Réforme de l'Union douanière / Code des douanes de l’Union

Réforme de l'Union douanière / Code des douanes de l’Union Réforme de l'Union douanière / Code des douanes de l’Union Retour sur la réunion de l’ « EC Trade Contact Group » du 15 juillet Dans la continuité de l’ Actualité France Chimie du 30 juin 2025 , sachez que le « Trade Contact Group » de la Commission européenne – DG TAXUD s’est réuni le 15 juillet. A cette occasion, la Commission a présenté la position du Conseil sur la réforme du Code des Douanes de l'Union (CDU), ainsi que les principaux amendements introduits modifiant la proposition originale de la Commission. Vous trouverez, ci-joint, la présentation de la Commission (captures d'écran) et ci-après les points clés présentés à l’occasion de cette réunion, selon Business Europe : The Customs Authority: The Council has significantly watered down the mandate and nature of the Commission’s proposal for the future Authority, with much less focus on the “Union’s dimension” of the Authority. This is especially reflected in both the tasks assigned and the governance structure proposed by the Council. Tasks and mission: Please see Article 208 (tasks) and Article 207 (mission and objectives) of the Council position. The revised text reflects a much narrower scope, positioning the Authority mainly to give support to the Member States. The harmonisation role of the authority, which was one of our key priorities for ensuring uniform implementation of customs legislation across the EU, has also been diminished. As a reflection, this could be a concerning development. Tt risks weakening the role of the Authority in ensuring harmonisation and consistent application of EU customs rules and legislation across Member States. Governance structure: The Commission’s role has also been reduced in the Council’s version (e.g. the Commission’s veto right has been eliminated, the number of Commission’s representative has been reduced to just one). Seat of the Authority: The location of the future Customs Authority still needs to be decided before work on setting it up can begin. Several Member States have already submitted their candidacies, but no decision has been taken yet. The Customs Data Hub: Data access: The Council’s position includes more limits on data access to the data hub by several authorities than initially foreseen by the Commission (see Articles 30b and 31 of the Council’s proposal). This is a welcomed development. The provisions to access to companies’ data will also be specified by secondary legislation. Digital sovereignty: The Council has put strong emphasis on the digital sovereignty aspects of the Customs Data Hub (see new Article 28c paragraph 2 of the Council’s proposal: The development, hosting, operation and maintenance of the EU Customs Data Hub, as well as any related data processing, shall not be entrusted to: (a) a non-EU citizen; or (b) any natural or legal person that, under foreign law, could be required to disclose in writing, orally, or by any other means documents or information intended to serve as evidence in foreign judicial or administrative proceedings. 2a. Services referred to in paragraph 2 shall be entrusted exclusively to: (a) Union citizens; or [...] Data Auditor: the Council’s proposal introduces the concept of a Data Auditor (see articles 221a and 221b) The AEO C and the Trust & Check Trader: The AEO C is kept along with the Trust & Check Trader. The simplifications and benefits granted to AEO C will be defined via delegated act by the Commission. This is an important point given that there should be a clear difference in the scope of simplifications and benefits between the AEO and the T&C, in order to incentivise companies to become T&C (see Chapter 4 of Titlte II of the Council text). Infringements and non criminal sanctions (now called penalties): The Council has removed a large part of Title XIV on Common Provisions on Customs Infringements and on Non-Criminal Sanctions (you can see large parts strikethrough as of Article 245). As a reflection, we as BusinessEurope did not have a strong position on infringements and non-criminal sanctions. However, the fact that there will not a minimum of common provisions on infringements and non-criminal sanctions will lead to a lack of enforcement of the UCC and of customs shopping. Other important issue : Changes related to customs processes and the definition of importer as well as the indirect customs representative (see powerpoint attached) N’hésitez pas à nous faire parvenir vos avis et commentaires sur tout ou partie des éléments indiqués ci-avant. Vous pouvez également télécharger ci-après le document préparé par la Commission en vue des trilogues, qui comprend les positions de la Commission, du Conseil et du Parlement ainsi qu'une 4 ème colonne vide qui reprendra in fine la décision finale. Cela peut vous être très utile pour analyser le texte et fournir des contributions. Pour plus d’informations sur cette réforme : EU Customs Reform - European Commission Contacts France Chimie : Pascal PERROCHON - Affaires internationales – pperrochon@francechimie.fr Nastassia IVANOVA – Chargée de politique douanière – nivanova@francechimie.fr