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AEO: customs and businesses data monitoring, artificial intelligence and customs obligation.
The AEO (authorized economic operator) is a customs authorization[1] able to qualify its ower as “reliable”. This is an “unicum” inside the group of customs decisions that can be granted: inwards processing relief, outward processing relief, customs warehouse, temporay admission, end use and free trade zone and the approved exporter allow the economic operator either to exercise the right to apply for a special regime or to declare the preferential origin status in the statement of origin instead by means of EUR.1 certificate. In other words, except for the authorized economic operator, the authorizations impact only on the objective element of the customs obligation (it means: the customs debt).…
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Binding value information, EU: new tool for compliance, circular economy and environmental goods
From 1 December 2027 the economic operator can apply for the BVI (binding value information) which is a custom decision on controversional and unclear aspects of the customs value of goods imported. In general, the decisions relating to binding information (origin, customs classification or value-for the future) aim at setting up a transparent and formal process whereby exporters and importers can apply for and obtain in advance, from the customs authorities, binding decisions on the customs treatment to be given to imported or exported goods. In the EU, a decision relating to binding information taken by one Member State is valid in all Member States, and binding on its holder…
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CBAM: questions and answers from EU Commission
EU Commission on 23 January 2024 updated its “ Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Questions and Answers” and checks the following points: General topics about the CBAM; Reporting aspects, responsabilities, procedures and general issues related; The transitional registry; Methodology for calculationg embedded emission in CBAM goods (cement,fertilizer, electricity, hydrogen, iron, steel, aluminum/steel) Customs and CBAM. Definitve period. For what is concerning, the customs implications of CBAM, the “ Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Questions and Answers” provides with the following answers: QUESTION: Can an importer use different customs representatives for the customs declaration and the CBAM reporting? As regards the reporting requirements applicable during the transitional period, the CBAM Regulation…
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EU GSP scheme and sustainable development
The European Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) is a framework of customs rules for which, the duties on some goods are removed if imported from vulnerable developping countries. This benefit requires that: To be eligible, the goods must comply with some additional rules: direct trasport, accounting segregation, rules of origin, statement of origin with the mention of rex (registered exporter) in the invoice or other document; It is based on the regulation 978/2012. It is interesting to add that in November 2023 the application of this GSP regulation was extended until December 2027, pending the approval of a reviewed GSP regulation by the European Parliament and the Council of the…
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PEM an update
One of the more important FTA of the EU is, of course, the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) Convention on preferential rules of origin. This agreement established: a) a common framework of rules of origin; b) cumulation. It involves from a side the EU and from the other one the following PEM Contracting parties: the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtestein, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Israel, Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Türkiye, the Faroe Islands, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Albania. On 7 December 2023, the PEM Joint Committee adopted the new and modernised rules of origin that aims…
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FAQ, CBAM and French Customs: an interesting update
The French Customs published its “frequently questions & aswers” about the following points: Import/export of packaging: “ …Nomenclatures 7310 and 7612 are included in Annex 1 of the CBAMregulation. When this packaging is released for free circulation, it is covered by the CBAM. When this packaging is intended to be re-exported, it can benefit from the temporary admission regime which is not a customs regime subject to the CBAM…”; Freight: “…The threshold of €150 per shipment excludes customs-cleared shipments with Delta H7. In contrast, express freight shipments cleared through Delta X and Delta G are covered by the CBAM. Customs regime: “The CBAM is applicable to all procedures giving rise…
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OECD, AEO and goods and services in international trade
Our focus into AEO and customs compliance brings us to read and share (very shortly) the very interesting OECD Policy paper n.274/2023 “interactions between goods and services in international trade” which: “…examines whether the customs valuation systems and rules of origin are sufficiently attuned to the changing landscape of commercial realities characterised by new and diverse configurations of goods-services trade…”; “…suggests that, while goods-services interactions in international trade do not require a radical restructuring of existing trade law, challenges for the current approaches and practices for customs valuation and origin determination call for policy solutions specific to each type of goods-services configuration…”; Identifies and distinguishes the following trade configurations (goods-services)…
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Chips act, EU trade policy and semiconductor
On 25 July 2023 the European Council approved the regulation to strengthen Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem, better known as the ‘Chips Act’ which aims to: create the conditions for the development of a European industrial base in the field of semiconductors; attract investment; promote research and innovation; prepare European Union for any future chip supply crisis. From a customs perspective, the chips generate consequenses on: value; origin; classification; compliance.
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The next challenge of AEO: deforestation and CBAM
Environment protection is one of the key factor of the European trade policy. This requires a strong due diligence for the import of relevant commodities and the export of relevant product to prevent deforestation and forest degradation linked to cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood trade and deployment. From the other side, from October 2023 the reporting required by the Carbon border adjustment mechanism will enter into force for the import of cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. CBAM implies a good management of the following customs aspects required for the AEO: The customs classification will play an important role to well identify the…
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CBAM and penalties
The article 16 of the document draft Ares(2023)4079551 will provide the cases where a penalty is imposed “…(a) the reporting declarant has not taken the necessary steps to comply with the obligation to submit a CBAM report, or (b) the reporting declarant has not taken the necessary steps to correct the CBAM report to comply with the obligations…”. The amount of the penalty, for each tonne of unreported embedded emissions shall be between EUR 10 and EUR 50. Moreover, the penalty can increase in accordance with the European index of consumer prices; in parallel, the national competent authorities may determine the exact amount based on the following criteria: “…(a) the…