The European Union has politically agreed on the most ambitious overhaul of its customs framework since the customs union was established in 1968. Across the Channel, the United Kingdom is pursuing its own, though earlier-stage, customs modernisation agenda, the first since its withdrawal from the EU. Together, these reforms will reshape how goods move across Europe’s borders.

This briefing is the second in our Customs Reform Unpacked series. The new Union Customs Code (the Code) and implementing laws (together, the EU Customs Reform or the Reform) fundamentally change who is responsible for goods crossing the EU’s external border and what that person is responsible for. The traditional declarant-centred model is replaced with direct obligations on importers, exporters, and customs representatives, and a new Trust and Check Trader status is introduced alongside the existing Authorised Economic Operator scheme. At the institutional level, the Reform creates the EU Customs Authority, a new EU body tasked with coordinating risk management, enforcement, and controls across all 27 EU Member States.

Where this fits

The most impactful legal change introduced by the EU Customs Reform is the expansion of the importer’s role to encompass responsibility for compliance with customs duty requirements and EU law more broadly, including EU product safety rules and environmental, health, and other regulatory standards. The current EU customs environment is declarant-centred: the declarant lodges the customs declaration and is primarily responsible for ensuring that duties are correctly calculated and paid. Where goods raise non-fiscal concerns, for example because they fail to meet product safety standards, customs authorities alert the relevant market surveillance authority, which must then identify the responsible economic operator and take enforcement action against that person. The separation of fiscal and non-fiscal responsibility creates gaps and a lack of clear accountability at the border.

Under the Code, the importer replaces the declarant as the central figure in the customs process. Crucially, the importer will not only be responsible for duties and other charges but also for ensuring that goods comply with all relevant other legislation applied by customs authorities, a broad statement covering product safety, consumer protection, environmental standards, intellectual property rights, sanctions, and more. The same logic will apply to exporters for outbound goods. This shift replaces the current division between fiscal and non-fiscal enforcement with a single accountability framework at the border, placing an important compliance obligation on the person who controls the commercial decision to move goods across the border, without removing the accountability framework that exists under specific or horizontal EU product laws.

Key changes introduced by the Reform

• Phase out of the “declarant”. The declarant will be progressively phased out as the EU Customs Data Hub (the Data Hub) replaces customs declarations with direct data submissions. Once use of the Data Hub becomes mandatory, customs declarations will no longer exist in their current form, and as a result, the declarant will no longer play a role in the customs process. During the transitional period, customs declarations and the declarant continue to function alongside the new data submission model.
• Introduction of the extended “importer” role. The importer is redefined as the person who has the power to determine, and has determined, that goods from a third country are to be brought into the EU, closely mirroring the current exporter definition. Importers must provide or make available all required data to customs before the goods enter. The importer must generally be established in the EU and is not only responsible for financial obligations (customs duty and other charges) but also for non-fiscal compliance, including ensuring that goods meet all applicable product safety, environmental, health, and other regulatory requirements. Until the Data Hub is used, the declarant remains the primary customs debtor.
• Introduction of the “importer for distance sales” (aka deemed importer). For e-commerce, the person supplying or facilitating the distance sale of goods imported from third countries is treated as the importer. This change is intended to shift responsibility from the consumer to the economic operator who controls the supply chain. The importer for distance sales is no different from a “regular” importer: it must ensure compliance with customs legislation and all other legislation applied by customs authorities and provide the required data before the release of the goods.
• Rationalisation of the “exporter” role. The exporter role mirrors that of the importer: it is the person established in the EU who has the power to determine, and has determined, that goods are to be taken out of the EU. Exporters must provide or make available all required data to customs before the goods exit. Unlike under the current rules, an economic operator will be able to meet its establishment requirement by appointing an indirect customs representative. Like the importer, the exporter bears responsibility for both customs duties (where applicable) and compliance with other legislation applied by customs authorities, including sanctions and export control regimes.
• Expanded liability of the indirect customs representative. Under the Code, an indirect customs representative acting on behalf of an importer or exporter who is established in the EU is jointly and severally liable with that importer or exporter for all obligations. This concerns not just the customs debt but also data provision and compliance with all other legislation applied by customs authorities. Where the importer or exporter is not established in the EU, the indirect representative is treated as the importer or exporter outright and assumes the corresponding obligations in full, which marks a significant expansion of broker liability. Customs representatives must be established in the EU, and only those holding Authorised Economic Operator or Trust and Check Trader status may provide customs services across Member States or place distance sale goods under release for free circulation.
• Creation of a Trust and Check Trader status. The Reform introduces a new tier of trusted trader, the Trust and Check Trader (TCT), that goes beyond the existing Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) scheme. TCTs must meet all AEO criteria and grant customs authorities access to their electronic systems, which provide near-real-time data on the movement and compliance of their goods, and must have at least two years of regular customs operations. In return, they may, among other things, release goods on the authorities’ behalf without waiting for active intervention, defer duty payments, benefit from reduced guarantees, and incur customs debt in the Member State of their establishment rather than where goods physically enter.
• New carrier obligations. As a step up from the current entry summary declaration obligations through Import Control System 2 (ICS2), carriers bringing goods into or taking goods out of the EU will have to provide or make available advance cargo information (including the importer, consignor, consignee, goods description, tariff classification, value, and routing data) to the expected customs office within specified time limits and, at the latest, upon arrival. Carriers must link their advance cargo information to data already submitted by the importer in the Data Hub. Where risk analysis identifies a problem, carriers may be instructed by customs authorities not to load or transport goods.
• Creation of the EU Customs Authority. The Reform establishes the EU Customs Authority (EUCA), a new EU body headquartered in Lille, France, with its own legal personality and its own budget. Its mission is to make customs “act as one” across the Union: it will conduct centralised risk management and threat assessments, coordinate joint controls between Member States, support the implementation of sanctions, and cooperate on a structured basis with Europol, Frontex, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), and market surveillance authorities. The EUCA will also oversee the monitoring of TCT compliance across borders and can recommend suspension or revocation of that status where a trader falls short.

When does this apply?

The new rules on roles and responsibilities do not all go live at the same time. The substantive provisions on the importer, exporter, customs representative, carrier, and TCT will apply 12 months after publication of the Code in the Official Journal of the European Union; it is therefore expected that the provisions will apply from around October 2027. From that date, the redefined obligations of importers and exporters (including non-fiscal compliance responsibilities), the expanded liability of indirect customs representatives, and the new carrier obligations will take effect.

The EUCA will be established immediately upon entry into force of the Code. However, this initial phase is primarily about putting the institution in place: appointing leadership, setting up governance structures, and building operational capacity in Lille. The EUCA’s substantive tasks (including centralised risk management, threat assessments, the coordination of joint controls, and the monitoring of TCT compliance) will commence on 1 July 2028. Until that date, the Commission may carry out the EUCA’s risk management tasks on a transitional basis. The operational provisions on the importer for distance sales also apply from 1 July 2028, at which point importers for distance sales must begin using the Data Hub.

Three reasons why this matters for your business

Reason 1: Your customs compliance responsibility is broadening. Under the current system, businesses can largely delegate customs compliance to a declarant or broker, whose primary concern is duty accuracy. Under the Code, the importer is directly and personally responsible for ensuring that goods meet not only fiscal requirements but the full range of EU product safety, environmental, health, and sanctions rules. This, combined with tighter enforcement through new tools such as the Data Hub, means you can expect more effective enforcement to ensure both fiscal and, in particular, non-fiscal compliance. You can prepare by critically reviewing your import set-up to identify the relevant entity as the importer and ensuring that imported goods comply with EU standards.

Reason 2: The cost and risk profile of customs representation is changing. Indirect customs representatives will be jointly and severally liable for the full scope of importer and exporter obligations, including non-fiscal compliance. Where the importer is not established in the EU, the indirect representative will effectively become the importer. This materially increases the risk exposure of customs brokers and freight forwarders acting in an indirect capacity, and businesses should expect this to be reflected in commercial terms: higher fees, tighter indemnities, and more selective client acceptance. You can prepare by reassessing your customs representation arrangements well before Q4 2027.

Reason 3: Your current set-up may no longer work, and new ones come with trade-offs. The roles and contractual arrangements that businesses rely on today are not necessarily appropriate or viable under the Code. On the import side, the shift from a declarant-centred to an importer-centred model means that existing contractual set-ups between importers, brokers, and logistics providers will need to be revisited. On the export side, the rationalisation of the exporter role simplifies the picture but still requires businesses to confirm that the right person is identified and accountable. TCT status could become a genuine competitive advantage, but it comes at a high price: businesses must grant customs authorities near-real-time access to their electronic systems, including records on goods movements, compliance, and commercial transactions. You can prepare by assessing the impact of each role change on your current operations and identifying where legal or operational changes are required. A cost-benefit analysis can help determine the appropriateness of TCT status for your company.

About the Reed Smith International Trade team

Reed Smith’s International Trade team is known for its deep experience in customs law, advising clients across the globe on the full spectrum of customs and international trade matters – from regulatory compliance, customs classification, origin, and valuation, to anti-dumping proceedings, sanctions, and export controls. Our team represents clients in customs litigation before courts and regulatory authorities worldwide, and advises multinational businesses on complex cross-border trade projects in every major jurisdiction. If you have questions about how the reforms discussed in this briefing may affect your operations, please reach out to your usual Reed Smith contact or one of the team members below.

This briefing is based on publicly available EU and UK legislative proposals and official policy documents as at the date of publication. The legislative process has not yet been fully completed, and key operational details are still to be determined. Timelines, thresholds, and specific requirements discussed in this briefing may change as the legislative process advances. Readers should verify any information against the final legislative texts and official authority guidance before making compliance or business decisions.