Follow-up to “EU Customs Reform: Indirect Representation Is Changing” (17 September 2026)
Now confirmed. What was still a Council position four days ago is now law. Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 was signed in Strasbourg on 16 September 2026, published in the Official Journal on 19 September 2026, and entered into force the following day — read the full text on EUR-Lex
What’s changing for indirect representation
For non-EU businesses trading into the EU — and the customs brokers and indirect representatives who act for them — the reform confirms how indirect representation will work going forward. Non-EU established companies can keep importing and trading in the EU; that route is not closing. Its compliance profile has changed for good, though, and the clock is now running on a fixed twelve-month runway to general application on 21 September 2027. The Regulation also establishes a new European Union Customs Authority to oversee the reformed Code.
The “importer” has a formal legal definition for the first time. E-commerce gets its own version too: a separate “importer for distance sales” concept applies to online sellers and platforms.
Liability: EU-established vs. non-EU-established principals
The bigger shift is in liability. An indirect representative — often a customs broker acting on a client’s behalf — no longer simply shares the customs debt with its principal. Where the principal is EU-established, the representative remains jointly and severally liable, much as today. Where the principal is not EU-established, the position is stricter: the representative is now deemed to be the importer itself — full financial and non-financial exposure, not a shared one.
The requirement for indirect representatives to be EU-established is confirmed and reinforced. A non-EU seller or platform acting as “importer for distance sales” is expected to work through a representative holding Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status. Non-compliance by distance-sales importers now carries a tiered EU-wide penalty.
What this means for indirect representatives and non-EU businesses
Customs brokers and indirect representatives should expand due diligence into a principal’s product compliance — not just classification, valuation and origin. Fee structures, guarantees and client-acceptance criteria are also worth revisiting, a trend already underway since CJEU C-714/20 and now substantially widened.
For non-EU businesses, the door stays open: the Regulation confirms that importing and trading in the EU without an EU establishment remains possible. Representatives will reasonably ask for more in return, though — more data, more assurances, and potentially higher fees, given their heavier exposure. Distance-sales sellers should confirm their representative holds, or is obtaining, AEO status.
Key dates for the new Union Customs Code
The provisions on importers, exporters and customs representatives become directly applicable across the EU from 21 September 2027, with EU Customs Data Hub-linked provisions following from 1 July 2028. If you have any questions about how this reform affects your business, please get in touch with us today.
This note is based on Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2026 establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, as published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 19 September 2026: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2026/2108/oj/eng. It is a summary for general orientation, not legal advice.