The European Union is rolling out a new advance cargo information system designed to improve security and safety in the international transportation of goods and the involved supply chain – the Import Control System 2 (ICS2). This system requires rail and road carriers to provide data on goods sent to or through the EU prior to their arrival by submitting a complete Entry Summary Declaration (ENS). ICS2 enables customs authorities to detect and mitigate security and safety risks to EU citizens and the internal market, allowing them to target their interventions more effectively while also facilitating the flow of goods.
The ICS2 system is already live, but Economic Operators (EO) can currently benefit from a grace period known as a Deployment Window, to complete their preparations to meet the ICS2 requirements. This Deployment Window is granted to the EO, on their request, by the EU Member State which issued their Economic Operator’s Registration and Identification (EORI) number. It can run until 1 September 2025 at the latest, when the requirement to file an ENS becomes mandatory for all impacted EOs. There is no legal possibility of extending this deadline further. Therefore, we kindly ask you to advise your trade stakeholders to use the available time to connect to ICS2 and prepare for mandatory implementation. This will allow them to avoid unnecessary disruptions at the EU customs border as of 1 September 2025.
Available Options for Economic Operators
The following options are available for the EOs:
1. Establish system-to-system communication with the ICS2 platform to submit ENS data directly to ICS2. This requires establishing a connection with ICS2 via a secured protocol and completing mandatory self-conformance testing (CT).
2. Contract an IT service provider (ITSP) to file ENS data on their behalf. Contracts must be concluded in advance to ensure that the ITSP can start filing as soon as possible. Several ITSPs have already passed the CT and are technically ready to start ENS filing.
3. File the ENS via the ICS2 Shared Trader Portal (STP). To access the STP, an EO has to connect to the ICS2 STP, complete registration, and prepare to start ENS filing.
In all options above, the EOs are advised to liaise with the National Service Desk (NSD) of their Member State to receive guidance and support in connecting to the ICS2. Note that EOs must possess an EORI number issued by an EU Member State to file ENS data either themselves or through the ITSP. EOs should apply for an EORI number from the authorities of a Member State where they have an establishment. If they do not have any establishments in the EU, they should request one from the Member State where they will send their first shipment.
The sender of the ENS must also be registered in the national/central Unified User Management and Digital Signatures (UUM&DS) system. You can find more information about UUM&DS on the EU Customs Trader Portal.
The necessary information can be found on the ICS2 – European Commission webpage. In particular, EOs are advised to read sector-related factsheets, such as the Rail factsheet, Road factsheet, and Technical preparation factsheet, available in several languages.
Please note that a carrier is legally responsible for providing ENS data to ICS2. Where applicable, carriers and other actors in the supply chain must agree on whether the house level filers (freight forwarder, EU-based consignee, etc.) will also connect to the ICS2 system to file the relevant partial ENS dataset. Otherwise, the house level filer will have to make the necessary commercial documentation data available to the carrier, so that the carrier connects to the ICS2 system and files all the required ENS data.
