Food safety: New rules for good shipments to EU countries begin

The European Union has commenced the second phase of its Import Control System 2 (ICS2), the new advanced cargo information and risk management platform designed to protect against security and safety threats from goods entering the EU.

The new rules which took effect from March 1 compelled all air carriers, freight forwarders, express couriers, and postal operators involved in the transportation of goods by air to or through the EU to provide a complete set of Entry Summary Declaration data on the goods, prior to their arrival at the EU external border.

The EU Commission said they must do this through the ICS2 system, which is gradually replacing the EU’s existing Import Control System (ICS) between 2021 and 2024.

Air carriers currently filing advance cargo information into the Import Control System (ICS) will fully phase out from that system as soon as they start filing this data into ICS2.

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The second phase of ICS2 introduces new data requirements and processes to be complied with, prior to transporting the goods from a third country and before their arrival at the European Union’s external border.

According to the commission, “failure by affected economic operators to obtain the necessary data from their clients and to provide it to ICS2 will lead to actions by customs authorities to enforce compliance prior to and on arrival at the external border.”

While ICS2 Release 2 was launched on March 1, 2023, economic operators can make a request to start filing into ICS2 at a later date during the time-limited deployment window.

“They should do this through the Member State where the Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number of the economic operator which will be used for the advance cargo information filing is registered.

“The deployment window, if granted, allows the economic operators to become operationally ready for ICS2 Release 2 after 1 March 2023.”

The EU said if economic operators are not ready by the set deadline, and do not provide the data required under the ICS2 system, consignments and freight will be stopped at the EU borders and the goods in question will not be cleared by the customs authorities.