The Council of the European Union has given its final approval to the reform of the community customs framework, a review that modifies the functioning of the customs union and introduces new obligations for electronic commerce, a common data management system, and a new European authority in charge of coordinating certain customs functions.
One of the main changes affects electronic commerce platforms established outside the European Union. The new regulations state that these platforms will be considered importers of the goods they sell to community consumers, and therefore will be responsible for complying with customs formalities and paying the corresponding duties.
The text also includes a penalty regime for electronic commerce operators who fail to meet their customs obligations. In the most serious cases, fines may reach up to 6% of the annual value of the goods imported by the company during the previous year. Specific customs privileges may also be withdrawn, and even access restrictions to online platforms may be applied.
The reform also contemplates the introduction, before November 1, 2026, of a community management fee for small packages entering the European Union via electronic commerce. The European Commission must set its amount before member states begin to apply it. This fee will be independent of the previously adopted decision to eliminate the customs duty exemption benefiting imports with a value under 150 euros.
Another element of the new regulation is the creation of the EU Customs Authority, a decentralized agency that will be based in Lille, France, and will begin operations in 2027. Among its functions will be the analysis of updated import and export data included in the future EU Customs Data Center.
This center will operate as a common platform for the relationship between importers and exporters with European customs administrations. The available information will allow member states to identify goods that present a higher level of risk and determine those that should be a priority for inspection.
The Customs Authority will also participate in defining priority control areas and risk criteria, as well as coordinating customs crisis management on a European scale.
The regulations also create the category called Trust and Check for companies that provide detailed information about the movement and compliance of their goods and meet the established requirements. These operators will be able to access simplified customs procedures and, in certain cases, place their goods into circulation in the EU without active customs intervention.
The European Parliament must approve the final text in September before its signing and publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. The use of the new Customs Data Center will be mandatory for electronic commerce companies starting July 1, 2028, and for all operators from March 1, 2034.
According to data provided by the Council, in 2025 the approximately 2,200 customs offices and 84,000 customs officials of the European Union raised nearly 31 billion euros in customs duties. That same year, they handled around 6 billion packages from electronic commerce and more than 1.5 billion items from traditional commerce. More than 90% of the electronic commerce packages that arrived in the EU came from China.
