(fra kommisjonsforordningen)

(1) Regulation (EU) 2022/2399 establishes the European Union Single Window Environment for Customs (‘EU Single Window Environment for Customs’). It further provides a framework for digital cooperation between customs and non-customs authorities through three main components: Union non-customs systems managing specific non-customs formalities listed in the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/2399, national single window environments for customs and the European Union Customs Single Window Certificates Exchange System (EU CSW-CERTEX).

(2) EU CSW-CERTEX enables information to be exchanged between the national customs systems and Union non-customs systems. This exchange is usually initiated by the national single window environments for customs when an economic operator lodges a customs declaration or re-export declaration containing the reference number of the supporting document issued by the relevant partner competent authority. In order for EU CSW-CERTEX to perform automated controls and processes, it is necessary to set out detailed rules to better integrate and align customs and Union non-customs procedures, enabling them to run seamlessly.

(3) Given the various administrative decisions of the partner competent authorities, indicated in the supporting documents, and the different customs procedures or the re-export for which the supporting documents can be used, it is appropriate to include a table of rules in Annex I to this Regulation. That table should be used as a mapping tool to align the relevant customs procedure or the re-export with the respective administrative decision of the partner competent authority and vice versa – a process known as business transformation of data. That table should contain a list of all customs procedures, possible statuses and administrative decisions indicated in the supporting documents for a Union non-customs formality listed in the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/2399, with the exception of the Information and Communication System for Market Surveillance (‘ICSMS’). EU CSW-CERTEX should facilitate the necessary exchange of data with ICSMS in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2248 (2) for the purpose of ensuring cooperation between customs and market surveillance authorities.

(4) To streamline data handling in the customs clearance process, it is essential that customs authorities and partner competent authorities have the possibility to automatically exchange and verify the information required for the fulfilment of Union non-customs formalities following the submission of a customs declaration or re-export declaration by an economic operator. To this end, EU CSW-CERTEX should ensure that customs and non-customs data are compatible by transforming their format or structure, where necessary, without changing their content. This process is known as the technical transformation of data. It is necessary to lay down rules for mapping between the data elements included in Annex B to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 (3) and Annex B to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 (4), and those referred to in Article 1 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2514 (5).

(5) Given that EU CSW-CERTEX cannot always directly map the exact meanings of the data submitted in a Union non-customs formality with those expressed in the respective customs formality, it is appropriate to create specific data elements designed to resolve such mapping discrepancies. Those specific data elements should not be legally embedded within any customs or Union non-customs formality, as neither the economic operator nor the customs authority is required to transmit them. Instead, it is necessary to include those data elements in this Regulation to ensure alignment and seamless data conversion between customs procedures and re-export, on the one hand, and Union non-customs formalities, on the other.

(6) Article 10(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2399 establishes the different types of information exchange and functionalities that EU CSW-CERTEX is to enable. It is appropriate to further specify the functionalities enabling those types of information exchange. It should be possible to use those functionalities individually or in combination with each other, as necessary, to enable a fully automated fulfilment of customs and non-customs formalities and any other automated data transfer between the customs authorities and the relevant partner competent authorities required by Union legislation establishing Union non-customs formalities.

(7) One of the most important business functions that EU CSW-CERTEX provides to the national customs administrations of the Member States is the automated exchange of the required information with the Union non-customs systems. To this end, EU CSW-CERTEX should allow for the retrieval of supporting documents from Union non-customs systems, the mapping of the data included in those documents and the transmission of those data to the national single window environments for customs. Where necessary, this process should be repeated to allow the national single window environment for customs to receive notifications when the status of a supporting document changes according to specific parameters.

(8) To enhance the accuracy and reliability of customs and non-customs operations across the Union, and to reduce the risks of fraud and documentary forgery, it is necessary to establish an automated functionality in EU CSW-CERTEX to verify that the quantities declared in the customs declarations and re-export declarations do not exceed the authorised quantities indicated in the supporting documents. If automated verifications are successful, the Union non-customs systems should reserve the declared quantities and EU CSW-CERTEX should transmit the outcome of the reserved quantities of goods to the national single window environments for customs. If automatic verifications show discrepancies, EU CSW-CERTEX should communicate the reasons for the failed reservations to those environments. When the reservation is successful and goods are released or re-exported, EU CSW-CERTEX should retrieve information on the released or re-exported quantities from the national single window environments for customs and transmit it to the respective Union non-customs systems, which mark the reserved quantity as consumed. On the contrary, if the goods are not released, EU CSW-CERTEX should follow the same steps, and the Union non-customs systems should record those quantities as neither reserved nor consumed.

(9) To ensure the integrity and effective monitoring of the goods clearance process, it is appropriate to provide that, following an amendment or invalidation of a customs declaration after the release of the goods, the exchange of data between the national single window environments and the Union non-customs systems on updated or withdrawn quantities of goods should take place via EU CSW-CERTEX.

(10) To ensure that customs operations remain adaptable and responsive to unforeseen circumstances, it should be possible for customs authorities, under exceptional circumstances and with full responsibility, to override automated verifications and functions run by EU CSW-CERTEX. That intervention should enable customs authorities to instruct EU CSW-CERTEX to amend, accept, or refuse the specific quantities of goods indicated in the supporting document. It should then be possible for EU CSW-CERTEX to transmit the outcome of those actions to the respective Union non-customs system, ensuring that all changes are properly documented and communicated.

(11) Union legislation other than customs legislation may require customs authorities to provide additional information for the fulfilment of a Union non-customs formality whenever a supporting document is referenced in a customs declaration. To ensure compliance with that requirement, EU CSW-CERTEX should facilitate the retrieval of such information from the national single window environments for customs and make it available to the appropriate Union non-customs systems. This functionality should also allow customs authorities to amend or delete the additional information transmitted to the Union non-customs systems.

(12) To ensure seamless information flow across Union customs and non-customs systems, it should be possible for national single window environments for customs to request a specific list of supporting documents from the respective Union non-customs systems. Therefore, it is appropriate to provide for a functionality that allows the national single window environment for customs to request and receive, through EU CSW-CERTEX, a list of supporting documents, where relevant within specific parameters, and to repeat such requests under certain conditions.

(13) It is necessary to establish certain contingency arrangements for the possible unavailability of EU CSW-CERTEX. Regulation (EU) 2022/2399 does not affect provisions referring to customs formalities or to the specific Union legislation other than the customs legislation referred to in the Annex to that Regulation. Therefore, any exchange of information during the unavailability of EU CSW-CERTEX should take place in accordance with the relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) and the relevant Union legislation other than customs legislation applicable to the specific Union non-customs formality.

(14) In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2022/2399, the Commission is to establish, where appropriate, specific rules to ensure the protection of personal data during the exchange of information through EU CSW-CERTEX. Moreover, the Commission is to establish the respective responsibilities of customs authorities, partner competent authorities and the Commission, who act as joint controllers pursuant to Article 7(1) of that Regulation, for the processing of personal data in EU CSW-CERTEX, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Regulations (EU) 2016/679 (7) and (EU) 2018/1725 (8) of the European Parliament and of the Council. Furthermore, when customs authorities, partner competent authorities or the Commission act alone in the processing of specific aspects of personal data, and therefore carry independent responsibility for such processing, those entities should be identified respectively as ‘controllers’ or ‘controller’. To maintain effective operational alignment and communication among the joint controllers, it is appropriate for the Commission and the national coordinators, referred to in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2399, to keep the contact information and relevant data for those controllers updated.

(15) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of EU CSW-CERTEX, the Commission, customs authorities and partner competent authorities should work in collaboration to define the technical design requirements and functionalities required to interconnect the national single window environments for customs with EU CSW-CERTEX and the specific Union non-customs systems in accordance with Article 5(4) and (5) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2399. During this collaboration process, it is necessary to accommodate the varied specific requirements of the different partner competent authorities. Moreover, at the request of the Member States, it should be possible for the Commission to carry out appropriate piloting activities that contribute to the smooth functioning of EU CSW-CERTEX. To ensure that Member States have sufficient time to interconnect their national single window environments for customs with EU CSW-CERTEX, the Commission should make the technical specifications for that interconnection available to Member States at the latest 1 year before the dates set out in the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/2399.

(16) This Regulation should establish rules to support the operational requirements and operational timeline for the interconnection of the national single window environments for customs with EU CSW-CERTEX, with particular consideration being given to the IT developments required by the Member States prior to interconnecting their national single window environments for customs. Moreover, considering that the EU Single Window Environment for Customs is an integrated environment, and EU CSW-CERTEX operates at its core between the Union non-customs systems and the national customs systems, the Commission should ensure that every system interconnected with EU CSW-CERTEX functions as intended and that the interconnection is fully functional.

(17) As EU CSW-CERTEX is operational since 2017, and the technical specifications are already available for the Union non-customs formalities and systems listed in the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/2399, the rule on the availability of technical specifications should apply only to new Union non-customs formalities and systems and only as of 2 years from the dates indicated in that Annex.

(18) The empowerments in Article 7(2), Article 10(4), and Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2399 are structurally and substantively linked, as they respectively allow for the establishment of the responsibilities of the joint controllers for personal data processing operations in EU CSW-CERTEX, of rules for information exchange through EU CSW-CERTEX, including personal data, and of a work programme to ensure interoperability between Union non-customs systems and the national single window environments for customs by the dates specified in the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2022/2399. Given their structural and substantive alignment, it is appropriate for reasons of administrative simplification to combine those empowerments in a single legislative act, thereby eliminating redundancies, streamlining the legal framework and ensuring a unified approach to personal data processing operations within EU CSW-CERTEX.

(19) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and delivered an opinion on 31 May 2024.