
Some examples:
- A sharp increase in the use of information technology and the exchange of electronic data
- The European Community’s trade facilitation agenda
- The role of Customs increasingly changing into a service which protects European society, as opposed to levying and collecting taxes. Think of security, counterfeit, laundering, drugs and (phyto)sanitary measures.
These new developments call for streamlined and efficient customs procedures and processes. For instance, the regulations will need to be adapted in order to be able to establish common standards for computerized systems. Moreover, agreements will have to be made on risk-based controls, and the relationship with other policy domains (such as agriculture, the environment and consumer protection) will have to be borne in mind.
To reach such agreements, the Community Customs Code needs to be completely revised and replaced with a Modernised Community Customs Code, and no longer by making constant adjustments to current customs legislation.
The proposal includes such initiatives as:
- To collect taxes at the most appropriate location, namely the place where a trader is established (centralized clearance).
- To safeguard the common standards, including those for risk analyses and penalties.
- To improve the coherence between Community policy domains.
See the Text of the proposal.
When the Modernised Community Customs Code comes into effect, the current Council Regulations (EEC) 2913/92 and 2454/93 will cease to apply. It will also incorporate a number of related regulations.
