Background
On September 16, 2026, the European Parliament and the Council adopted the most important reform of the EU Customs Union since its establishment. The enactment of the legislative framework proposed by the Commission in 2023 was a logical step after noteworthy changes within international trade, but primarily due to e-commerce growth among EU businesses and consumers.
The EU Customs reform entered into force after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, and it will be gradually implemented starting from September 21, 2026.
EU Customs Reform
The reform is built on three pillars: smarter risk management and customs controls, a modern framework for e-commerce, and a stronger partnership with business.
The gradual implementation of the Customs Reform should abolish the existence of the fragmented customs system spread around through national customs authorities of the Member States. The reform should unify these separated systems into a unified, central customs data system, which should reduce the number of mistakes, reduce bureaucracy, and eliminate exhaustive auditing procedures.
To be in a position to successfully implement this reform, the EU is establishing a new decentralized EU agency, the EU Customs Authority(EUCA). This central authority, headquartered in Lille, will serve as the principal authority for the proper functioning of the EU customs system, and the body with which the national customs systems are going to be technologically integrated.
The EU Customs Authority is another bureaucratic layer that should assist national authorities in raising the compliance bar, reducing customs challenges for all impacted stakeholders, and faster detection of illicit behaviour.
EU Customs Authority
The idea behind forming EUCA is that this central EU authority should assist and lead national customs authorities in resolving multiple challenges that customs authorities face with the growth of international commerce, at the first spot tackling the challenges of e-commerce imports and exports.
This central customs authority shall manage the EU Customs Data Hub, the single digital interface for all customs operations in the EU. This data hub should collect, organize, and provide full visibility of the data received from accountable economic operators and authorities.
This central repository will undoubtedly ease the possibility for Member State customs authorities to identify, among others, the fraudulent behaviour of businesses.
Expected to gradually replace Member States’ IT systems, it is estimated to save Member States over EUR 2 billion yearly in operational costs. The use of the data hub to record imports to and exports from the EU will become mandatory for e-commerce on July 1, 2028, and for all traders from March 1, 2034.
E-Commerce Triggering Point
The customs reform comes as a necessary legislative step, which will provide the national customs authorities with tools to process the demands of international trade with which the EU authorities are having difficulty “to wrestle” since the end of Covid-19 times.
The skyrocketing growth of imports of low-value goods outside the EU is the number one issue with which the EU customs authorities have been alarmed in recent years. In 2025, 5.9 billion low-value parcels were imported into the EU, four times the volume recorded in 2022.
This quantity of e-commerce imports(primarily originating from Asia) has put customs authorities under operational hardship. A significant quantity of these imports(some review notes more than 60%) fail to comply with EU rules and standards and pose serious safety and security concerns for customers.
Gradual Implementation Framework
- In 2027, EUCA will be established in close cooperation with the Member States, with some activities starting
- In 2028, e-commerce operators gain access to the EU Customs Data Hub
- In 2031, businesses can start using the EU Customs Data Hub voluntarily
- In 2034, the use of the EU Customs Data Hub becomes mandatory for all businesses importing goods into the EU