Export and the Responsible Person(s): What Would Change under the EU Commission’s Reform Proposal?

The Commission proposal for a reformed Union Customs Code (R-UCC) does not only suggest replacing national customs clearance systems by an EU Customs Data Hub, managed by an EU Customs Authority, but also a shift of the responsibility from the declarant (who becomes after the release of the goods the holder of the requested customs procedure) to the importer or exporter, i.e., the person determining that the goods are brought into or out of the EU. A further change concerns the fact that importers and exporters will fall either under the category of a ‘Trust and Check trader’ (an upgraded version of the ‘Authorised Economic Operator’ – AEO, subjected to the new requirement of an automated data interchange with the data hub) and thus be able to benefit from many simplifications, or not, and will then lose many of the simplifications which are currently available for traders without AEO status. The focus on the importer and exporter (who qualifies either for ‘Trust and Check’ status or not) has resulted in a certain neglect of the role of intermediaries in the supply chain, such as customs and logistics service providers, whose services are vital in particular for many small and medium sized companies (SMEs) that cannot afford their own specialized customs staff and IT systems. The author has therefore analysed the impact of the reform proposal on the various actors in the supply chain for all types of customs procedures (import, export, and special procedures), and explains in this contribution export. Import and the underlying rationale of treating ‘Trust and Check’ and other traders differently have been described in a previous article and the special procedures will be treated in a subsequent article.