State of play, main conclusions, outlook

The Union Customs Code (UCC) is the main legal and IT framework for customs processes in the Union. The UCC streamlined and simplified customs rules and procedures, to be applied in a paperless environment through the deployment of 17 IT systems. Its goals are to protect the financial interests of the Union and the Member States and the safety and security of European citizens and the internal market, while at the same time enhancing the competitiveness of European businesses. In this respect, the UCC aims to create a modern, electronic environment for customs operations, whereby electronic exchange of information between economic operators and customs authorities and between customs authorities will make possible faster clearance formalities and simplifications are made available to traders, namely the Authorised Economic Operators. This has the potential to reduce burdens and simplify the overall environment.

Following a request from the European Parliament, an evaluation was carried out to take stock of the state of play of the implementation of the UCC and the delivery of its electronic systems in the period 2016-2020, in order to ensure that the customs regulatory framework formed by the UCC is effective, proportionate and fit for purpose both for Member States and for trade operators.

Estimated savings and benefits

The main progress achieved by the UCC relates to harmonisation, streamlining and rationalisation of a number of rules (e.g. customs decisions, guarantees, harmonised data requirements) as well as steps towards the paperless customs environment with 8 out of 17 systems deployed by 2020 (albeit taking into account that some of the most important IT projects are to be deployed by 2025).

The evaluation showed that difficulties were found for a number of provisions, due to complexity, a lack of clarity and uniformity in certain areas (e.g. customs simplifications and risk management), and challenges with the ongoing IT projects.

At this stage, there are indications that the benefits from implementation have not outweighed its costs, because major one-off transition costs have been incurred (largely from IT developments), while only incremental benefits have been generated so far (e.g. minor time savings for stakeholders, a certain amount of progress towards the customs mission). In addition, major simplifications are not yet available to traders due to ongoing IT developments; it is expected that once all IT systems have been implemented in full, the UCC benefits will be substantial.

Estimated monetisation and quantification – It was not possible to quantify/monetise the benefits and to carry out a cost-benefits analysis due the lack or fragmentation of quantitative data. The main reasons for this relate to the marginal or incremental nature of many of the changes introduced by the UCC, the difficulty of translating certain types of benefits (such as increased clarity) into quantifiable values, and the difficulty or unwillingness for the main stakeholders (customs authorities and economic operators) to access and provide detailed data on costs. The evaluation includes some data for the assessment of efficiency, including qualitative data on the nature and significance of key benefits and costs, as well as some quantified figures that could serve to illustrate the scale of benefits and costs in specific cases.

Fit for Future Platform

The Fit for Future Platform issued an opinion on the Union Customs Code in 2021 (2021/SBGR3/13). The Platform’s opinion consists of four suggestions, which were all considered in the evaluation and will inform the preparation of the upcoming revision of the Union Customs Code, announced in the Commission work programme for 2022. The aim of this initiative is to revise the Union Customs Code to strengthen the legal framework for customs and make it suitable to address the challenges that have emerged in the recent years. New business models and technological developments require revised provisions in particular on e-commerce operations, risk management, data analytics capabilities and protection of the internal market from goods imported from third countries that are not compliant with the EU legislation.

The Platform’s suggestions to be followed up as follows:

Suggestion 1: More predictability in the process of rolling out the Union Customs Code IT systems, in order to avoid additional financial and human resources-related burden and disruption generated by the constant addition of new requirements.

The evaluation acknowledges that the frequent changes to the harmonised data requirements affected negatively the legal certainty of the UCC. These elements were stabilised in 2021 by the Commission. The Commission will monitor this so as to implement the remaining IT systems until 2025 as planned.

Suggestion 2: Explore possibilities of flexible implementation of rules in case of crisis (e.g. temporary storage, self-assessment) to ensure a uniform and efficient response across the EU.

The evaluation analysed this aspect and found that the current UCC does not provide enough flexibility in unforeseen events or crisis, which requires further reflection. On the customs simplification called self-assessment, the evaluation found that its lack of clarity and the uncertainty around its application has meant that it has not been used in any Member States. This aspect will be followed up and analysed by the Commission in the context of preparing the upcoming UCC revision.

Suggestion 3: Ensure greater coherence of related policy areas to the UCC, such as in regards to new customs simplifications, as well as coherence between customs and fiscal rules and environmental and climate protection-related legislation.

The UCC evaluation indicates that the UCC implementation did not fully tap into the potential synergies with related policies and proper coordination between customs authorities and other relevant national administrations in charge of applying EU policies at the border. This will be addressed in the preparation of the UCC revision.

Suggestion 4: More benefits for authorised economic operators (AEO) by untapping the potential of the UCC.

The evaluation of the UCC acknowledges that the economic operators are not satisfied with the benefits promised by the UCC rules for AEOs; in the context of the UCC revision, the Commission will reflect on improvements to ensure effective benefits for trustworthy operators.