ESC is a member of one of the European Commission’s expert groups – Trade Contact Group – which deals with the Union Customs Code implementation, thus with the automation of the European customs.
The European Commission Multi-Annual Strategic Plan (MASP) provides the timeline to set European customs applications. At the moment, it is under revision. The present MASP defines the 31st December 2020 as the final date of the implementation process. However, because of a lack of budget and other resources this date is not likely to be met. Commission and Member States are setting priorities and working on a new time schedule including a later date for completion of the process. Till now, the Member States have prioritized the import processes including centralized clearance, the export system and the transit system.
During the last Trade Contact Group meeting, ESC have emphasized the importance of transparency for companies in Europe. This will help them to make resources available for the implementation of business applications in time. It is also important, ESC stated, that the Commission prioritises systems in a logical order. If this is not done properly, the process of implementation could be hampered. DG TAXUD promised to take these elements aboard.