EU Releases Proposal for New Single Customs Window

The European Union issued a proposal for its new EU-wide single customs portal, which it said will make it easier for member states to exchange customs information and speed up clearance times. Under the proposal, traders would be required to submit some customs documents in only one location as opposed to submitting “documents to several authorities through different portals,” the EU said Oct. 28.

The COVID-19 pandemic “has highlighted the importance of having agile yet robust customs processes,” yet “formalities” at borders “often involve many different authorities in charge of different policy areas,” the EU said. The process is “cumbersome and time-consuming for traders and reduces the capacity of authorities to act in a joined-up way in combatting risks.”

The single window is part of several new initiatives announced by the EU in September to support its Customs Union and address smuggling and other trade challenges (see 2009280023). The EU called the process an “ambitious project that will entail significant investment at both EU and Member State level” and said it will be “fully implemented over the next decade or so.”