Excise tariffs are different in the Member States of the European Union. The excise duty must be paid according to the excise tariff of the Member State where the excise goods will be consumed and to the Member State where the goods will be consumed. The EU is developing the Excise Movement and Control System or EMCS to carry out control of transit of excise good between the member states by using a computerized system.

EMCS is an electronic EU wide arrangement that will be applicable from 1 April 2010 for the transport of excise goods for which no excises have been paid yet. This system applies in principle to all excise duty goods which concern alcohol and alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and energy products.

EMCS will replace the paper-based procedure, where the circulation and control of intra-community movements of excise goods in duty-suspension can only take place between authorised economic operators and must be accompanied by a paper-based document – the Accompanying Administrative Document (ADD) and a guarantee financially securing the movement, both of which can only be discharged when the goods arrive at their destination.

Due to the introduction of EMCS, transit of the excise goods on which no duty has yet been paid or excise duty suspension procedure will be accompanied by the electronic ‘administrative document’. The realization of EMCS is meant to help to tackle excise fraud by creating a faster and more efficient means of information exchange between excise authorities. The new system is intended to provide better management and control of intra-EU duty suspended movements of excise goods, and to simplify procedures for warehouse keepers.

Each member state will develop its own national EMCS application which will connect to all other countries though a central interface enabling data exchange maintained by the EU. The “electronic AAD” will enable electronic messages containing specific consignment and movement information to be exchanged throughout the EU, from the time the movement begins to receipt of goods at destination. EMCS will link over 80,000 traders with 25 national administrations across all EU Member States. The EMCS Computerisation Project will specify and support the operation of EMCS across all Member States.

Specialist software suppliers are developing solutions based on the country specific requirements which will allow fully automated exchange of messages with the authorities systems of each country. The Belgian Customs Authorities will also put a free EMCS web application for the concerned operators.

EMCS will gradually be implemented in different EU Member States during a transitional period starting from 1 April 2010 to 31 December 2010. During this transitional period, the paper-based system will continue alongside the electronic system. In order to simplify the coexistence of the two systems, any given movement that starts with one of the two systems (paper or electronic procedure) should finish with the same system by the consignee of the excise goods. As a result, companies having the necessary permits to receive excise goods in EMCS will be required to handle the receipt of those excise goods electronically in EMCS. On 1 January 2011, the written ‘administrative accompanying document’ ceases to exist.

The EU Commission and the Member States are implementing the EORI number or Economic Operators Registration and Identification number. The purpose of the EORI number is to have one unique identification number for each Economic Operator that should be recognised by all EU customs authorities. Such an identification number will serve as a common reference for the identification of economic operators in their relations with the customs authorities of the EU and for the exchange of information between these authorities and where appropriate, between customs authorities and other government departments and agencies.
The EORI number is mandatory as of 1st July onwards.

Who need to be registered ?
Economic Operators involved in customs related activities or mentioned on customs declarations.

In what Member State does an Economic Operator need to be registered ?
An economic Operator needs to be registered only in the Member State in which it is established for activities covered by customs legislation. The EORI number is unique and valid in all Member States of the EU. Operators of 3rd countries have to apply for their EORI number in the Member State where a customs declaration mentioning this operator is first submitted. The EORI number will be valid in all countries of the EU.
Example: Economic Operator X established in Germany imports goods via the port of Antwerp. The goods are released into free circulation in Belgium. As X is established in Germany, it needs to obtain an EORI number in Germany. The EORI obtained in Germany must be mentioned on the import declaration in Belgium.

EORI identification number
The EORI number will be structured as an identification number stating the country code of the Member State, e.g. BE followed with a numeric number. For Belgium this numeric number corresponds to the VAT number.

Registration procedure
Most Member States foresee in an automatic registration for those economic operators that are already known for customs. In case you don’t receive your EORI or a confirmation about your EORI, you will have to ask it to the competent authorities in your Member State. The Member State granting the number will validate the information included in the application form and process this information in both a national and a central EU system. Data will be exchanged between Member States and the EU Commission.

Implementation and application in Belgium
If your company is registered in the NCTS system, you will automatically receive a letter stating that your TIN number or Traders Identification Number is valid till end June. In the same letter the EORI number replacing the TIN number from 1st July onwards is mentioned.
If your company is known in the PLDA system, you should also automatically be informed with a letter informing your EORI number.
If by June, 10th, you have not been informed about your EORI, you need to apply yourself for an EORI number.

EORI on the customs declaration
According to the Commission Regulation n° 312/2009 of 16th April 2009 (OJ L 98, 17 April 2009), the EORI number should be mentioned in following boxes of the customs declaration:

For export, re-exportation, outward processing, community transit and/or proof of the community status of good:.
In Box 2: Consignor/Exporter. When the consignor/exporter does not have an EORI number, the customs administration may assign him an ad hoc number for the declaration concerned.
In Box 8: Consignee. If an EORI number has not been assigned to the consignee, enter the number required by the legislation of the Member State concerned.
In Box 14: Declarant/Representative. If the declarant/representative does not have an EORI number, the customs administration may assign him an ad hoc number for the declaration concerned.
In Box 50: Principal. In this box, you should enter the full name and address of the principal, together with the EORI number referred to the principal. Where the EORI number is provided, Membe States may waive the obligation to provide the full name and address.

For release for free circulation, inward processing, temporary importation, processing under customs control, customs warehousing and the entry of goods to free zones subject to type II controls:
In Box 2:Consignor/Exporter. If an EORI number has not been assigned to the consignor/exporter, enter the number requested by the legislation of the Member State concerned.
In Box 8: Consignee. When the consignee does not have an EORI number, the customs administration may assign him an ad hoc number for the declaration concerned.
In Box 14:Declarant/Representative. When the declarant/representative does not have an EORI number, the customs administration may assign him an ad hoc number for the declaration concerned.

An amendment to the Customs Code is set to come into effect on 1 July 2009, establishing a prior notification requirement for the transfer of goods across the EU’s external borders. Switzerland and the EU have been in talks since 19 July 2007 on the amendment of the Agreement on the Carriage of Goods. Switzerland is seeking to prevent the introductio of additional controls in Swiss-EU bilateral trade.

Following the terror attacks of 11 September 2001 and subsequent efforts by the US and the World Customs Organization to enhance the security of the supply chain, the EU has also decided for security reasons to require prior notification of goods crossing its external borders as of 1 July 2009. This applies to both imports and exports. The prior notification period is 24 hours for goods crossing by sea, two hours for rail transport, and one hour for road transport, provided that the relevant data is in electronic format. If the summary declaration is not lodged in electronic format, the prior notification period is at least four hours. Exceptions may be made within the context of international  agreements.

Goods traffic between Switzerland and the EU was worth CHF 245 bn in 2006, of which CHF 110 bn was exports and CHF 135 bn in imports. Switzerland is thus the second-largest importer of EU goods. The envisaged prior notification requirement could severely impede the intense exchange of goods between Switzerland and the EU. There are also fears of traffic problems in the border areas.

Since 19  July 2007, the Federal Council has been holding talks with the EU within the context of the agreement of 21 November 1990 on the simplification of controls and formalities for the transport of goods (Agreement on the Carriage of Goods; SR 0.631.242.05). Switzerland is seeking to ensure mutual recognition of risk analysis and further security measures in order to prevent the introduction of additional goods controls in Swiss-EU bilateral trade. A number of solutions are currently under discussion with the EU. 

Source: Swiss Federal Customs Administration

Op donderdag 29 januari organiseert de VOKA (Kamer van Koophandel van Antwerpen-Waasland) een praktische opleiding omtrent MASP. Deze studienamiddag zal de deelnemers inlichten over de geplande veranderingen en geeft uitleg over de nieuwe werkwijze inzake papierloze aangiften.

Het Meerjaren Strategisch Plan (MASP) is erop gericht de elektronische douane tot stand te brengen in de Europese Unie door geleidelijk aan de douaneprocedures op papier te vervangen door elektronische procedures. Hierdoor zal ook het aangifteproces in België grondige wijzigingen ondergaan. Het MASP is een voortzetting van het PLDA-project. Dit brengt voor heel wat ondernemingen wijzigingen mee, zoals de reorganisatie van werkprocessen en mogelijke aanpassingen aan douanesoftware.  Trainer voor deze opleiding is Pieter Haesaert van Customs4trade.

Bruno Fransman, Strategic Trade Initiatives Manager at Honeywell Automation & Control Solutions and Pieter Haesaert, managing partner at customs4trade have been asked to update the members of the ’Beroepsvereniging voor Boekhoudkundige Beroepen’ on customs issues.  Seen the recent developments  on MASP & PLDA, there will be a lot to talk about.  

The sessions will take place in 7 different locations (Aalst, Waregem, Gent, Ruddervoorde, Antwerpen, Beringen, Leuven) during the month of January 2009.

For more information www.bbb-vzw.be or secretariaat@bbb-vzw.be