Up to €2.7 billion per year in potential savings on compliance costs, increased digitalization, improved data quality, and more targeted controls. These are some of the expected benefits of the recently approved reform of the EU Customs Code, which ushers in a new era for businesses, logistics operators, and e-commerce, bringing customs management ever more deeply into corporate processes. Final approval by the European Parliament on September 16 and publication in the Official Journal of the EU on September 19 pave the way for a system destined to profoundly change the relationship between businesses, customs authorities, and international trade.

As Simona Mellano, Head of Consulting & Academy at Nord Ovest , a company specializing in national and international logistics and shipping, explains, "The reform of the Union Customs Code marks one of the most significant changes in the functioning of European customs in recent decades. The Customs Union handles over €4.3 trillion in trade each year, equivalent to approximately 14% of world trade, while nearly €30.7 billion in duties were collected in 2025. However, the explosion of e-commerce has placed the system under unprecedented pressure. Low-value items imported into the EU have increased from approximately €1.4 billion in 2022 to €5.9 billion in 2025, more than quadrupling in three years. 93% of the volume came from China. It therefore becomes a question of scale, as well as the value of the goods."

"In the first half of 2025," Mellano continues, "low-value items accounted for 97.9% of the total number of items imported into the Union, but only 2.1% of their value. European customs thus finds itself having to manage billions of individual movements, each of which generates data, controls, and responsibilities. For this reason, the changes with the greatest operational and economic impact directly concern the e-commerce sector and logistics operators."

Among the reform's key measures is the introduction of a new European handling fee for each item purchased from online stores in non-EU countries. The amount, which EU countries will begin collecting by November 1, 2026, will be established by the European Commission and revised every two years. This fee will be added to the fixed €3 duty per type of imported product, already applicable since July 2026. The role of sellers and e-commerce platforms will also change, as they will be considered importers and will therefore be required to fulfill customs obligations and ensure the goods' compliance with EU regulations. Reliable and transparent operators who comply with EU regulations will also be granted "Trust and Check" status, allowing them to benefit from less frequent checks and greater flexibility in paying duties and taxes. AEO status will be maintained to ensure that customs status is accessible to even the smallest economic operators.

Finally, the new framework includes more stringent controls and a system of graduated penalties that, in the most serious cases, could reach up to 6% of the operator's annual import value. To ensure greater uniformity of application, the creation of the European Union Customs Authority and the Customs Data Hub is planned, designed to overcome the fragmentation of current national systems.

"Today," Mellano explains, "the Union is dealing with 27 customs administrations and over 100 IT systems and interfaces. According to the European Commission, the new model could allow companies to reduce compliance costs by up to €2.7 billion per year, while the progressive replacement of national systems would allow administrations to save over €2 billion per year on IT operating costs."

But the real change will be organizational. "The new customs system aims to shift the focus from individual shipment control to risk analysis and data quality. For businesses, this means that goods classification, origin, value, documentation, and logistics chain traceability will need to be increasingly consistent and verifiable. The timetable will be gradual, but preparation must begin now: the real challenge will be making the data feeding the customs chain reliable. Customs is now fully integrated into business processes. Customs compliance will therefore need to encompass purchasing, logistics, administration, information systems, and supplier management. For businesses, compliance can thus transform from an administrative cost into a competitive advantage," concludes Mellano.