Every year, trillions of euros worth of goods are imported into the European Union (EU). The EU-27 bloc's import and export turnover currently accounts for about 15% of world trade in goods.

The EU considers ensuring the general security and safety of its citizens and the EU market as a top priority. Therefore, in parallel with creating many incentives for goods from partners through free trade agreements such as EVFTA with Vietnam, the EU continuously amends and upgrades regulations on imported goods and consumption in this region.

In particular, to enhance risk management, the risk of loss of human life, economic damage and disruption of supply chains, the EU has been working to implement a pre-arrival Customs security and safety programme, underpinned by a large-scale cargo information collection system - the Import Control System (ICS2) .

Following the operation of the previous phases 1 and 2, phase 3 of the Import Control System (ICS2) starting from 3 June 2024 applies to all remaining entities including the 5 entities from phases 1 and 2, adding sea, rail and road transport enterprises along with importers in the EU .

The upgraded system is designed to collect data on all goods entering the EU. According to the EU, ICS2 aims to better protect the European single market and its citizens with new customs safety and security measures, and will facilitate the free flow of trade through improved data-driven customs security procedures that are aligned with global business models.

Notably, compliance with the ICS2 system is mandatory for all shipments transiting through any EU country even if the final destination is not part of the EU, for example with shipments from Asia to the UK transiting through an EU member state.

Stages and scope of application of the Import Control System (ICS2)

With this third ICS2 release, sea, inland waterway, road and rail carriers will also need to provide data on goods sent to or through the EU prior to arrival, including the 6-digit Harmonized System (HS) code for each line of goods listed in the commercial invoice and/or a detailed goods description for pre-arrival shipments, via the Summary Import Declaration (ENS).

This obligation also concerns postal and courier carriers that use these modes of transport to transport goods as well as other relevant parties, such as logistics service providers.

In certain cases, the final consignee established in the EU must also submit ENS data to ICS2.

Upon request, EU Member States will grant affected trading parties permission to gradually connect to ICS2 over a limited implementation period.

Member States may grant implementation periods at any time within the following timeframes: From 3 June 2024 to 4 December 2024 (sea and inland waterway carriers); from 4 December 2024 to 1 April 2025 (sea and inland waterway secondary applicants); and from 1 April 2025 to 1 September 2025 (road and rail carriers).

If trading parties are not prepared and do not provide the data required by ICS2, their goods will be stopped at the EU border and not cleared by customs. Advance information about goods and risk analysis will enable security threats to be identified early and help customs intervene at the most appropriate point in the supply chain.

To meet the obligations of submitting Import Declaration data, the General Department of Vietnam Customs recommends that businesses upgrade their information technology systems, business processes and staff training. In addition, businesses are required to conduct self-conformance testing before starting declaration operations into the system.

From June 3, 2024, all logistics, express delivery, forwarding and sea, air, rail and road transport businesses related to goods exported from Vietnam to the EU must declare data before the goods arrive into the ICS2 system of the EU Customs Union.

If Vietnamese businesses do not understand these regulations, they may suffer serious consequences such as: Containers and shipments will be stopped at the border with the EU; Goods will not be cleared by EU Customs; or declarations will be incomplete or rejected or will be banned for non-compliance with EU regulations.

General Department of Customs

According to the General Department of Customs, as the declarant, the enterprise is legally responsible for the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the information declared on the Import Declaration.

Therefore, businesses need to pay attention to certain information requirements on the declaration, specifically:

First , declare the HS code (6 digits) of commercial goods (transactions between Enterprises - Enterprises and Enterprises - Customers).

Second , declare the EORI registration number and identification (similar to a company registration number) of the consignee in the EU. The parties need to provide the Registration Number and Identification to the declarant on the Import Manifest. The registration number and identification can be verified on the EU Commission website (europa.eu) to ensure that the information is correct.

Third , declare information about the Seller and the Buyer (or the owner of the goods in the case of a consignment not related to a commercial transaction) of the goods and their final destination in the European Union.

Fourth , it is mandatory to have a full description of the goods in understandable language and accurate enough for the Customs authorities to be able to identify the goods. (Enterprises see “instructions on unacceptable descriptions of goods” on the ICS 2 System - Version 1 at the website: europa.eu).

Data submission may be in the form of a complete declaration if the data submitter has all the necessary data available, or ENS data may be submitted multiple times in cases where more than one part of the ENS data is submitted by different parties in the supply chain.

EU Customs authorities may reject an ENS declaration in case of insufficient information or take risk mitigation measures in the pre-shipment or pre-arrival stages, requiring the declarant to provide the necessary data, for example in case of inaccurate data.

Deadline for submitting ENS declaration

For goods transported by sea :

a) At least two hours before the vessel arrives at the first port of entry into the EU in the case of goods destined for Greenland, the Faeroe Islands, Iceland, ports on the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea or Morocco;

b) Similarly, no later than two hours in cases where goods are transported from the territories of third countries, the vessel's journey time is less than 24 hours and the goods enter the customs territory of the EU Union, the overseas departments of France, the Autonomous Region of Acore of Portugal, Madeira or the Canary Islands;

c) At least 04 hours before the arrival of the bulk container ship in cases other than a) or b);

d) For containerised goods in cases other than a) and b), the deadline is 24 hours before the goods are loaded onto a vessel carrying them into the customs territory of the EU.

For goods transported by air :

e) The ENS import manifest or, if it is not possible to submit the ENS, the minimum set of data must be submitted before loading on an aircraft as soon as possible but at the latest before the goods are loaded on an aircraft for transport into the territory of the EU;

f) When the minimum data set has been submitted under item e), the complete ENS declaration must be submitted at the time of departure of the aircraft, the duration of the flight being more than 4 hours;

g) For flights other than those mentioned above in item f), the completed declaration must be submitted 04 hours before the aircraft arrives at the first airport within the EU territory.

For goods transported by rail :

h) When the train journey from the last train station outside the EU territory to the first point of entry within the EU territory is less than 02 hours, the enterprise must send the ENS at least one hour before the train arrives at the EU point of entry;

i) In cases other than those mentioned in section h), the enterprise must send ENS at least 02 hours before the ship arrives at the EU entry point.

Road transport: The company must submit the ENS at least one hour before the goods arrive at the EU point of entry.

Transport by inland waterway: Enterprises must send ENS at least 02 hours before the goods arrive at the EU entry point.

Things businesses need to do when submitting reports to the ICS2 System

The company needs to decide whether to develop its own internal IT system or use the services of an IT Service Provider to submit ENS data to the ICS2 system. The company needs to agree early with other stakeholders in the supply chain on how to submit ENS data.

This depends on whether the parties in the supply chain agree to provide the necessary commercial documentation information to the shipping company.

If Yes, the shipping company submits all required information to ICS2 in the form of a completed Import Manifest.

Otherwise, the shipping company's customer must either submit the relevant part of the Import Manifest to ICS2 himself or arrange for a third party in the supply chain to submit the information (e.g. a consignee in the EU in the case of sea transport).

Thuy Linh