June 30, 2012
Not even astronauts can escape the long arm of Customs!

Photo by History in HD on Unsplash

Many remember the first landing on the Moon, when Apollo 11 touched down on its surface on 20 July 1969 and Neil Armstrong, one of its astronauts and the first man to walk on the Moon, uttered his now famous phrase: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. People were either glued to the television or hunched around the radio as the world witnessed this historic event. But little did the astronauts know that when they returned to earth, a duty-conscious Customs offi cer would stop them and ask the most famous words associated with Customs services across the globe: “Do you have anything to declare?” Not even astronauts can escape the long arm of Customs!

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Country update
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NOCA's Bulgarian Green Corridors project
03-09-2024

The rapid crossing of land borders for imported and exported goods (including for intra-EU movements)would help to take the operation of international supply chains to a new level. Timely delivery of goods is much more than a fulfilment of trade commitments in order to build fair and long-term business partnerships. The COVID-19 health crisis and the still-unfolding war in Ukraine serve as reminders that timely delivery of goods can be vital for people's lives and health. Furthermore, delays at borders resulting from a number of customs and non-customs checks are an administrative burden.

Boryana Peycheva

customs clearance
Country update
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NOCA's Bulgarian Green Corridors project
03-09-2024

The rapid crossing of land borders for imported and exported goods (including for intra-EU movements)would help to take the operation of international supply chains to a new level. Timely delivery of goods is much more than a fulfilment of trade commitments in order to build fair and long-term business partnerships. The COVID-19 health crisis and the still-unfolding war in Ukraine serve as reminders that timely delivery of goods can be vital for people's lives and health. Furthermore, delays at borders resulting from a number of customs and non-customs checks are an administrative burden.

Boryana Peycheva

customs clearance
Perspective
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Top five challenges for European customs
28-08-2024

Someone recently asked me what are the current top challenges for customs in Europe. The article is an attempt to summarise the answer to this question. These are the five issues that, in my opinion, are likely to impact the customs industry in the upcoming months and years. Some are more across-the-board and some are a bit more niche and local. The article comes from the author’s personal experience of working in the industry and across the private and public sectors and is therefore a personal perspective. By no means an exhaustive list.

Dr Anna Jerzewska

customs clearance, trade topics
Perspective
icon
Top five challenges for European customs
28-08-2024

Someone recently asked me what are the current top challenges for customs in Europe. The article is an attempt to summarise the answer to this question. These are the five issues that, in my opinion, are likely to impact the customs industry in the upcoming months and years. Some are more across-the-board and some are a bit more niche and local. The article comes from the author’s personal experience of working in the industry and across the private and public sectors and is therefore a personal perspective. By no means an exhaustive list.

Dr Anna Jerzewska

customs clearance, trade topics
Case law
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Importing chemicals: CJEU rules who bears the burden of administrative work
10-07-2024

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation is the EU’s main instrument to protect human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals. The legislation places a registration obligation on the importer. However, the definitions of the importer and import under the REACH legislation do not align with the customs terminology. The article demonstrates what happens when discrepancies arise.

Dr David Savage

customs clearance, restrictions, trade barriers, import
Case law
icon
Importing chemicals: CJEU rules who bears the burden of administrative work
10-07-2024

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation is the EU’s main instrument to protect human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals. The legislation places a registration obligation on the importer. However, the definitions of the importer and import under the REACH legislation do not align with the customs terminology. The article demonstrates what happens when discrepancies arise.

Dr David Savage

customs clearance, restrictions, trade barriers, import
icon
EORI number (EU)
09-06-2024

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.

customs clearance
icon
EORI number (EU)
09-06-2024

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.

customs clearance
Topic spotlight
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EU Customs Reform: What will change in the import process?
02-05-2024

This article continues the overview of certain aspects of the EU Customs Reform. In a previous article, the author described why and how the Commission intends to impose the obligations for importing goods on a single person, the importer in three variants: the regular importer, the deemed importer (for e-commerce) and the indirect customs representative representing both types of importers. In this article, the author focuses on the proposed import procedure, which consists of several consecutive steps.

Michael Lux

customs clearance
Topic spotlight
icon
EU Customs Reform: What will change in the import process?
02-05-2024

This article continues the overview of certain aspects of the EU Customs Reform. In a previous article, the author described why and how the Commission intends to impose the obligations for importing goods on a single person, the importer in three variants: the regular importer, the deemed importer (for e-commerce) and the indirect customs representative representing both types of importers. In this article, the author focuses on the proposed import procedure, which consists of several consecutive steps.

Michael Lux

customs clearance
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