What is changing in the EU customs system?
The reform responds by introducing new tools, new institutional structures and new responsibilities. Among its most visible innovations is the EU Customs Authority, a decentralized EU agency intended to coordinate governance across the customs union which will be based in Lille and begin operations in 2027. The authority will analyze continuously updated import and export data through a new EU Customs Data Hub, helping customs authorities identify higher-risk cargo and coordinate controls and crisis management.
For companies, this signals a broader shift: customs is becoming increasingly data-driven, coordinated and integrated at the EU level.
The new importer concept needs to be understood against that backdrop. It is not simply a new definition inserted into an otherwise familiar customs system. It forms part of a much wider redesign of how the EU identifies responsibility, assesses risk and manages the movement of goods.
The importer is becoming a strategic role
Who can act as importer under the new EU customs rules?
Under the new framework, the importer must be established in the EU and must ensure compliance with customs requirements and other legislation applied by the customs authorities. This change puts the legal entity acting as importer in a much more consequential position. In plain terms, the importer is the company that is legally answerable toward the customs authorities for customs-related obligations, including the accuracy of customs data, the payment of duties and compliance with other regulatory requirements applied by customs authorities where relevant to the imported goods. Under the new Code, this company has to be established in the EU. It does not directly mean that such company must be the legal and commercial owner of the subject goods. The concept of importer may differ from a customs, VAT or regulatory perspective. This aspect must be examined in the context of business and tax operating models.
Why does the choice of importer matter?
Consider a multinational business headquartered outside the EU. Its current model may involve a non-EU principal owning the goods, a centralized supply chain managing inventory and a customs broker acting as indirect representative. Such an arrangement may have developed incrementally over many years and may currently work well from an operational and commercial perspective. The reform creates a reason to examine that structure from first principles.
If the current non-EU entity cannot perform the importer role under the new framework, the business will need to determine which EU entity can assume the responsibility or whether the operating model itself needs to change. And if indirect representation results in additional liability exposure for customs representatives, the commercial attractiveness of that option could diminish significantly.
Indirect representation, i.e., a customs representative acting in its own name on behalf of another person, remains possible under the new framework. However, businesses should assess carefully whether this model remains appropriate in light of the respective roles, responsibilities and liability implications for all parties involved.
This is why the question should not be delegated solely to the customs department. The choice of importer can affect legal responsibilities, tax positions, intercompany arrangements, contracts and physical supply chain flows.
The entity selected must be capable not only of performing the customs role but also of managing the associated responsibilities within the broader business model.
This concept is not entirely new. The requirement for exporters to be established in the EU has been in place for many years. One of the effects of the reform is that establishment in the Union becomes a common feature of both the importer and exporter concepts. While importers and exporters remain distinct roles with different obligations, businesses now have a stronger incentive to review these roles together as part of a broader assessment of their EU operating model.
E-commerce is accelerating the shift in responsibility
The reform’s treatment of e-commerce illustrates the EU’s broader move toward placing greater responsibility on commercial actors that control the transaction.
Who will be responsible for importing goods sold through e-commerce?
The updated framework clarifies that non-EU e-commerce platforms will be considered the importer of goods sold into the EU. Rather than leaving customs formalities and duty payments to the final EU consumer, platforms will be responsible for handling those obligations.
This is particularly significant given the sheer volume of parcels entering the EU through e-commerce. The Commission reports that more than 90% of e-commerce parcels arriving in the EU in 2025 came from China.
The reform also introduces a new penalty framework for e-commerce operators that fail to meet their customs obligations, including obligations relating to EU standards and appropriate duty payment. In the most serious cases, penalties can reach 6% of a company’s annual import value of goods in the preceding year, alongside the possibility of losing certain customs privileges or facing restrictions on access to online platforms.
Two important cost changes are already in effect: the duty exemption for consignments below € 150 has been removed as of 1 July 2026 and a temporary €3 customs duty per item now applies to qualifying low-value consignments until 1 July 2028.
How does the customs reform distinguish B2B and B2C imports?
For Swiss businesses operating across both B2B and B2C channels, it is important not to treat these developments as one uniform importer requirement. The UCC reform distinguishes between different importer-related concepts. For B2B import flows, the general “importer” concept is the key area of attention, while B2C distance sales and platform-based e-commerce imports are addressed through the separate “deemed importer” concept.
Consequently, Swiss businesses need to map their actual trade models before determining which elements of the reform apply to them.
The reform reaches beyond customs
The implications of the new importer definition extend well beyond the border.
What other business functions are affected by the new importer requirements?
Companies will need to rethink their legal entity footprint in the EU. Some may face a reallocation of risks and responsibilities as well as a potential misalignment between customs, VAT and transfer pricing. Moreover, organizations have to consider potential exposure to compliance risks, penalties and delays as well as the risk of disruption to import flows. This makes the reform a cross-functional issue.
Suppose an organization decides that an existing EU subsidiary should become its importer. That decision could alter the subsidiary’s functional profile and risk allocation. The organization may then need to consider whether its intercompany agreements and transfer pricing arrangements still reflect the functions and risks being undertaken. VAT consequences may also need to be assessed, while legal teams may need to revisit contractual responsibilities.
Supply chain teams face a similar practical question: can the new structure support the physical movement of goods without introducing unnecessary complexity or delays?
These questions should be considered together. A solution that addresses customs compliance but creates significant tax, legal or operational problems is unlikely to be sustainable.
The Customs Data Hub points to a more connected future
The reform provides an indication of where customs administration is heading. The new EU Customs Data Hub is intended to become a single platform through which importers and exporters interact with customs in the EU. The EU Customs Authority will use the data to support risk analysis and identify cargo that should be prioritized for inspection.
The transition to the new customs framework will take place gradually. Under the current timeline, use of the EU Customs Data Hub will become mandatory for e-commerce operators from 1 July 2028 and for all traders from 1 March 2034.
What does the Customs Data Hub mean for Swiss businesses?
For Swiss companies, the significance goes beyond the individual dates. We are seeing a move toward greater visibility of trade data, greater consistency in risk assessment and stronger use of technology across the customs union.
That creates both an obligation and an opportunity. Businesses will need reliable information about their products, transactions and supply chains. At the same time, companies that can provide comprehensive and accurate information may be better positioned to benefit from the reform.
2034 sounds comfortably distant, but the underlying work, such as getting product classifications, origin and valuation data consistent across systems, typically takes years rather than months. The voluntary window as of 2031 is an opportunity to test on your own terms rather than against a deadline.
