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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 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.

In the European Union, customs penalties and their proportionality fall within the national competence of the Member States. In a recent judgment, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled … that the imposition of an administrative penalty of 50% of the amount of duty underpaid is justified "notwithstanding the good faith of and precautions taken by the operator concerned". What does this mean for EU importers who declare the non-preferential origin of goods on the basis of proofs issued by the authorities of third countries that turn out to be incorrect? We provide an overview of the case and consider what conclusions economic operators could draw from it.

The saying "Only those who don't work make no mistakes" aptly states that it is human to make mistakes and there is no way to change that - the mistakes will happen. But they need to be managed … - to be minimised and corrected as quickly as possible. The Union Customs Code provides for a three-year period during which it is possible to apply to the customs authorities for the correction of errors, the recovery of overpaid taxes or the payment of underpaid amounts. In Lithuania, however, the new national legislation no longer provides for the possibility of correcting certain data elements. Let's take a look at the challenges this poses for businesses, as well as practices in other countries and trends.

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.

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.

Risk is the likelihood and the impact of an event, which would prevent the correct application of Union or national measures, compromise the financial interests of the Union and its Member States, … etc.

Customs compliance means compliance with legal rules and procedures applicable to goods brought into or taken out of the customs territory.