Import Control System 2 (ICS2) Release 2: Go-live

On 1 March 2023, the European Union launched the second release of its Import Control System 2 (ICS2), the new advance cargo information and risk management platform, to further improve protection against security and safety threats from goods entering the EU.

From 1 March 2023, all air carriers, freight forwarders, express couriers, and postal operators involved in the transportation of goods by air to or through the EU (all EU Member States, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Northern Ireland) must provide a complete set of Entry Summary Declaration data on the goods, prior to their arrival at the EU external border. They must do this through the ICS2 system, which is gradually replacing the EU’s existing Import Control System (ICS) between 2021 and 2024. With the launch of ICS2 Release 2, air carriers currently filing advance cargo information into the Import Control System (ICS) will fully phase out from that system as soon as they start filing this data into ICS2.

Some EU Member States will not be able to connect to ICS2 Release 2 on 1 March 2023 and requested a legal derogation. The European Commission has therefore granted Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Croatia, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Sweden a derogation allowing them to connect to ICS2 Release 2 by 30 June 2023. The Derogation decision is available at this link.

Economic operators affected by ICS2 Release 2 and not ready to connect to the system, must request a deployment window from the competent EU Member State.

More information about ICS2 Release 2 and the relevant transition process can be found here.