Dear Valued Customer,
The European Union (EU) is implementing a new customs pre-arrival security and safety program, underpinned by an advance cargo information system – Import Control System 2 (ICS2).
ICS2 is a large-scale EU information system enabling customs authorities to carry out targeted risk assessments based on pre-declaration data (Entry Summary Declaration – ENS) prior to the arrival of goods in the EU. Economic Operators (EOs) will have to declare safety and security data to ICS2, through the Entry Summary Declaration (ENS). The obligation to start filing such declarations will not be the same for all EOs. Filing will depend on the type of service the EO provides in the international movement of goods and is linked to the three release dates of ICS2 (15 March 2021, 1 March 2023, and 1 June 2024)
Under the third release of the European Union’s customs pre-arrival safety and security system – Import Control System 2 – all goods transported on maritime and inland waterways, roads, and railways, to or through the EU, including postal and express consignments, will be subject to new requirements.
Before departure, the carrier or freight forwarder must submit pre-loading advance cargo information data to EU Customs, where it is reviewed for possible security threats. In addition, a pre-arrival information data set, including the journey details, is also sent to ICS2. The pre-loading and pre-arrival messages are collectively referred to as the Entry Summary Declaration (ENS).
The EU authorities will require the pre-loading (PLACI) standard “7+1” house-waybill data with some noted variations as follows:
The EU has specified that their data set will also require the EU consignee’s Economic Operators’ Registration and Identification number (EORI) for cargo staying in the EU and the six-digit HS codes for the commodities moving in the consignment.
EU Customs then analyses the data and returns an actionable status:
The requirement to submit ENS prior to the arrival of goods applies to the world sending to EU destinations, Switzerland, and Norway. Currently, the UK is not subject to the advance notification.
Start taking steps to ensure that the complete datasets including Consignee EORI and six-digit HS codes are being provided to your freight forwarder or carrier.
The EU Commission has advised that inaccurate data or non-compliance with these requirements may result in financial penalties, cargo being stopped at the border, no customs clearance, rejection of poor quality ENS declarations, and cargo delays.
Thank you for being our Valued Customer. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact C.H. Robinson for further information.
Sincerely,
C.H. Robinson