(1)

Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (2) introduces a temporary customs duty of EUR 3 per item in consignments the intrinsic value of which does not exceed a total of EUR 150, where the importation of the goods is exempt from VAT in accordance with Article 143(1), point (ca), of Council Directive 2006/112/EC (3) or the goods are in a postal consignment, which are defined in Article 1, point (24), of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 (4) as goods sold in distance sales. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 (5) establishes the amount of the Union handling fee introduced by Article 20(2) of Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) for handling a request for placing goods under the release for free circulation procedure where those goods are sold in distance sales.

(2)

Article 95(3) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 grants authorised economic operators for customs simplification the right to benefit from a comprehensive guarantee with a reduced amount. Article 158(2) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 (7) provides for a reduction of that guarantee to 30 % of the parts of the reference amount determined in accordance with Article 155(2) and Article 155(3), point (a) of that Regulation.

(3)

Article 155(3), point (c), of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 provides rules for the reference amounts to be used as comprehensive guarantees for the release for free circulation of goods sold in a distance sale of goods as defined in Article 14(4), point (2) of Directive 2006/112/EC.

(4)

In accordance with Article 95(3) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, authorised economic operators that fulfil the relevant criteria, including financial solvency, are entitled to benefit from a comprehensive guarantee with a reduced amount. Article 158(2) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 should therefore be amended in order to ensure that the reduction to 30 % of the reference amount is also granted for the release for free circulation of goods sold in distance sales. However, since a significant part of the goods sold in distance sales have been exempt from customs duties until July 2026, the competent customs authorities of the Member States should monitor that the criteria of Article 39 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 are still fulfilled, in particular the financial solvency of authorised economic operators. Where necessary, the competent authorities should take the appropriate measures in accordance with Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.

(5)

To ensure consistency with Article 143a of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 it is necessary to amend the explanatory note under the table in data element 11 10 000 000 (‘Additional Procedure’) in Title II ‘Codes in relation with the common data requirements for declarations and notifications’ of Annex B to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 to include the new additional procedure code F53 and to delete the procedure code C07.

(6)

To allow the calculation of the Union handling fee in customs declarations, it is necessary to add a new tax type in data element 14 03 039 000 ‘Tax type’, in Title II ‘Codes in relation with the common data requirements for declarations and notifications’ of Annex B to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447.

(7)

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)

In order to avoid undue delay with respect to the introduction of the suite of measures relating to the Union handling fee, the rules reducing comprehensive guarantees for authorised economic operators in distance sales and adjusting relevant data elements, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication and apply from the same date as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 establishing its amount.

(9)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

(1)

Article 158 is amended as follows:

(2)

in Annex B, Title II ‘Codes in relation with the common data requirements for declarations and notifications’, the explanatory note below the table in data element 11 10 000 000 (‘Additional Procedure’) is replaced by the following:

‘For customs declarations for release for free circulation referred to in column H7, only additional procedure codes C08, F48, and F49 and F53 that are specifically allowed for this column may be used.’;

(3)

in Annex B, Title II ‘Codes in relation with the common data requirements for declarations and notifications’, data element 14 03 000 000 (‘Duties and taxes’), in the table listing the codes applicable under sub-element 14 03 039 000 ‘Tax type’, the following entry is added at the end of the table: