Glossary

The Pan-European-Mediterranean Zone was implemented in 2005. The idea was to create a cumulation zone between Europe and its neighbours and to encourage intra-regional integration by promoting … trade and cooperation. The PEM Convention allows for the cumulation of origin between different countries within the zone. Cumulation of origin is one of the ways to allow for greater flexibility when it comes to using raw and semi-manufactured materials in the production process. It allows a member of a trade agreement to use originating products from other members.

ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, which are considered the three main pillars of ESG frameworks. These pillars cover key areas that companies must address and report on. The … purpose of ESG is to identify and consider non-financial risks and opportunities associated with a company's day-to-day operations.

CBAM goods are all goods for which the embedded emissions must be reported. In the EU, they are listed in Annex I to the CBAM Regulation.

Companies are legally required to keep records related to their import and export transactions. That includes commercial, customs and shipping documentation. The company needs to obtain some … of the documents from its freight forwarder, customs broker or other parties involved.

Non-manipulation certificate is a document required when goods of preferential origin are unloaded, stored and/or subjected to treatments necessary to maintain the goods in a third country while … being shipped from the country of dispatch to the country of destination.

Compliance means that a person or organisation complies with the applicable laws and regulations of their own accord or adheres to them. Learn about the international standard definition of compliance … and what customs authorities do to ensure compliance.

An EORI number means an identification number, unique in the customs territory of the European Union, assigned by a customs authority to an economic operator or to another person in order to … register that person for customs purposes.

‘Other legislation applied by the customs authorities’ means legislation other than customs legislation applicable to the goods entering, exiting, passing through the customs territory of the … Union, or to be placed in the Union market, in the implementation of which the customs authorities are involved.

The electronic customs declaration consists of data elements that should be harmonised worldwide so that customs can verify the data flow from the exporting country to the importing country. … The World Customs Organisation has developed the WCO data model, which provides a universal language for cross-border data exchange. The EU has adopted this model for its own purposes and for trans-European use.

Uniform customs laws apply in a customs territory and there are no internal customs duties or similar taxes. A customs territory comprises territories including their territorial waters, inland … waters and airspace.

Transfer pricing is a rule that was designed in international taxation to establish which part of the income within a multinational enterprise needs to be allocated between two companies in the … same group if they have a transaction between them. The rule, in general, is that they need to act as if they were third parties in order to establish the third-party price. Transfer pricing is important for determining the customs value of goods.

Non-tariff measures are policy measures other than ordinary customs tariffs that can potentially have an economic impact on international trade in goods by changing the quantities traded, prices … or both.

REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It is the main EU legislation for the regulation of chemicals in the EU. It is a single economic market … measure applying in the European Economic Area (EEA). EU REACH ceased to have effect in Great Britain from 1 January 2021. The Government has put in place a separate UK REACH regime that applies to businesses that import, make, sell or distribute chemicals in Great Britain, whether as raw materials or in their finished state. Northern Ireland stays within the jurisdiction of EU REACH.

Sustainability-related legislation for material goods falls within the scope of customs control when goods cross international borders. But what exactly does 'sustainability' mean?

There are five main steps in the standard customs risk management process as defined by the World Customs Organization: establish context, identify risks, analyse risks, assess and prioritize … risks and address risks. In addition to these five steps, risk management requires constant monitoring and review.

Electronic customs (‘e-customs’) is a major development for the EU's Customs Union. The project aims to replace paper-format customs procedures with EU-wide electronic procedures to create a … more efficient and modern customs environment. Each year the European Commission releases a report on progress in developing electronic systems. The latest report was published in February 2023.