A new, streamlined hub for EU customs aims to provide better cooperation, coordination, and information sharing among authorities involved in goods clearance at the border.
The European Commission announced on October 28 a proposal for an initiative called the “EU Single Window Environment for Customs,” a platform that would enable government authorities to share electronic data with other authorities, automatically verify that goods comply with EU requirements, and allow businesses to fill out customs information on a single portal in any given member state.
In September the commission laid out the single-window proposal in its Customs Union Action Plan, which aims to reduce e-commerce-related tax and customs duty fraud while strengthening the obligations of online sales platforms.
According to the commission, the customs single window simplifies a process that may require businesses to submit information to several different authorities with their own portals and procedures. “This proposal is the first step in creating a digital framework for enhanced cooperation between all border authorities,” the commission said in an October 28 release. (Related FAQ.)
With the single window, businesses and trades would be able to enter data in one portal in an individual member state. Customs and other government authorities could use this data to coordinate their approach to clearance of goods and identify on a macro level which goods are entering or leaving the EU.
Member states would be responsible for setting up their individual customs single-window portal. National portals would link together using the EU digital framework that the commission will develop and implement. To do so, the commission said, member states must change their national legislation, government processes, and IT systems to comply with the EU system. Recovery and Resilience Facility funding will be available to assist member states with some of these changes.
Waiving VAT on Medical Equipment
Because of rising coronavirus cases in Europe, the commission has extended the temporary suspension of customs duties and VAT on imported medical equipment from non-EU countries and proposed new taxation and customs measures to support more access to medical equipment. The temporary VAT exemption was set to expire October 31; it will now apply until April 20, 2021.
The exemptions apply to masks, testing kits, and ventilators, among other types of medical equipment.
The commission has also proposed that hospitals and medical practitioners be exempted from VAT on vaccines and testing kits used to treat and prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to an October 28 release. Member states currently may apply reduced VAT rates on vaccine sales, and testing kits do not benefit from reduced rates.
“The new rules would allow a temporary VAT exemption to be given to vaccines and testing kits being sold to hospitals and medical practitioners, as well as closely related goods and services,” the release says. “Member States would also be able to apply reduced rates to testing kits if they so choose.”