EU Customs System Outage Disrupts Clearance Process
The EU Import Control System (ICS2) has experienced an outage since August 7, leading to disruptions in ENS/ICS2 manifest declarations and customs receipt acquisition. While in-transit ocean freight is less affected, goods already at port may face increased inspections and unloading delays, requiring forwarders to issue early warnings.
What are the key facts?
- 1EU ICS2 system down since August 7
- 2Affects manifest declarations and customs receipt acquisition
- 3Maersk confirms system outage
What happened?
Maersk confirmed that the EU ICS2 (Import Control System 2) has been interrupted since August 7, causing delays in pre-declaration of cargo manifests, vessel arrival notifications, and temporary storage declarations. Parties are currently unable to obtain the Mobile Reference Number (MRN) and receipts. Goods that have arrived or are about to dock may encounter increased temporary inspections at the port and delayed unloading instructions, affecting inland transport.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
EU line sellers need to pay attention to the risk of logistics delays and communicate with forwarders in a timely manner, managing customer expectations regarding logistics delays.