New EU customs rules come into force

(Photo: carina.rs)

- These rules will also better protect consumers against illegal and counterfeit goods - the EC's release reads.

The new Union Customs Code (UCC) represents a major overhaul of existing EU customs legislation, which dates back to 1992.

- The new Union Customs Code opens the door to new state-of-the-art IT systems that will provide fast and quality data on goods being traded and will allow extremely close coordination among the administrations of our member states - the EC underlined in the release.

The Customs Union, as a foundation of the European Union, is essential for the proper functioning of the single market. Once cleared by Customs in one member state, goods can move freely within the Union on the basis that all member states apply the same revenue and protection rules at external borders.