On 16 September 2026, the European Parliament has voted to adopt the new Union Customs Code (“nUCC”) heralding broad customs reform for the European Union (“EU”). Changes will be spread across all facets of customs compliance and there are expected to be accelerated timelines for implementation that are likely to impact all businesses importing into the EU. There are two key drivers to reform customs processes and requirements across the EU (i) the desire to…
Ahead of the 1 January 2027 entry into force of the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”) regime, on 13 July 2026, HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) laid secondary legislation before Parliament and published a package of supporting guidance (please see here). CBAM forms part of the UK government’s wider strategy to tackle carbon leakage and will impose a carbon price on emissions that are attributable to the production of certain types of goods (“embodied…
On 13 July 2026, HMRC published a policy paper (Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports into the UK), setting out a new measure to reform how low value imports (“LVIs”) are treated for customs purposes. The measure will remove the current relief available to goods valued under £135 (the “LVI Relief”) and enable HMRC and HM Treasury (“HMT”) to introduce new customs arrangements for these goods. UK retailers have long called for action…
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1022 (link), implementing the temporary EUR 3 customs duty on consignments not exceeding EUR 150, was published in the Official Journal yesterday and applies from today, 1 July 2026. Together with the amended UCC Implementing Act and Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (link) — which was adopted earlier and likewise applies from 1 July 2026 — it operationalizes the abolition of the long-standing customs duty exemption for low-value imports. See also our…
On 23 June 2026, the UK government announced a series of customs and tax measures intended to reduce the administrative burden and increase fairness and certainty for taxpayers. There were a number of key customs measures in this update, including: Please reach out to our team if you’d like to discuss these key updates further.
On 22 May 2026, the Council of the EU has approved a one‑year suspension of 5.5–6.5% customs duties on certain nitrogen‑based fertilisers, including fertiliser inputs. The measure aims to ease cost pressures on farmers and reduce reliance on Russian and Belarusian imports. The proposal for the suspension can be found here. The measure is intended to reduce cost pressures on EU farmers and the fertiliser industry at a time when fertiliser prices have increased significantly…
On 22 May 2026, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the revised Generalised Scheme of Preferences Regulation (“revised GSP Regulation”), which provides a strengthened framework for granting unilateral preferential access to the EU market for developing countries while reinforcing the conditions attached to those benefits. The reform reflects the EU’s policy objective of using trade preferences as a partnership tool to promote sustainable development, respect for human rights and good governance. It follows…
On 20 May 2026, the Council presidency and the European Parliament reached an agreement on two regulations aimed at implementing the tariff-related aspects of the framework on a agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade between the EU and the U.S. (the “Trade Agreement Framework”), announced on 21 August 2025, following the EU–U.S. Joint Statement of 27 July 2025 in Turnberry (see our prior blog post on this topic here). In essence, the Trade Agreement…
On 26 March 2026, the European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the most comprehensive and ambitious reform of EU Customs Law since 1968. The agreement finalizes negotiations after three years since the European Commission published its draft proposal in 2023 (see our prior blog post here). The agreement sets the course for a fundamental transformation of the EU customs framework from a declaration-based system to a data-driven, risk-focused and highly digitized model.…
On 13 November 2025, the European Commission confirmed that the €150 customs duty exemption (Low Value Consignment Relief) for goods purchased online from non-EU countries will be abolished. The measure is scheduled for implementation in November 2026 The reform aims to create a fairer and more transparent system for cross-border e-commerce, addressing loopholes that enable undervaluation and customs fraud. The current exemption has been criticised for giving non-EU sellers a competitive advantage and complicating enforcement.…