The future of customs audits: from post-clearance to continuous?

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

For decades, the routine was familiar: goods are released, and some years later the auditors arrive to examine the declarations. That routine is coming to an end. Under the EU customs reform, authorities will draw data continuously from the EU Customs Data Hub, and Trust & Check traders will be supervised through their systems rather than declaration by declaration. Elsewhere in the world, e-audits, AI-based risk selection and self-assessment are spreading fast.

The new EU Customs Code is expected to be published around the time of the meeting - so we may take a first look together at what it actually says about controls and audits.

And we will ask the bigger questions: 

• What will become of the post-clearance audit as we know it? 

• Will companies still get the chance to find and correct their own errors?

• And who is better prepared for this shift - customs or business?

Join experts from different countries to compare how audits are changing and what companies should be doing now to prepare. Come with your questions - or with 5 minutes of insights from your country.

The meeting will take place on 22nd September 2026, 15:00 -16:00 CEST/CET.

Topics discussed in previous meetings

• 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)

Contact us

If you need further information or have any questions, please feel free to contact us at info@customsclear.net