A. Pre-arrival / pre-departure declarations
To secure the international supply chain, concerned operators must file pre-arrival/pre-departure declarations for safety and security purposes.
1. Entry Summary Declaration (ENS)
The Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) is a pre-arrival safety and security declaration required for most non-Union goods entering the customs territory of the European Union. It is normally lodged electronically by the carrier or another responsible party before the goods arrive.
The purpose of the ENS is not to request customs clearance but to provide customs authorities with advance information to perform safety and security risk analysis. Through the Import Control System 2 (ICS2), Luxembourg Customs can identify high-risk consignments, support risk-based customs controls, and ensure the protection of the Union against security threats before the arrival of goods.
2. Exit Summary Declaration (EXS)
The Exit Summary Declaration (EXS) is a pre-departure safety and security declaration that may be required when goods leave the customs territory of the European Union and the necessary security information has not already been provided through another customs declaration, such as the export declaration.
The EXS enables customs authorities to conduct risk analysis before the departure of goods. In practice, where the export declaration contains all required safety and security data, a separate EXS is generally not required.
B. Temporary storage declaration
Following their arrival in Luxembourg, non-Union goods are presented to the Administration des Douanes et Accises (ADA) and may be placed in temporary storage pending assignment to a customs procedure.
Temporary storage is not a customs procedure under the Union Customs Code. Rather, it is a temporary status that applies from the moment goods are presented to customs until they are placed under a customs procedure or re-exported.
Temporary storage takes place in a Temporary Storage Facility (TSF) and the goods may remain in temporary storage for a maximum period of 90 days.
During this period, the goods remain under customs supervision while the holder decides whether they will be:
- released for free circulation;
- placed under another customs procedure (for example customs warehousing, transit or inward processing);
- admitted to a free zone; or
- re-exported outside the customs territory of the EU.
Operation of a Temporary Storage Facility (TSF) is subject to prior authorisation issued by the Customs and Excise Administration.
For more information on the application/authorisation process, please refer to the Luxembourg Customs and Excise Administration’s website:
https://douanes.public.lu/fr/commerce-international/cdc.html
To ensure payment of any customs debt that may arise in respect of goods under temporary storage status, the provision of a guarantee is required.
Goods under temporary storage may not undergo any forms of handling other than those necessary to preserve them in their existing state, without altering their appearance or technical characteristics. This means that an economic operator may not freely dispose of the goods until they are placed under a customs procedure.
NB: Upon sending the notification of arrival in transit by the authorised consignee (in absence of a TSF), the goods are deemed to be in temporary storage and must be placed under a customs procedure within 6 days of their presentation.
C. Customs declarations
Under the UCC, all goods entering, leaving, or moving under customs supervision within the European Union must be covered by the appropriate customs declaration. A customs declaration is the formal legal act by which an economic operator declares goods to customs and requests that they be placed under a specific customs procedure. The declaration provides customs authorities with the information necessary to apply customs legislation, determine customs duties and taxes, implement trade policy measures, and carry out customs controls.
In Luxembourg, customs declarations are submitted electronically through the Luxembourg Customs Clearance System (LUCCS). LUCCS is Luxembourg's national customs clearance programme and has been developed to implement the electronic customs requirements established by the Union Customs Code. It replaces the former Paperless eDouane system (PLDA) and serves as the single electronic environment through which economic operators submit customs declarations.
LUCCS integrates several EU customs systems into a harmonised national platform, including the National Import System (NIS) for import declarations, the Automated Export System (AES) for export declarations, the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) for transit operations, and interfaces with the Import Control System 2 (ICS2) for pre-arrival safety and security declarations.
Customs representation
Customs declarations may be lodged directly by the economic operator or through a customs representative acting under direct or indirect representation.
Indirect representation
The customs representative files the customs declaration in his own name but on behalf of the importer/exporter. In this case, the customs representative is the declarant and is jointly responsible with the importer/exporter for paying the customs debt.
Direct representation
The customs representative files the customs declaration in the name and on behalf of the importer/exporter established in the European Union. In this case, the importer/exporter is the declarant and is solely responsible for paying the customs debt.