The EU customs reform: EU Customs Authority and Data Hub (towards 2028)

Short answer: In 2023 the European Commission presented a proposal for the largest reform of the customs union since 1968. At its core are a new EU Customs Authority and a central EU Customs Data Hub. The proposal is still before the Council and the European Parliament; the Commission foresees a phased roll-out, with the first Data Hub functions envisaged towards 2028.

What the reform proposes

On 17 May 2023 the Commission published a package revising the existing Union Customs Code (COM(2023) 258). According to the Commission, the two most visible components are:

• an EU Customs Authority, a new EU agency coordinating supervision and risk

management at EU level; and

• an EU Customs Data Hub, a single digital platform where businesses submit

customs data instead of dealing with 27 national systems separately.

The Commission frames this as a shift from transaction-based declarations to a data-driven model, in which customs can centrally combine information about goods, supply chains and parties. This is expressly a proposal: the precise shape, powers and timeline may still change during the legislative process. For the current state of play, consult the Commission's main reform page.

Timeline and status (towards 2028)

The proposal goes through the ordinary legislative procedure: examination by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, followed by negotiations. Until a final regulation is adopted, the current customs rules continue to apply in full.

The Commission outlines a phased roll-out over several years. In the communications around the proposal, the first Data Hub functionalities are mentioned for the second half of this decade, with 2028 cited as a target year for the first phase — subject to the legislative outcome. Because exact dates depend on the final text, we refer to the official Commission page and the EUR-Lex procedure for firm milestones.

Why it matters for logistics

For importers, forwarders and customs agents the reform matters because it touches how and where customs data is filed. A central Data Hub could in time mean a single submission instead of multiple national interfaces, and a stronger emphasis on the quality and traceability of supply-chain data. The package also pays specific attention to e-commerce imports, where the volume of small consignments has grown sharply.

In practical terms nothing changes today: it remains a proposal. Even so, it is prudent to track the development, because data-driven customs require better master data and supply-chain transparency — investments that take time.

Read more: Transport & Logistics.

Take the scan.