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In the light of present-day security concerns, customs controls are an area of significant importance as a means of national security as well as the economic defence and security of the nation-state … or supranational blocks. Although this is a general issue of complex systems, in this article, the problem of control in EU, specifically indicated in Special Report of the European Court Of Auditors, is addressed. The problem is being ignored for several years already. This unaddressed problem indicates another issue, even more important – the defective control mechanism in EU, which fails to recognize critical issues and fails to initiate the corrective actions by taking responsibility and by claiming the ownership of the problem.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has recently, after several pilots (amongst others in the Netherlands), launched an online tool for the verification of preferential origin statements. … The tool is named Genesis, after the ancient Greek word for origin, which is also the name of the first book of the Holy Bible and one of the world’s most popular progressive rock bands. So the obvious questions are: how progressive is this tool and does it rock?

Developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) are the latest buzzword. However, the majority of people do not understand the technology behind it as well as its potential implications … for our lives and, more specifically, the field of customs and border management. In this article, we will give a short overview of the operational principles of AI tools and will provide insights into EU regulatory attempts to tame this disruptor of multiple areas of the world as we know and understand it.

The Incoterms book addresses in the introduction the situation where the two most extreme cases, EXW and DDP, may not be the best choice. The reason is that the buyer or seller has to fulfil … customs formalities in “foreign” countries. If they can – that’s fine. If not, it’s better to use another term.

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.

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.

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.