EU COURT OF AUDITORS: MORE UNIFORMITY IN CUSTOMS CONTROLS

The authorities of the Member States play a crucial role in finding a balance between the need to facilitate trade, with faster and smoother import procedures and the need for customs controls. Customs duties collected in 2019 amounted to €21.4billion.

In 2018, the EU Commission adopted the implementing decision on criteria and rules common on financial risk (the “CRF Decision”), in order to harmonize selection, by the member states, of the imports to be controlled; the decision is accompanied by a set of guidelines, approved by the Member States in 2019. These two documents constitute the customs framework for financial risks. The EU Court of Auditors has examined whether this framework has been designed to ensure a harmonized selection of import declarations to be checked and examined the application procedures in force in the Member States. The Court found differences in interpretation in risk analysis, application of different criteria for the selection of declarations to be checked, poor sharing of information at Union level. Conclusion? “The Court recommends the Commission to strengthen the uniform application of customs controls and develop and implement a comprehensive analysis and effective coordination capacity at EU level.”