Regulation 2021/1077 - Regulation 2021/1077 establishing, as part of the Integrated Border Management Fund, the instrument for financial support for customs control equipment - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 234/1

The 2 140 customs offices situated at the external borders of the Union need to be properly equipped to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the customs union. The need for adequate customs controls with equivalent results is ever more pressing, not only because of the traditional function of customs, which is to collect revenue, but also increasingly because of the need to significantly reinforce the control of goods entering and exiting the Union’s external borders in order to ensure both safety and security. However, at the same time, such controls on the movement of goods across the external borders should not impair but rather facilitate legitimate trade with third countries.

The customs union is one of the cornerstones of the Union, which is one of the largest trading blocks in the world. Since the customs union is essential for the proper functioning of the internal market, and for businesses and citizens to benefit from it, continuous steps to strengthen the customs union are needed.

There is currently an imbalance in the performance of customs control by Member States. This imbalance is due to differences between Member States both in terms of their geographic features, and their capacities and resources. The ability of Member States to react to challenges generated by the constantly evolving global business models and supply chains depends not only on the human component but also on the availability, and on the proper functioning, of modern and reliable customs control equipment. Challenges, such as the surge in e-commerce, increasing digitalisation and the need to improve resilience to cyber-attacks, will also increase demand for effective customs controls. The provision of equivalent customs control equipment is therefore an important element in addressing that current imbalance. It will improve equivalence in the performance of customs controls across the Member States and thereby contribute to preventing the diversion of flows of goods towards the weakest points in the customs control system, often referred to as ‘import point shopping’. Consequently, goods entering the customs territory of the Union should be subject to risk-based controls in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) (‘the Union Customs Code’).

Member States have repeatedly expressed the need for financial support, and have requested an in-depth analysis of the equipment needed. In its conclusions on customs funding on 23 March 2017, the Council invited the Commission to evaluate the possibility of funding technical equipment needs from future Commission financial programmes and improve coordination and cooperation between customs authorities and other law enforcement authorities for funding purposes.

Under the Union Customs Code, customs controls are to be understood not only as the enforcement of customs legislation but also as the enforcement of other legislation governing the entry, exit, transit, movement, storage and end-use of goods moved between the...