The EU customs reform is an underestimated issue, warns Momchil Antov, Director of the National Association of Bulgarian Shipping (NSBS), and ignoring it could create serious problems for companies. Here are the main stages of the reform.
As of July 1, 2026, a fixed customs duty of €3 per item began to be collected on online orders from outside the EU, payable by the end consumer. The aim, Antov explains, is to encourage retailers such as Temu, Shein and Amazon to shift from a B2C to a B2B model—with their own warehouses, customs controls, and payment of customs duties and VAT within the European Union.
In July 2028, the European Customs Authority is expected to become operational, with the task of coordinating the implementation of the reform at EU level. This year will also see the launch of the EU Customs Data Hub, a single data platform for the import and export of goods into and out of the EU, including goods sold by online retailers. The platform will gradually replace national customs IT systems, meaning that instead of submitting data to different platforms in each member state, companies will work through a single European system.
From 2032, the new Trust and Check Trader status will be introduced. This will represent the highest level of trust that customs authorities can grant to a company. The idea is to replace the inspection of every individual shipment with controls focused on the reliability of the company itself.
Approved companies will receive direct access to the EU Customs Data Hub, submit data only once, release their own goods for free circulation, pay customs duties periodically rather than each time goods cross a border, and be subject to significantly fewer inspections.
The transition to the new regime will not yet be mandatory—companies will be able to choose between it and the traditional regime. However, the European Commission expects major international players to gradually move to the new system because of its lower administrative burden.
Trust and Check is essentially the next step following the current Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status, but with much deeper digital integration.
From 2038, use of the EU Customs Data Hub will become mandatory for all customs operations in the European Union. According to the current plan, the Customs Union reform will be fully completed that year, with national systems giving way to a single European platform.
Until then, companies will be able to choose whether to move to the new system or continue operating under the existing national rules. After 2038, that choice will no longer exist, and the common European platform will become the only operational system.
The NSBS and NOMA (National Organisation of Customs Agents) have been systematically raising the issue of customs reform in order to encourage companies to prepare in good time.
Antov stressed that despite the increasing automation, the human factor remains indispensable—no software can assume responsibility before the customs authorities.
