The EU's single market and customs policy require the national administrations of Member States to work cohesively, applying regulations consistently to ensure uniform border protection, prevent and combat fraud, and avoid trade diversion. Under the CUST-DEV3 contract, Vivansa has been instrumental in aligning customs systems with the Union Customs Code (UCC), focusing on analysis, modelling, and system enhancements.
Context and challenges
Computerised processing and electronic communication systems are essential to a seamless transition to a paperless customs environment. The core services and deliverables under CUST-DEV3 involve specifying, developing, maintaining, and supporting customs IT systems that facilitate the operation of the Customs Union — including both central customs systems hosted by DG TAXUD and pan-European systems deployed across Member State administrations, such as VIES and NCTS.
Vivansa's mission
Contracted since September 2013 by the European Commission (DG TAXUD) under the CUST-DEV3 multi-annual Framework Contract, Vivansa experts have been responsible for analysis, modelling, and implementation to align current customs systems with the requirements of the Multi-Annual Strategy Plan (MASP) for the UCC.
The services delivered include designing the Enterprise Architecture for future Automated Customs Systems, analyzing legislation, aligning customs procedures through Business Process Models (BPM), preparing functional and technical specifications, and maintaining and updating specifications for existing systems such as SPEED2, NCTS, ECS, ICS, Customs Decisions, REX, CLASS, Tariff Classification, and TATAF. As an official member of the IASis consortium — and previously involved in the predecessor CUST-DEV2 project (2009–2013) — Vivansa is one of the key suppliers regularly contracted by DG TAXUD over the past decade.
Outcomes
Vivansa has played a pivotal role in aligning customs procedures with the new legislation established by the UCC, contributing to the design and implementation of the next generation of automated customs systems in Europe while enhancing existing systems such as AES and AIS.
A key component has been the focus on Business Process Modeling (BPM), the foundation for aligning customs operations with legislative and procedural reforms. By analyzing existing workflows, Vivansa developed detailed process models encapsulating the end-to-end customs lifecycle, ensuring consistency with UCC mandates and providing a clear blueprint for implementation, testing, and deployment. EU electronic customs systems have been developed in alignment with international standards for data models and message formats, ensuring compatibility and enabling future interaction with the customs systems of third countries.