One-person customs department: when tools make fewer mistakes than people

Meet customs experts from around the world! Authors who contribute content to the CustomsClear platform meet in bi-monthly Authors' Meetings to exchange views on a specific topic. CustomsClear members are also warmly invited to attend and join the discussion.

During the meetings, participants are invited to give 5-minute presentations on the topic - though you are equally welcome to simply listen. Discussions and questions are welcome at any time. After the meeting, an overview is published in the Customs Compliance & Risk Management journal.

Upcoming meeting

Software providers are getting a new kind of request. A company has been found in breach of customs or sanctions rules. It asks the provider for a formal statement that it used the provider’s compliance tool. The company hopes the statement will show it took reasonable care. Will it?

The new Union Customs Code gives a clear starting point. Under Article 38(4), which has applied since 20 September 2026, acts performed through the EU Customs Data Hub remain the acts of the person performing them, even when they are automated. A Canadian tribunal took the same view: Air Canada had to pay for its chatbot’s wrong answer.

But the question may soon change. A Swiss Re study of Waymo’s driverless cars found 88% fewer property damage claims than for human drivers. If the same is shown for tariff classification or sanctions screening, customs may start asking: why did you not use a tool? Some already foresee the next step: a company run by one person, with AI agents doing the work.

We will ask:

• How should companies and customs check that a tool is reliable enough? And who decides what is acceptable?
• Does using a compliance tool reduce a penalty in your country, or can relying on it make things worse?
• What evidence will customs accept: a provider’s statement, the tool’s logs, screenshots?
• When the tool is wrong, who is liable: the trader, the customs representative or the software provider?
• In a one-person company, what must human oversight look like to count as more than a signature?

Bring a case from your country, your questions, or 5 minutes of insights.

The meeting will take place on 2 December 2026, 15:00-16:00 CET.

Topics discussed in previous meetings:

• The future of customs audits: from post-clearance to continuous? (34th)

• Rules of origin under free trade agreements: compliance vs usability (33rd)
• Work smarter: tools and techniques to boost productivity (32nd)
• Customs function in the organisation - a future-proof set up (31st)
• Criminal or administrative? How countries decide on customs violations (30th)
• Customs law and international trade contracts (29th)
• Non-preferential origin: theory and practice (28th)
• Tariffs – pros and cons (27th)
• Insights into the data in the customs declaration (26th)
• Trusted traders (e.g. AEO): new trends and developments in the EU (25th) 
• AEO trends and challenges: non-EU perspective (25th)
• International sanctions and export control – the latest developments (24th)
• Customs compliance and awareness amongst traders (23rd)
• Tariff classification of goods in the light of the latest technological developments (22nd)
• Law and case law news: what shouldn’t a customs professional miss? (21st)
• Origin of goods – the trends (20th)
• Customs brokers & their management: current challenges and the future (19th)
• Non-tariff measures: the biggest challenges in 2023 (18th)
• Management of import taxes other than duties (VAT, excise, etc.) – pitfalls and opportunities (17th)
• Customs valuation – the particularities of different countries (16th)
• Best practices/ tips of managing customs knowledge in companies (15th)
• Customs procedures – possibilities not to be missed and worth knowing about (14th)
• Interpretation of customs law: the most challenging aspects for business (13th)
• The biggest challenges in ensuring customs compliance in a company (12th)
• Case-law: most interesting/ relevant insights from judgements of the courts (11th)
• War: How does it highlight the role of a customs specialist, and related challenges? (10th)
• Digitisation of customs processes in business: best practices, challenges and the future (9th)
• The most unexpected customs risk that business faced (8th)
• Favourite article on customs and tips for writing an article (7th) 10 TIPS pdf
• A customs topic or not? What is the most complex customs topic? (6th)
• Customs news in our countries (5th)
• Customs related databases (4th)
• Books on Customs (3rd)
• Customs knowledge in our countries: Is it sufficient? What is ‘sufficient’? (2nd)
• Some thoughts on current important issues (1st, 18 August 2020)