The Customs Working Group follows EU and international customs legislation initiatives, report on developments and act upon these as necessary and in the interest of PostEurop Members and the European postal industry.

This Working Groups aims for:

1. Better understanding of related EU and international customs legislation developments and possible issues
2. Possibility to “influence” the EU and international customs legislation
3. Increase participants’ awareness on possible impacts of EU and international customs legislation changes on their organisation, process and structure.

Public postal operators enjoy simplified customs procedures at EU level, both for the transit of mail and parcels within the EU community and regarding customs security procedures.

With terrorism and the threat of attack never far from the headlines, various authorities have considered stricter customs procedures to improve safety and this has affected the work of PostEurop.

In recent years, PostEurop has worked hard to ensure that its Members understand new customs requirements. It has also been negotiating to ensure that these new regulations are practicable for public postal operators.

In 2004, the European Commission made proposals to make significant changes to customs procedures. Under particular scrutiny were the simplified customs procedures that European public postal operators are currently allowed to follow. On 20 February 2012, the EC adopted a proposal for a recast of the Modernized Customs Code which hereafter will be named Union Customs Code. In February 2013, PostEurop expressed its concerns about the reform of the European Union (EU) customs legislation issuing a position paper on the Union Customs Code (UCC).