Flash Eurobarometer 399 (The Electronic Customs Implementation in the EU)

Companies and the electronic customs implementation in the EU.

Topics: company imported from or exported to countries outside the EU in 2013; responsibility for dealing with customs procedures in the company (an in-house staff member, another company; partly a staff member and partly another company); geographical areas of import in 2013; countries used for import declarations; type of points of entry (airports, seaports, land border); type of customers (individual customers, public sector organisations, own company or an affiliate, other companies); geographical areas of export in 2013; countries used as point of exit from the EU; number of employees; company´s total turnover in 2013; business sector (retailer, manufacturer, service provider, customs agent, transport/logistic company); premises of the company and its affiliates are located only in the own country, in another EU-country or outside the EU; positive or negative impact of the introduction of electronic customs on the company; frequency of customs procedures carried out for the company; company uses a single IT interface or several IT interfaces when dealing with customs procedures; customs operations that are easy or difficult to carry out; frequency of difficulties when dealing with customs procedures (having to submit the same information more than once, difficulties in predicting the length of the customs clearance process, unexpected delays caused by customs procedures, working with an IT interface that is not easy to use, difficulties in providing the information required by authorities); main reasons for outsourcing customs procedures (e.g. conducting procedures in-house is too costly, customs procedures are too complex or too time-consuming); location of the outsourcing company; outsourced customs procedures that are easy or difficult to carry out; frequency of difficulties when dealing with customs procedures (multiple request for similar information, difficulties in predicting the length of the customs clearance process, difficulties in providing the information required by authorities); extend of influence of differences in customs costs and time delays on the decision to choose certain points of entry or exit; development over the last 5 years concerning the costs related to customs operations (including the staff costs), the frequency of controls, the frequency of enquiries and audits, the time required to clear customs); the transition from paper to electronic customs procedures has required IT-investments, investments for training staff or other types of investments; the transition from paper to electronic customs made a difference in selected areas (it lowered the cost of the offered products, it allowed the company to introduce new products faster on the market and/or to offer a wider range of products, it allowed to operate on more markets or in a wider geographical area, it simplified the customs procedures).

Additionally coded: country; interview number; NACE code, size of company; preferred interview language (only in BE, EE, FI, IE, LV, LU, MT); willingness to take part in another telephone interview; respondent´s contact details.