The European customs inventory of chemical substances (ECICS) has been updated with CN codes 2005. It is a priceless tool for all persons concerned with chemicals in international trade, all over the world. It makes it possible to identify most of the internationally marketed chemicals in a non-equivocal manner, on customs and legal purposes.

It contains about 35.400 chemical names (ISO, INN, CI, IUPAC) for approximately 28.600 chemicals, in 11 languages, with the customs classification (Harmonized System and Combined Nomenclature) and the Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number.

Via the CN code, ECICS provides an easy access to the TARIC database where the duty rates and commercial policy measures on import/export within EU can be found.

ECICS embodies Commission Regulation (EC) No 1810/2004 of 7 September 2004 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (CN codes 2005). See Official Journal L 327 of 30 October 2004.

Meeting with ministers of ACP sugar exporting countries, the Commission presented its “action plan”, aimed at mitigating potential impacts of the EU sugar reform and at accompanying the adjustment process in ACP countries signatories of the Sugar Protocol. Several ACP economies are significantly dependent on sugar exports to the EU and may experience, following the EU sugar reform, a certain disruption of their sugar sector, with consequences on their socioeconomic development. The Commission proposes a partnership to support them in meeting this challenge, by means of a set of trade and development measures.

The latest Taxation Paper issued by the European Commission presents the results of the European Tax Survey, a survey of the compliance costs of EU companies in which seven hundred EU companies participated.

This survey shows that:

• Cross-border activity currently leads to higher company tax and VAT compliance costs for companies.
• Compliance costs are significantly higher for companies with at least one subsidiary in another EU Member State compared to companies without subsidiaries abroad and the costs increase with the number of such subsidiaries.

Compliance costs are also proportionately greater for SMEs than for large companies.