The EU Commission launched the public consultation on the EU Single Window Environment for Customs on 9 October 2018. Until 16 January 2019, stakeholders in the cross-border trade in goods can participate in the consultation and actively shape the planning process.
What is the EU Single Window for Customs?
The Single Window (SW) is defined as a body that enables trade and transport stakeholders to register standardised information and documents at a single access point in order to meet all import, export and transit regulatory requirements (see UNECE Recommendation 33). The EU Single Window Environment for Customs focuses on customs formalities and involves all stakeholders involved in cross-border trade in goods.
The aim of the EU Single Window environment for customs is to enable economic operators to transmit electronically and only once all the information required by the customs and non-customs rules for cross-border trade in goods in the EU.
Currently, due to the complexity and feasibility, activities are currently focused on creating a comprehensive data exchange environment for final customs clearance. The declarations for this must of course continue to be made via the usual means of the electronic customs declaration systems (i.e. atlas in Germany, e.g. via certified customs software). The advantages of such an approach are that the data exchange between customs and the other authorities involved in the process can take place via this functionality (including the necessary feedback).
Project Group Customs 2020
In parallel with the certificate exchange activities already under way (e.g. GVDE), a Customs 2020 project group was set up in December 2016 to examine a possible framework for the development of the EU Single Window for customs, including its legal aspects.
This project group addresses the global vision of the EU Single Window environment for customs, including covering the automated acceptance and verification of customs declaration seam, the necessary legal basis and the action plan to create such an environment. Currently, the work of the project group has reached the point of producing a first official report, which will also include a comprehensive impact assessment (i.e. pro and contra or benefits and challenges). This report will then be the basis for the political bodies to take a decision on the actual implementation of the project (including the detailed scope and nature of the implementation).
Survey on the Single Window by the EU Commission
The EU Commission has now launched a survey which gives stakeholders the opportunity to comment on such a single window approach. Since we, dbh Logistics IT AG, are already intensively involved in the activities of the project group through our active work in the International Port Community Systems Association, we would now like to make this survey available to you, our customers, from the EU. We would like to invite you to take your time and contribute to the design of an EU Single Window for Customs.
The main objective of the consultation is to gather feedback from businesses, individuals and other interested parties on a possible EU initiative on an “EU Single Window” for customs.
The results will feed into the impact assessment for a possible future initiative on a single EU customs environment. In this context, it is of the utmost importance that the consultation reaches the main stakeholders in order to achieve a high participation rate, which is a solid contribution to the impact assessment.
To this end, the Eu Commission would like to invite you to promote participation and to publish the consultation through your communication channels with commercial and business representatives as far as possible. The link to the consulting website can be found here.
A summary of the responses to this consultation will be published on the website of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union at the end of the consultation period.