A selection of customs regulatory developments (EU, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg) over the past 7 days. A Customs Conform IT publication.
European Union
The Council gave its final approval to the overhaul of the EU customs framework, the most comprehensive in decades. Non-EU e-commerce platforms will be considered the importer of the goods they sell into the Union and will therefore be responsible for customs formalities and duty payment, rather than the final consumer. A dedicated penalty regime for e-commerce operators is introduced, with fines of up to 6% of the company's annual import value of goods in the preceding year. An EU-wide handling fee on small parcels will be introduced by 1 November 2026, with the Commission setting its level. The text creates the EU Customs Authority, located in Lille and starting operations in 2027, an EU Customs Data Hub — whose use becomes mandatory on 1 July 2028 for e-commerce businesses and on 1 March 2034 for all traders — and the new category of trust and check traders, which will give the most transparent businesses simplified procedures, up to release into circulation without any active customs intervention. The European Parliament is expected to approve the final text later in September, ahead of signature and publication in the Official Journal. Read more
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963, published in the Official Journal of 31 August, determines the evidence importers must provide to establish the country of 'melt and pour' for steel products covered by Regulation (EU) 2026/1384. The Mill Test Certificate stating the country of melt and pour and the heat number becomes the reference document; eight other types of document may complement it, or serve as standalone evidence but only until 30 September 2027. The country of melt and pour is declared by means of TARIC document codes; failure to declare with appropriate verifiable evidence leads to rejection of the import. Applies from 1 October 2026. Read more
Also of note: temporary trade-liberalisation measures for Armenia endorsed by the Council, covering around 80% of Armenian exports to the EU for two years, conditional on compliance with the rules of origin (02/09); the Commission's annual report on the VAT e-commerce package, with more than EUR 125 billion in VAT collected through the OSS and IOSS schemes since 2021, of which EUR 38 billion in 2025, and more than 193,000 registered businesses (03/09); Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1405 correcting certain language versions of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 on the control of exports of dual-use items (01/09); interim emergency measures relating to African swine fever in Italy (02/09); a corrigendum to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1925 initiating an anti-circumvention investigation into anti-dumping measures on certain open mesh fabrics of glass fibres originating in China, consigned from Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia and Serbia (04/09); decisions of the EU-Monaco and EU-Switzerland joint committees, the latter amending Annex I to the emissions trading systems linking agreement (04/09).
Belgium
No significant developments this week.
France
No significant developments this week.
Netherlands
Dutch Customs published a first quantified assessment of the EUR 3 customs duty on e-commerce consignments valued at or below EUR 150 from third countries, introduced on 1 July 2026. In July and August, the average number of e-commerce declarations fell by 46% against the first-half 2026 average and the number of declaration lines by 70%, while regular declarations rose by 20%. Customs attribute the shift to a reorganisation of flows towards bulk importation followed by storage within the Union, and note the same trend in France and Belgium. They recall that the European handling fee, payable by the declarant and applicable to online consignments regardless of value, is expected in November. Read more
From 31 October 2026, Dutch Customs will automatically check mandatory documents when goods are placed under the customs warehousing procedure and in simplified declarations, for cultural goods, F-gases, OAS, CBAM, COI and CHED. Three online information sessions are scheduled for 15 and 24 September and 1 October 2026. Read more
Also of note: the Digitaal Dossier becomes available for declarations made in DECO from 19 September 2026, with requested supporting documents submitted directly to customs via the system interface, following the MIG DECO 2.10 specifications (04/09).
Luxembourg
No significant developments this week.
Key takeaways this week
- UCC reform: the legal basis for the trust and check trader status is now secured, with the migration to the Data Hub set for 1 July 2028 for e-commerce businesses and 1 March 2034 for all traders; ongoing or under-revalidation AEO files are best documented with the future status's data requirements in mind.
- Melt and pour: from 1 October 2026, any steel import covered by Regulation 2026/1384 must be accompanied by a Mill Test Certificate stating the country of melt and pour and the heat number, declared through TARIC document codes; collecting these certificates from suppliers should be secured without delay, as imports are otherwise rejected.
- Handling fee: the European handling fee on small parcels is introduced by 1 November 2026, borne by the declarant and applicable both below and above EUR 150; pricing schedules and representation mandates should provide for pass-through.
- E-commerce platforms: non-EU platforms will be deemed to be the importer, with penalties of up to 6% of annual import value, which calls for a review of the contractual allocation of responsibilities between platform, seller and customs representative.
- Armenia: the suspension of duties on around 80% of Armenian exports opens a two-year sourcing opportunity, subject to solid proof of origin, as the conditionality explicitly covers the rules of origin.
- Dutch declaration systems: automated CERTEX checks from 31 October 2026 and the DECO Digitaal Dossier from 19 September 2026, two deadlines that require verifying customs software compatibility and the availability of non-customs documents.