Brussels replaces Union Customs Code and creates EU Customs Authority in Lille

The European Parliament and the Council have adopted Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, which repeals Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and replaces the Union Customs Code with a new legal architecture for goods entering and leaving the customs territory of the Union. The text, signed at Strasbourg on 16 September 2026, creates the EU Customs Authority seated in Lille, France, establishes the EU Customs Data Hub and introduces a per-item Union handling fee on distance sales. It was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series, 19.9.2026, 2026/2108), enters into force on 20 September 2026 and applies from 21 September 2027.

The reform responds to weaknesses identified in the 2013 code: insufficient protection against non-financial risks, limited capacity to handle the growing volume of goods imported through distance sales, an IT architecture unable to keep pace with data technologies, and divergent implementation across Member States. The regulation runs to 281 pages of the Official Journal and is signed by R. METSOLA for the European Parliament and T. BYRNE for the Council.

A new authority seated in Lille

The EU Customs Authority is established as a Union body with legal personality, represented by its Executive Director, and its seat is fixed in Lille, France. Its administrative and management structure comprises:

• a Management Board, with one member per Member State, two designated by the Commission and one by the European Parliament, for renewable four-year terms;
• an Executive Board and an Executive Director, plus a Deputy Executive Director if the Management Board creates the post;
• a Customs Advisory Board, consulted on technical actions, standardisation and operational aspects of other legislation applied by customs authorities.

The Authority takes over data management, Union-level risk management, coordination of joint controls, training content and a crisis response cell, and supports the application of restrictive measures. Until 21 September 2027, the Commission may carry out its tasks.

The EU Customs Data Hub

The EU Customs Data Hub is a secure, cyber-resilient centralised IT platform serving as the central point for data exchange with and between customs authorities, replacing the customs declaration system in stages:

• until 30 June 2028, all goods placed under a customs procedure require a customs declaration;
• from 1 July 2028, importers for distance sales and users of the IOSS scheme must provide data through the Hub, whose functionalities must be operational by 1 June 2028;
• from 1 March 2031, other importers, exporters and transit holders may use the Hub voluntarily;
• from 1 March 2034, use of the Hub becomes mandatory, with all functionalities fully operational by 1 February 2034.

Its infrastructure must be controlled by the Commission or the Authority and located within Union territory, and data may not be transferred to third countries save under specific rules.

Handling fee, e-commerce and penalties

Article 20 requires customs authorities to collect a Union handling fee of a fixed amount per item for handling requests to release goods sold in distance sales for free circulation. The fee is non-refundable, is lower for goods sold from a customs warehouse for distance sales, and must be paid at least monthly by the debtor of the customs debt; it covers data checks, risk analysis, infrastructure and controls, including services rendered by the Authority. A delegated act setting its amount is due by 29 September 2026, and the fee applies from 10 days after that act enters into force.

The regulation also eliminates the duty relief for imports not exceeding EUR 150 and sets penalties for systematic non-compliance in distance sales of at least 1 % and up to 4 % of the value of goods imported in the preceding 12 months, rising to 3 % to 6 % for repeat infringements, with possible suspension of the operator’s online interface. A Commission statement published the same day (C/2026/4922) notes that the fee will constitute a traditional own resource, of which Member States retain 25 %, and that a proposed transitional measure would leave the revenue to Member States until the end of 2027.

New obligations for operators

Importers and exporters become responsible for compliance of the goods with financial and non-financial requirements, and only one importer may exist at a time. For distance sales, the importer is the supplier or the person facilitating the sale, and where that person is not established in the Union an indirect representative holding authorised economic operator or Trust and Check trader status must act in its own name. Customs representatives must be established in the Union, and only authorised economic operators for customs simplifications or Trust and Check traders may place distance-sale goods under release for free circulation or operate in another Member State. Non-Union goods in temporary storage may not remain there more than 90 days, except in exceptional cases.

The regulation reshapes the daily compliance duties of every importer, exporter and customs representative in the Union, and gives the customs union a single operational authority and a single data platform for the first time.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 19.9.2026, 2026/2108 (official reference: Regulation (EU) 2026/2108).