REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts pursuant to Article 284 of the Union Customs Code
Date: 2023-02-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission
Subjects: European Commission, customs cooperation, customs harmonisation, customs regulations, customs territory (EU), customs union, delegated legislation, exchange of information, powers of the institutions (EU)

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.2.2023  COM(2023) 79 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts pursuant to Article 284 of the Union Customs Code  
 
 
1. Introduction 

Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 
laying  down  the  Union  Customs  Code  (“the  UCC”  or  “the  Code”)1  entered  into  force  on  30 
October  2013  although  most  of  its  substantive  provisions  took  effect  from  1  May  2016.  It 
provides  an  updated  and  comprehensive  legal  and  IT  framework  for  customs  rules  and 
procedures  governing  the  trade  in  goods  between  the  EU  and  third  countries.  Its  goal  is  to 
achieve a fully paperless environment that facilitates the flow of legitimate goods moving into or 
out  of,  or  transiting  through  the  Union,  so  as  to  enhance  the  competitiveness  of  European 
businesses,  while  better  protecting  the  financial  and  economic  interests  of  the  Union  and  its 
Member States and safeguarding the security and safety of its consumers.  

Article 284 of the UCC empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts in accordance with 
the procedure set out in Article 290 TFEU, in order to supplement or amend certain non-essential 
elements of the UCC2. The delegation of powers to the Commission is conferred for a period of 
five years, starting on 30 October 2013, and shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical 
duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension. The delegation 
of  powers  was  tacitly  extended  in  2018  for  a  period  of  an  identical  duration  (until  30  January 
2023). 

Article 284 (2) requires the Commission to draw up a report to the European Parliament and to 
the  Council  in  respect  of  the  exercise  of  the  delegation  of  power  under  the  UCC.  This  report 
must be drawn up not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. 

The first report was published on 22 February 20183 and covered the period from October 2013 
to November 2017. At that time the Commission exercised its power to adopt delegated acts four 
times:  1)  to  adopt  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  of  28  July  2015  which 
supplements  certain  non-essential  elements  of  the  Code  (UCC  Delegated  Act)4;  2)  to  adopt 
Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2016/341  of  17  December  2015  which  provides  for 
alternative means for the exchange and storage of customs information for as long as the UCC 
electronic systems are not operational (UCC Transitional Delegated Act)5; 3) to correct Articles 
136 and 141 of the UCC Delegated Act6;  and 4) to  correct  Annex 12 of the UCC Transitional 
Delegated Act7. 

1 OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1–101 
2 It concerns the delegated acts referred to in Articles 2, 7, 10, 20, 24, 31, 36, 40, 62, 65, 75, 88, 99, 106, 115, 122, 
126, 131, 142, 151, 156, 160, 164, 168, 175, 180, 183, 186, 196, 206, 212, 216, 221, 224, 231, 235, 253, 265, 279 of 
the UCC. 
3 COM(2018) 39 final 
4 OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 1-557 
5 OJ L 69, 15.03.2016, p. 1-313 
6 OJ L 111, 27.4.2016, p.1-2 
7 OJ L121, 11.5.2016, p. 1-10 

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The present report explains how the Commission has exercised the power to adopt delegated acts 
pursuant to Article 284 of the UCC  from December 2017 to December 2022.  It also expresses 
the Commission’s view that the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on it by the UCC should 
be  extended  for  a  further  period  of  five  years,  in  accordance  with  Article  284(2)  of  the  UCC 
(tacit extension). 

2. Exercise of delegated powers  

From December 2017 to December 2022, the Commission exercised its power to adopt delegated 
acts pursuant to Article 284 of the UCC eight times. All delegated acts were aimed at amending 
and/or correcting the UCC Delegated Act and, in two instances, were also aimed at amending the 
UCC Transitional Delegated Act. In particular, they are as follows: 

1.  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1063 of 16 May 2018, using Articles 2, 7, 
24,  65,  88,  99,  142,  151,  156,  160,  212,  216,  231  and  253  of  the  UCC,  amended  and 
corrected  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  supplementing  Regulation  (EU)  No 
952/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  as  regards  detailed  rules 
concerning certain provisions of the Union Customs Code8.  
This  amendment  covered  several  different  issues  identified  following  the  entry  into 
application  of  the  UCC  framework.  The  most  salient  modifications  included  a  revised 
definition of "exporter"; an extension of the time limit for taking a decision on repayment 
or  remission  of  customs  duties;  the  introduction  of  some  flexibilities  in  the  customs 
formalities applicable in the case of transactions between a Special Fiscal Territory and 
its  mainland  within the same  Member  State  and  making  it  possible  for  EU  residents  to 
import  cars  rented  outside  the  EU  for  short  periods  such  as  holidays  without  paying 
import duties.  
The regulation was published on 30 July 2018 following a two-month scrutiny period by 
the  Council  and  European  Parliament  and  entered  into  force  on  31  July  2018  in 
accordance  with  its  Article  3,  with  the  exception  of  Article  1(3)  which  allowed  for  the 
continued use of paper-based procedures for specific customs decisions. This entered into 
force  on  2  October  2017,  on  the  day  of  deployment  of  the  UCC  Customs  Decision 
System. 

2.  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/11189 of 7 June 2018, using Article 99 (c) 
of  the  UCC,  amended  Article  84  of  the  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446.  It  was 
published on 18 August 2018 following a two-month scrutiny period by the Council and 
European  Parliament  and  entered  into  force  on  2  September  2018  (Article  2).  The 

8 OJ L 192, 30.7.2018, p. 1–28 
9 OJ L 204, 13.8.2018, p. 11–12 

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purpose  of  the  amendment  was  to  provide  some  flexibility  regarding  the  conditions  for 
obtaining a comprehensive guarantee with a reduced amount, or a guarantee waiver.  

3.  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/841 of 14 March 2019, using Article 212 
of  the  UCC,  corrected  only  certain  language  versions  of  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2015/2446 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and 
of  the  Council  as  regards  detailed  rules  concerning  certain  provisions  of  the  Union 
Customs Code10, that contained some linguistic mistakes in several articles and in Annex 
22-01. It was published on 24 May 2019 and following a two-month scrutiny period by 
the Council and European Parliament entered into force on 13 June 2019 (Article 2). 

4.  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1143  of  14  March  2019  amending 
Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  as  regards  the  declaration  of  certain  low-value 
consignments11  was  published  on  5  July  2019  following  the  two-month  scrutiny  period 
by the Council and European Parliament and entered into force on 13 June 2019 (Article 
2).  Using  Article  160  and  Article  7  of  the  UCC,  it  amended  certain  provisions  of  the 
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 to adjust it in accordance with the VAT rules for 
E-commerce  adopted  in  December  201712.  The  changes  included,  as  of  the  date  of 
application  of  the  new  VAT  rules,  i.e.  1  July  2021,  the  removal  of  the  release  for  free 
circulation  by  any  other  act  of  consignments  with  a  value  not  exceeding  EUR  22  and 
introduced a specific (reduced) dataset in Annex B for the declaration for release for free 
circulation of low value, duty free consignments.  

5.  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2020/877  of  3  April  2020  amending  and 
correcting  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  supplementing  Regulation  (EU)  No 
952/2013, and amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/341 supplementing Regulation 
(EU) No 952/2013, laying down the Union Customs Code13. It was published on 26 June 
2020 following a two-month scrutiny period by the Council and European Parliament and 
entered into force on 15 March 2020 as regards  Article 1(13)(b) and Article 1(16)(b)(i) 
and on 16 July 2020 for all other provisions (Article 4). The retroactive entry into force of 
the provisions allowing the declaration by any other act of organs, human or animal tissue 
or  human  blood  for  transplantations  was  necessary  due  to  the  disruptions  arising  at  the 
EU’s external  borders following the lockdowns due to  the  COVID 19 pandemic. Using 

10 OJ L 138, 24.5.2019, p. 76–78 
11 OJ L 181, 5.7.2019, p. 2–12 
12 Council Directive (EU) 2017/2455 of 5 December 2017 amending Directive 2006/112/EC and Directive 
2009/132/EC as regards certain value added tax obligations for supplies of services and distance sales of goods: OJ 
L 348, 29.12.2017, p. 7–22; Council Regulation (EU) 2017/2454 of 5 December 2017 amending Regulation (EU) 
No 904/2010 on administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of value added tax: OJ L 348, 
29.12.2017, p. 1–6 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2459 of 5 December 2017 amending 
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011 laying down implementing measures for Directive 2006/112/EC on the 
common system of value added tax: OJ L 348, 29.12.2017, p. 32–33 
13 OJ L 203, 26.6.2020, p. 1–27 

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Articles 7, 10, 24, 88, 131, 156, 160, 168, 175, 183, 212, 216, 253 and 265 of the UCC 
this  Regulation  amended  a  number  of  provisions  of  the  UCC  Delegated  Act  and  using 
Article 279 of the UCC, of the UCC Transitional Delegated Act. The changes introduced 
new rules  related to  the  waivers  and time limits  to  lodge  an entry summary declaration 
(ENS)  and  transitional  provisions  until  the  releases  of  the  Import  Control  System  2 
(ICS2)  are  deployed.  In  addition,  the  Regulation  introduced  a  new  definition  for  the 
intrinsic  value  as  well  as  some  transitional  provisions  for  postal  operators  and  Member 
States to enable the smooth implementation of the VAT e-commerce rules, and created a 
new EU form 302 for the movement of goods in the context of military operations. 

6.  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2191 of 20 November 2020, using point b 
of  Article  131  and  point  a  of  Article  265  of  the  UCC,  amended  Delegated  Regulation 
(EU)  2015/2446  as  regards  the  time-limits  for  lodging  entry  summary  declarations  and 
pre-departure declarations in case of transport by sea from and to the United Kingdom of 
Great  Britain  and  Northern  Ireland,  the  Channel  Islands  and  the  Isle  of  Man14.  It  was 
published  on  23  December  2020  after  early  non  objection  by  the  Council  on  21 
December 2020 and  European Parliament  on 15  December 2020 and  entered into force 
on 24 December 2020. It applies from 1 January 2021 (Article 2). 

7.  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/234 of 7 December 2020, using Article 7 
of  the  UCC,  amended  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  as  regards  common  data 
requirements,  and  using  Article  279  of  the  UCC  amended  Delegated  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/341  as  regards  the  codes  to  be  used  in  certain  forms15.  Following  a  two-month 
scrutiny period by the Council and European Parliament, it was published on 23 February 
2021 and entered into force on 15 March 2021 (Article 3). 

8.  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2021/1934  of  30  July  2021,  using  Articles  63 
and  65  of  the  UCC,  amended  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  as  regards  certain 
provisions  relating  to  the  non-preferential  origin  of  goods  16.  The  Regulation  was 
published on 10 November 2021, following a two-month scrutiny period by the Council 
and European Parliament, and entered into force on 30 November 2021, while Points (5), 
(6)  and  (7)  of  Article  1  apply  from  1  January  2022  (Article  2),  in  accordance  with  the 
date of entry into force of the 2022 version of the Harmonised System. 

In  addition,  during  the  reporting  period,  two  of  the  above-mentioned  regulations  introduced 
amendments  to  the  UCC  Transitional  Delegated  Act,  on  the  basis  of  Article  279  UCC.  These 
adjustments  were  needed  as  certain  UCC  electronic  systems  are  not  yet  operational,  and 
therefore, in the respective areas, the transitional rules continue to apply.  

14 OJ L 434, 23.12.2020, p. 8–9 
15 OJ L 63, 23.2.2021, p. 1–385 
16 OJ L 396, 10.11.2021, p. 10–16 

4 

 
 
 
                                                           
1.  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2020/877  of  3  April  2020  amending  and 
correcting  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  supplementing  Regulation  (EU)  No 
952/2013, and amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/341 supplementing Regulation 
(EU) No 952/2013, laying down the Union Customs Code17. 

2.  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2021/234  of  7  December  2020  amending 
Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  as  regards  common  data  requirements,  and 
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/341 as regards the codes to be used in certain forms18. 

When  preparing  and  amending  the  delegated  acts,  the  Commission  consulted  all  relevant 
stakeholders,  in  particular,  Member  States'  experts  and  economic  operators  from  the  trade, 
logistics  and  business  sectors.  Experts  from  the  Member  States  and  the  business  community 
discussed and supported the provisions included in the delegated acts.  

Throughout the procedural and decision-making process, the Commission ensured the timely and 
appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council. 
The European Parliament and the Council did not object to the adoption of any of those acts. 

In  order  to  ensure  that  the  EU  customs  legislation  is  constantly  adapted  to  the  technical 
requirements and technological progress of customs activity, the Commission is of the view that 
the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on it by the UCC should be extended for a further 
period of five years, in accordance with Article 284(2) of the UCC (tacit extension). 

3. Conclusion 

With  this  Report  the  Commission  complies  with  its  obligation  to  report  to  the  European 
Parliament and to the Council on its use of delegated powers under Article 284(2) of the UCC. 

The  Commission  has  exercised  the  delegated  powers  conferred  on  it  by  the  UCC  actively  and 
appropriately  over  the  past  five  years.    At  the  same  time,  the  Commission  considers  that  this 
delegation  of  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  should  be  extended  for  a  further  five  years, 
according  to  Article  284(2)  of  the  UCC  (tacit  extension).  This  will  enable  the  Commission  to 
continue  to  supplement  the  customs  rules  in  the  light  of  political,  technical  and  technological 
progress and of changes in trading patterns, all of which have an impact on customs.  

The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of this report. 

17 OJ L 203, 26.6.2020, p. 1–27 
18 OJ L 63, 23.2.2021, p. 1–385 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Annex 

UCC empowering 

provisions 

UCC  DA  provisions  adopted  in 
accordance with the delegation of 
power from 2013 until November 
2017 and reported in 201819 

UCC  DA  provisions  adopted 
in  accordance  with 
the 
delegation  of  power  from 
December 
until 
December 2022 

2017 

Article 2 

Articles 114, 134, 188 

Articles 114, 134  

Article 7 (means for 
exchange and 
storage of 
information and 
common data 
requirements) 

Articles 2, 3, 4, 9, 19, 21, 38, 39, 
40, 82, 85, 86, 87, 92, 93, 94, 95, 
96, 116, 124, 124a, 125, 126, 126a, 
127, 129a, 129b, 130, 131, 132, 
133, 144, 154, 157, 160, 163, 164, 
165, 175, 178, 181, 184, 185, 190, 
196, 238, 241, 246, 247, 249 

Articles 2, 7a, 40, 82, 124a, 126a, 
127, 128d,  131, 133, 143a, 144, 
163 

Article 10  

Articles 5, 6, 7 

Article 6 

Article 20 

Article 210 

Article 24 
(Decisions relating 
to the applications of 
customs legislation) 

Articles 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 26, 27, 28, 
29, 30, 82, 92, 97, 121, 123, 156, 
162, 171, 172, 173, 186, 192, 194, 
205 

Articles 5, 10, 13, 17, 82, 97, 197a  

Article 31 
(Revocation and 
amendment of 
favourable 
decisions) 

Delegation not used in the reporting period, as there has not been a 
business case yet.  

The provision concerns: 1) cases where a favourable decision addressed 
to  several  persons  may  be  revoked  both  in  respect  of  the  person  who 
fails  to  fulfil  an  obligation  imposed  under  that  decision  and  also  in 
respect of the other persons involved; 2) exceptional cases in which the 
customs  authorities  may  defer  the  date  on  which  revocation  or 
amendment takes effect.  

Article 36 
(Management of 
decisions relating to 
binding information) 

In  the  reporting  period,  the  Commission  services  have  taken  the  initial 
steps to exercise the delegated powers under Article 36(b) by publishing 
for  feedback  a  draft  Delegated  Regulation  introducing  the  rules 
concerning  decisions  on  Binding  Valuation  Information  (BVI)20.  
Adoption of this Delegated Regulation is  foreseen for the first semester  

19 COM(2018) 39 final, 22.1.2018 
20 Binding valuation information (BVI) decisions – inclusion in EU legislation and simplifications to customs 
formalities (europa.eu) 

6 

 
 
 
                                                           
UCC empowering 

provisions 

UCC  DA  provisions  adopted  in 
accordance with the delegation of 
power from 2013 until November 
2017 and reported in 201819 

UCC  DA  provisions  adopted 
in  accordance  with 
the 
delegation  of  power  from 
until 
December 
December 2022 

2017 

of  2023.The  provision  concerns:  1)  the  specific  cases  referred  to  in 
Article  34(7)  point  (b)  and  Article  34(8),  where  Binding  Tariff 
Information  (BTI) and  Binding Origin  Information (BOI)  decisions are 
to  be  revoked;  2)  the  cases  referred  to  in  Article  35,  where  decisions 
relating to binding information are taken concerning other factors on the 
basis  of  which  import  or  export  duty  and  other  measures  in  respect  of 
trade in goods are applied. 

Article 40 

Articles 23, 24, 25 

Article 62  

Articles 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 

Articles 31, 33, 34, 35 

Article 65 
(Preferential origin) 

Articles 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 
48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 
57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 
66, 67, 68, 69, 70 

Articles 37, 53, 55 

Article 75 

Article 71 

Article 88 (Customs 
debt) 

Articles 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 
79, 80, 168 

Articles 76, [168]21 

Article 99 

Articles 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86 

Articles 82, 83, 84,  

Article 106 

Articles 88, 92 

Article 115 

Articles 89, 90, 91 

Article 122 

Articles 98, 99, 100, 101, 102 

Article 126 

Article 103 

Article 131(Entry 
summary 
declaration) 

Articles 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 
109, 110, 111, 112, 113 

Articles 104, 105, 106, 112, 113, 
113a 

21 This Article has been eliminated in accordance with Article 1(24) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 
2020/877 of 3 April 2020 amending and correcting Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 supplementing 
Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, and amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/341 supplementing Regulation (EU) 
No 952/2013, laying down the Union Customs Code; OJ L 203, 26.6.2020, p. 1–27 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
UCC empowering 

provisions 

Article 142 
(designated places 
for the presentation 
of the goods brought 
into the EU customs 
territory) 

Article 151 
(conditions and 
authorisation for 
temporary storage) 

Article 156 
(Customs status of 
goods) 

Article 160 (Placing 
goods under a 
customs procedure) 

UCC  DA  provisions  adopted  in 
accordance with the delegation of 
power from 2013 until November 
2017 and reported in 201819 

UCC  DA  provisions  adopted 
in  accordance  with 
the 
delegation  of  power  from 
until 
December 
December 2022 

2017 

Article 115 

Article 115 

Articles 115, 116, 117, 118 

Article 115  

Articles 119, 120, 121, 122, 
122a,128, 129, 129c, 129d, 182 

Articles 124a, 128a, 128d,  

Articles 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 
140, 141, 142, 143 

Articles 136, 138, 139, 140, 141, 
142 

Article 164  

Article 155 

Article 168 
(simplified 
declarations) 

Article 175  

Articles 145, 146, 147, 183 

Articles 146, 147 

Articles 148, 248 

Article 248 

Article 180 

Article 149 

Article 183 (EIDR)  Article 150 

Article 150 

Article 186 

Articles 151, 152 

Article 196 

Article 153 

Article 206 

Articles 158, 159 

Article 212 (General 
provisions on special 
procedures) 

Articles 161, 163, 165, 166, 167, 
170, 175, 176, 177, 178, 201, 202, 

Articles 163,166, 167, 177, 177a, 
207, 218  

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
UCC empowering 

provisions 

UCC  DA  provisions  adopted  in 
accordance with the delegation of 
power from 2013 until November 
2017 and reported in 201819 

UCC  DA  provisions  adopted 
in  accordance  with 
the 
delegation  of  power  from 
until 
December 
December 2022 

2017 

203, 204, 206, 207, 218, 239, 240, 
242, 243 

Article 216  

Articles 174, 217, 218, 237 

Article 218, 237 

Article 221 

Articles 179, 180 

Article 224 

Article 169 

Article 231 

Articles 187, 189 

Article 189  

Article 235 (Union 
transit) 

Articles 191, 193, 195, 197, 198, 
199, 200 

Article 193, 195, 197 

Article 253 (Specific 
use) 

Articles 206, 208, 209, 210, 211, 
212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 219, 220, 
221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 
228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 
235, 236 

Articles 212, 215, 220, 223, 224, 
227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 
234, 235, 235a, 236 

Article 265 

Articles 244, 245 

Articles 244, 245 

9