# EU Customs Reform in Effect: What Freight Forwarders Really Need to Know **Category:** Customs | **Source:** Rat der EU / Europäische Kommission | **Published:** 2026-10-07 | **Updated:** 2026-10-22 **Tags:** EU-Zollreform, Union Customs Code, EU Customs Authority, Zoll, Zollabwicklung, E-Commerce, Daten-Hub, EU, Logistik News, Transport News, Fracht News, Speditions News, Supply Chain News, Zoll News, Frachtportal News, Digitalisierung > The EU customs reform has been decided and is now in force. For freight forwarders, not everything will change immediately, but customs clearance will gradually become more centralized and data-driven. --- The EU has fundamentally restructured its customs code. The new regulation has been in force since September 2026. The centerpiece is a new EU customs authority, the so-called EU Customs Authority, headquartered in Lille. This is complemented by a central EU Customs Data Hub. For freight forwarders and customs agents, this is important: it does not mean that all current systems will be discontinued immediately. The transition will take place over several years. The new data hub is intended to gradually replace the many national customs IT systems. E-commerce is affected particularly early. Online platforms and sellers from third countries will be held more responsible. For e-commerce, the new data hub is to become mandatory from July 2028. For the rest of trade, the transition will follow later. The objective is clear: data should be submitted only once and then used for various customs processes. At the same time, the EU wants to assess risks more centrally. This should lead to more uniform controls in the long term. For traditional freight forwarding companies, not every declaration will change today. But the direction is clear. Those with significant EU customs business should monitor the introduction of the Data Hub and the new authorization models. Software providers and customs departments in particular will need to adapt their processes. One small stumbling block remains: the reform is enormous and many technical details are still to come. Therefore, you should not interpret every deadline as a final operational start date. --- For dispatch operations, there will be little short-term change. However, for customs departments and IT, this topic becomes major. Check which customs software you use and whether your provider already covers the EU roadmap. Shippers should prepare clean master data, article information, and responsibilities. The more centrally the data is used, the more problematic incorrect or incomplete information becomes. In short: The reform is underway, but not all at once. --- The new EU Customs Regulation was published on 19 September 2026. The reform is legally in force. A new EU Customs Authority was established. The authority is headquartered in Lille. A centralized EU Customs Data Hub is being built. E-commerce will be required to use the Data Hub from July 2028 onwards. The complete transition is being rolled out gradually over several years. E-commerce platforms are receiving additional customs responsibilities. ## Related Entities ### Countries - [Lithuania](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/lt) - [Belgium](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/be) - [Luxembourg](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/lu) - [Slovenia](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/si) - [Croatia](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/hr) - [Ireland](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/ie) - [Romania](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/ro) - [Germany](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/de) - [France](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/fr) - [Italy](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/it) - [Netherlands](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/nl) - [Spain](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/es) - [Austria](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/at) - [Poland](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/pl) - [Czechia](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/cz) - [Sweden](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/se) - [Denmark](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/dk) - [Portugal](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/pt) - [Hungary](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/hu) - [Bulgaria](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/bg) - [Slovakia](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/sk) - [Cyprus](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/cy) - [Estonia](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/ee) - [Greece](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/gr) - [Latvia](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/lv) - [Malta](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/mt) - [Finland](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/fi) ### Glossary - [Freight forwarding](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/freight-forwarding-2) - [Freight forwarder](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/freight-forwarder) - [Customs duty](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/customs-duty) - [Customs Agent](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/customs-agent) - [Customs Reform](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/customs-reform) - [Union Customs Code](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/union-customs-code) - [Customs authorities](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/customs-authorities) --- *Canonical URL: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/eu-zollreform-ist-in-kraft-was-jetzt-wirklich-auf-spediteure-zukommt-20261004054252](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/eu-zollreform-ist-in-kraft-was-jetzt-wirklich-auf-spediteure-zukommt-20261004054252)* *Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/eu-zollreform-ist-in-kraft-was-jetzt-wirklich-auf-spediteure-zukommt-20261004054252](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/eu-zollreform-ist-in-kraft-was-jetzt-wirklich-auf-spediteure-zukommt-20261004054252)*