EU Customs Reform: Who is the ‘importer’ and what are their responsibilities?

Continuing a series of articles on the main legal aspects of the proposed EU customs reform, the author focuses on a key player in the import process: the importer. The Commission proposal is based on a new vision of this actor and his responsibilities. This article describes and analyses the three variants under this concept: the basic rules for importers, the special rules for deemed importers, and the rules for indirect customs representatives who are treated as the (deemed) importer. Furthermore, it addresses the question of what happens when the wrong person has been named as an importer by an actor in the supply chain or a customs representative.