The EU customs reform
Law since 20 September 2026 and, as reported, applying mostly from 21 September 2027: non-EU marketplaces become the importer, the importer must be in the EU or represented there, and declarations move to one hub.
As of 15 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
The 3 euro duty came first, and the product identifiers follow on 1 November 2026. The larger rebuild of EU customs is now published too. Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 appeared in the Official Journal on 19 September 2026 and entered into force on 20 September. Most of it applies from 21 September 2027, as reported. For a brand selling into Europe from outside, it changes who the importer is, where the importer has to be, and how declarations are filed.
The importer for distance sales
For a parcel sold online to an EU consumer from outside the EU, the reform fixes who the importer is: non-EU online marketplaces are treated as the importer, and the importer for distance sales must be established in the EU or represented by an EU entity holding authorised economic operator (AEO) status or the new Trust and Check status. Penalties are scaled to the previous year's import value, up to 6 per cent of it. The publication and entry-into-force dates are from the regulation; the importer rule and the penalty scale are as reported.
For a brand this means a decision before September 2027, as reported: an EU establishment, or an EU representative holding AEO or Trust and Check status, for your consumer parcels.
The Customs Data Hub
Declarations move to one EU Customs Data Hub. It becomes mandatory for e-commerce on 1 July 2028 and for all traders on 1 March 2034, on the Council's dates, as reported. Separately, customs will check electronically, before release for free circulation, that an imported product has a valid registered DPP and that the commodity code has been provided; the EU Single Window for Customs is expected to verify passports automatically from the identifiers on import declarations.
The new authority
An EU Customs Authority, seated in Lille, starts in 2027, as reported.
The reform decides who answers for the goods crossing the border, and where the answer is filed.
Shipment paperwork
None of this removes the basics, which carriers apply today as practice rather than as a legal requirement. According to carrier documentation, an EORI number is required for any company trading with third countries, and at least one national customs administration is reported not to clear an import without the importer's EORI and VAT numbers. Carriers report that direct representation needs a signed power of attorney under Article 18 of the Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) 952/2013, with a trade register extract naming the signatory. According to the same carrier documentation, a declaration needs the Incoterm and the named place, the country of origin, the commodity code, gross and net weight per code, the invoice, the transport document, any certificate of origin and the elements of the customs value. Carriers screen shippers and recipients against sanctions lists and expect compliance with export-control and dual-use rules. As reported, EU importers of goods covered by CBAM have reporting obligations under it, which carriers remind them of at clearance.
Our role
We hold no brokerage licence and we do not act as your customs broker or your importer; Scope and limits draws that line. Our part is the data the declaration needs, held per item from the purchase order on: the commodity code, the origin, the weights, the identifiers. When the hub arrives, that data will be filed into it, by you or your representative. Freight into Europe is arranged through our contracted partners, as Freight explains, and the customs leg stays with the broker on the lane.
Questions we get asked.
When does the reform apply?
It entered into force on 20 September 2026. Most of the new Customs Code, including the importer for distance sales, applies from 21 September 2027, as reported. The Customs Data Hub becomes mandatory for e-commerce on 1 July 2028, as reported.
We sell through a marketplace based outside the EU. Who is the importer?
Under the reform, as reported, the non-EU marketplace is treated as the importer. Check how your marketplace intends to handle it; the obligation lands on the marketplace, and the data still comes from you.
Do we need an EU company?
The importer for distance sales must be EU-established or represented by an EU entity holding AEO or Trust and Check status, as reported. A representative with that status is the alternative to your own establishment.
Can Next Horizon be our importer or broker?
No. We hold no brokerage licence and we do not act as importer of record. We hold the per-item customs data and pass it to whoever files the declaration.
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