E-Globalisation: The Next Generation in Belgian Customs
What is e-globalisation?
E-globalisation accelerates the customs process by electronically consolidating customs declarations on a weekly or monthly basis rather than sending a separate declaration for every transaction.
How does it work?
Companies that fulfil the AEO standard may use Entry in Declarant’s Records (EIDR) with an electronic supplementary declaration that refers to one or more EIDRs up to 999 items (one commodity code per line), this does not mean that they need to be AEO certified. These supplementary declarations have to be sent during the globalisation period (week/month), followed by a final message. While e-globalisation allows for the option to send your data to customs authorities on a weekly or monthly basis, the authorities recommend sending in data more frequently. As the number of items on the e-globalisation declaration is limited to 999, multiple declarations may need to be sent. The unique LRN is the link to the globalisation declaration.
The process follows three steps:
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An initial message is sent to the customs authorities, triggering the process of globalisation for a given period.
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The subsequent/supplementary declaration messages allow the submission of item master data using XML messages. These include the full declaration data set, including item master data, just like a standard declaration. Note: Customs authorities recommend sending a supplementary declaration per shipment because of customs risk analysis and the newly introduced shipment-level data structure (based on the UCC data model).
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The final consolidated message is sent to customs at the end of the globalisation period confirming the submission of the subsequent/supplementary messages and triggering the end of the process. There is only one final closing message per LRN.
Payment of import duty and VAT is due upon submission of the final message and will be taken from your FRCT account. You will receive the amounts due for each subsequent message submitted and you can estimate your payment based on these messages. If there is not enough money in the FRCT account, you will receive an error message. You will need to send a second final message once there is sufficient money in the account.
Why e-globalisation?
E-globalisation was an imposed legal change by the Belgian customs authorities. All companies using globalisation were required to switch to e-globalisation by 1 February 2022.
As e-globalisation requires a full declaration data set with item details to be provided to customs authorities, the advantage of filing a declaration with a reduced data set has disappeared. The main reason to opt for e-globalisation is that it allows you to receive or remove goods without the need to file a declaration in real time. This means that the goods can move without waiting for a release message from customs, saving you lots of time in the declaration process.
How do I switch to e-globalisation?
To be able to make use of e-globalisation, an authorisation for EIDR for imports, a Customs Warehouse authorisation if Special Procedures are used, and AEO compliance are recommended. If you already have a license to use globalisation, you may continue to use your globalisation license, however you must switch to e-globalisation.
You will find more detailed answers to frequently asked questions (available in Dutch) on the Nationaal Forum website.
Should my company be using e-globalisation?
Companies that are currently using globalisation were required to adopt e-globalisation by 1 February 2022 to continue to submit globalised declarations.
To assess whether to use e-globalisation, different elements need to be considered such as the time of release for free circulation, the cash flow effect, reporting requirements, and supply chain flexibility. C4T’s experts can advise you on whether your company will benefit from e-globalisation, help you obtain the required authorisations, and perform an impact assessment and data quality review to define additional data requirements and optimisations needed to adopt e-globalisation.
Automate e-globalisation with CAS
C4T’s customs compliance software, CAS, supports e-globalisation as part of the existing CAS Declarations module. That means all CAS customers can easily implement e-globalisation when they are ready.
CAS allows for aggregation options to file subsequent/supplementary declarations, resulting in fewer messages and easier follow up at the side of the customs authorities. Next to that, the CAS Master Data module allows for the easy integration of item details in the declaration. The e-globalisation declarations can be submitted automatically in CAS or can be manually submitted to allow for data correction before submitting it to the customs authorities. Since authorisations are also managed in CAS, CAS will automatically generate the initial message at the beginning of the globalisation period mentioned in the authorisation. Our Insights module offers reporting and dashboarding to deliver a consolidated view of all declarations that have been made and the applicable customs duties.
The e-globalisation process in CAS looks as follows:
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Set up your authorisations in CAS indicating the globalisation period
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CAS will automatically generate the initial message at the beginning of the globalisation period
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Send your shipment information to CAS. CAS will create the EIDR
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CAS aggregates data and automatically or manually submits the subsequent message(s)
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CAS allows you to make corrections to the subsequent message(s)
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CAS prepares the final message
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CAS allows for reporting & dashboarding
On an ongoing basis, we make sure all legal changes are updated immediately in CAS to support compliance, as Customs4trade is in close contact with Belgian customs authorities and has direct and timely access to information and potential changes.