The new Union Customs Code (UCC)
Published 12 May 2026
Anthony Buckley, former Head of Irish Customs, explains the proposed reform of the EU Union Customs Code (UCC) to CustomsClear — essential viewing for anyone in customs and trade compliance who needs to plan for the shift from declarations to data.
Topics covered:
- The background to the UCC reform, from the old Community Customs Code through today's still-incomplete Union Customs Code
- The drivers behind the reform: the e-commerce boom, low-value imports, rising criminality and global trade volatility
- The shift from customs declarations to an electronic data model built around the EU Customs Data Hub
- The new EU Customs Authority and its role in EU-wide risk management and crisis response
- New rules for low-value e-commerce consignments, including the flat per-item duty and the future handling fee
- The new "importer", "importer for distance sales" and "deemed importer" concepts, and who is liable for compliance
- The rollout of Certex and its role in certificate-declaration matching
- The outlook for Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status and the new Trust and Check model
- The move towards harmonised customs infringements and penalties, including special penalties for non-compliant online platforms
- The implementation timeline from 2026 through to the phase-out of customs declarations in 2034
For a broader overview of the topic, please watch the full recording. The slides are available in the Resources section.
Please note that this summary was generated using AI, based on the recording and available slides.
