The Commission has amended non-preferential origin evidence with effect from 1 July 2026.

Legal basis and date of application

The European Commission has announced an amendment to the Union Customs Code Implementing Act on non-preferential origin evidence, introduced by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1422 . The publication is dated 2 July 2026 and was issued by the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union . The announced application date runs from 1 July 2026 .

The legal basis is the Union Customs Code established by Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013, published in Official Journal L 269 of 10 October 2013 . EUR-Lex identifies that text as the Regulation laying down the Union Customs Code, with a consolidated version current to 12 December 2022 .

The Commission communication refers to Articles 57 to 59 and Annex 22-14 of the UCC Implementing Act, as well as the insertion of a new Article 59a for goods originating in the United States .

Electronic certificates of origin in ELAN

The European Commission states that Articles 57 to 59 of the Union Customs Code Implementing Act have been amended for products subject to special non-preferential import arrangements . The same amendment also applies to Annex 22-14 of that Implementing Act .

According to the Commission, those amendments authorise the use of electronic certificates of origin issued in ELAN, the Union's electronic system for non-customs agricultural formalities . The Commission describes ELAN as a system within the Union Single Window Environment for Customs, which stores information relating to the issuance and use of documents required for international trade in agricultural goods . It states that the system facilitates the exchange of electronic documents between issuing authorities or bodies and customs authorities .

The Commission specifies that the amendments to Articles 57 to 59 and Annex 22-14 are intended to align customs and agricultural rules with the introduction of ELAN . They also provide flexibility during the transition to ELAN's full implementation and allow the acceptance of electronic certificates of origin from third countries on the importation of certain agricultural goods .

Timetable for use of the ELAN system

The European Commission presents ELAN as the Union's electronic system for non-customs agricultural formalities, linked to the European Union Single Window Environment for Customs . According to the Commission, that system stores information relating to the issuance and use of documents required for international trade in agricultural goods .

The Commission states that ELAN facilitates the exchange of electronic documents between the authorities or bodies that issue them and customs authorities . Its use has been open on a voluntary basis since January 2026 . The published timetable provides for mandatory use by issuing authorities from January 2028 . It also provides for mandatory use by customs authorities from October 2028 .

According to the Commission, the amendments to Articles 57 to 59 and Annex 22-14 of the UCC Implementing Act are intended to align customs and agricultural rules with the introduction of ELAN .

Article 59a for goods originating in the United States

The European Commission states that the Implementing Regulation amending the Union Customs Code Implementing Act inserts a new Article 59a into the UCC-IA for goods originating in the United States . According to the Commission, that new article introduces a requirement for proof of direct transport or non-alteration as part of non-preferential origin evidence .

That proof is a condition for the application of the adjusted customs duties and tariff quotas provided for by Regulation (EU) 2026/1455, which the Commission presents as the text concerning goods originating in the United States . The Commission specifies that this proof may establish either direct transport from the country of origin to the Union, or continued customs supervision without alteration where the goods transit through a third country .

The Commission states that the inclusion of those elements in non-preferential origin evidence is intended to strengthen the application of the legal framework and prevent possible circumvention . It also states that it has published a questions-and-answers document for the application of the new Article 59a of the UCC-IA .