It will become mandatory to submit summary declarations electronically within the entire EU territory as of 1 July 2009.  Electronic declarations shall be lodged with Customs before the arrival or departure of the goods.  This may call for major alterations to the operating models and data systems of enterprises engaging in international trade.
Luggage and postal parcels are left beyond the electronic summary declaration.  The changes reflect both the internationally tightening safety and security requirements and the need to forecast and diminish the safety and security risks involved in international trade.
It will become mandatory to submit summary declarations electronically within the entire EU territory as of 1 July 2009. This change is based on the European Commission Regulation No. 1875 of December 2006. The declaration of goods will change radically: beside lodging a customs declaration on the goods upon their arrival in the country, also an electronic advance notification must be submitted before the arrival of the goods. At export, the declarations shall be lodged within a certain time limit:  according to the mode of transport, from 30 minutes to 4 hours before the departure of the goods, and on container goods as early as 24 hours before their loading. The electronic advance notification is also required regarding transit goods. 
The summary declaration on paper will be replaced by the electronic one. Also messages of totally new kinds will be introduced concerning the arrival and departure of goods. With a view to processing the electronic advance notifications, Customs will construct and introduce a new data system called AREX, which processes summary declarations at arrival and departure.  Electronic advance data will also be processed by the export system or the NCTS transiting system.
The enterprises will have to implement the required changes in their data systems during 2008, because the electronic advance notification will be introduced within a very tight schedule during 2009. Customs has organized information meetings in this matter for major import and export enterprises as well as software providers, and will be arranging further events to this end as the data content becomes specified and the data systems ready. Customs’ website contains an AREX message communications guide as well as further information.  Model messages are going to get completed during 2008.