Proof of Union Status (PoUS) is a Trans-European System (TES) that ensures standardised exchange of administrative information between Economic Operators or their representatives and customs authorities, and between customs authorities involved in the customs procedures of establishing proof of Union status.
Latest news
*The eLearning courses related to the PoUS system have been updated to include a chapter dedicated to the proof of Union Status of goods in the form of Customs Goods Manifest (CGM/CGMF).
For both the Economic Operators and Customs Officers modules, the learners will be able to choose which chapter to follow (T2L/T2LF or CGM/CGMF) and to take an assessment at the end of the course.
The links to the eLearning modules are here:
- Course: Proof of Union Status System for Economic operators, Topic: en
- Course: Proof of Union Status System for Customs officers, Topic: en
*On 15 August 2025, the phase 2 of the Proof of Union Status (PoUS) system implementing the Customs Goods Manifest (CGM) has been launched. It enables traders to manually submit the proof of Union Status requests for the goods transported by sea in the form of CGM/CGMF data directly in the PoUS Specific Trader Portal (PoUS STP).
Once the Maritime National Single Windows (MNSW) will be operational in the Member States, the traders will be able to submit the CGM/CGMF data electronically by connecting to the MNSW, which will communicate with the PoUS system. (More information are provided in the section below "Deployment of phase 2 - CGM").
Technical matters
Why is PoUS important?
Goods transiting within the customs territory of the EU are assigned a customs status: Union or non-Union goods.
Union goods are either wholly obtained in the customs territory of the Union, are imported and released for free circulation, or are wholly obtained or produced using the first two kinds of goods. All goods that do not meet these requirements or have lost their Union Status are to be considered non-Union goods (Union Customs Code, Article 5.23-24).
In addition, Union goods may lose their status when they are temporarily taken out of the customs territory of the Union, except for specific cases (UCC Art. 154 and UCC Delegated Act Art. 119.2).
To prove Union status for goods in free circulation which have been brought from one point to another within the customs territory of the Union and temporarily leave that territory, two means are used: T2L or T2LF data and the Customs Goods Manifest (CGM) (UCC Implementing Act Art. 199.5).
The main objective of PoUS is to replace the paper procedure of T2L/T2LF and shipping companies’ manifests used to prove Union status of goods with an electronic system. The system will make T2L/T2LF and Customs Goods Manifest (CGM) data available to use when goods with Union status are moved between EU countries while leaving the EU customs territory temporarily.
Structure of PoUS
PoUS is a centralised system developed by the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD). However, EU countries have the possibility to develop their own national systems (like Poland and Spain).
National systems are connected to the repository of the central system. This hybrid solution allows all users to access PoUS for national Customs online services. The connection to the central PoUS ensures that all national proof data are also available centrally to all other EU countries.
The central PoUS has two main components:
- The PoUS Specific Trader Portal (PoUS-STP) - accessible through the EU Customs Trader Portal (EUCTP)
- The PoUS customs application Back Office (PoUS-BO) combined with the Central Repository (CR)
Access to PoUS
Economic Operators, their customs representatives and their employees (referred to as Traders) should access the PoUS Specific Trader Portal (STP) via the EU Customs Trader Portal (EUCTP).
Access to EUCTP is managed through the UUM&DS - an identity and access management platform to secure authorised access to EU Customs electronic systems. More information are available: Uniform user management & digital signatures (UUM&DS) - European Commission.
Traders requesting proof in Spain and Poland will access the specific national portal (or use other means provided by that EU country).
Traders will need a valid Economic Operator Identification and Registration (EORI) number and appropriate roles assigned in UUMDS to access the system. Once authenticated in the EUCTP, a Trader can manage their own requests for proof in the PoUS STP module and interact with the system and customs authorities via notifications.
Customs officers can use the PoUS BO to handle requests for proof and presentation notifications.
How does PoUS work?
- The Trader accesses the PoUS Specific Trader Portal via the EUCTP and selects the option ‘Create T2L(F) Proof Request’.
- If the user concerned is a person, their submission will be an endorsement request. If the economic operator is an Authorised Issuer, they will be asked to enter their Authorisation Number as well.
- When all the data has been filled in and the request submitted, PoUS validates the request by checking its compliance with the information stored in the interconnected databases.
- The request is lodged via the PoUS BO at the Competent Customs Office (CCO). The customs authority assesses the request and can decide as follows:
- Neither controls on the goods nor additional documents are needed; or
- Additional controls on the goods and supplementary documents are required - a notification is sent to the EUCTP dashboard, explaining which documents are needed and for what reason.
- The trader can manage the submission of supplementary documents on the EUCTP dashboard or outside of the system (e.g., via mail or in person). The officer can save the documents in the system themself. In both cases, the user will receive a message when the documents are correctly registered at CCO.
- Controls are then carried out by the officer. There are two possible scenarios:
- The results of the controls on the goods and documents are unsatisfactory - the request is declined, and a negative controls results notification is sent to the user together with an explanatory note.
- The results of the controls are satisfactory - the proof endorsement is confirmed, and the proof is registered.
- The business process for registration requests follows a slightly different path to that for endorsement requests: in case of a registration request from an Authorised Issuer, controls are simplified and, if there is no decision on performing controls, the proof is automatically endorsed.
- A Master Reference Number (MRN) is issued by the PoUS-BO. The officer has the competence to confirm (or not) the requested validity period for the proof. This latter is stored in the Central Repository and made available for retrieval.
- A confirmation notification containing the relevant data for the registered proof is then sent to the EUCTP dashboard, where the user can consult and download the Status Registration Document (SRD).
Types of proof
The following types of proof are supported in the new PoUS:
- Phase 1 of PoUS implements T2L and T2LF data. The deployment date was 1 March 2024. As of this date, EU countries and Economic Operators must have started using the new PoUS.
- Phase 2 has implemented the Customs Goods Manifest (CGM/CGMF). It has been deployed on 15 August 2025.
The deployment of phase 2 -Customs Goods Manifest
The phase 2 of the PoUS system implements the Customs Goods Manifest as a proof of the Union status for goods transported by sea (other than the Regular Shipping Service). It features new digital functionalities and additional facilitations for maritime transport such as the amendment of the CGM/CGMF proof and partial presentation of the CGM/CGMF proof in multiple MS Presentation customs offices.
Aiming at ensuring a smooth deployment of the phase 2 of the PoUS system, DG TAXUD carried out conformance testing with MS and conducted several trainings for National Customs Administrations. The PoUS BO 2.1.0.0 & PoUS STP 2.1.0.0 will be officially in PROD on the 15/08/25. The PoUS Phase 2 will enable a manual submission of the CGM/CGMF proof endorsement requests via PoUS STP User Interface.
Connection between the Maritime National Single Window (MNSW) and the central PoUS
The PoUS Phase 2 will introduce a new actor which is the Maritime National Single Window (MNSW) to allow filing proof requests via S2S connection.
If a Member State has no link between its MNSW and the customs central PoUS, traders would have to manually fill in the information about goods in the PoUS STP. Otherwise, customs cannot endorse the CGM proof requests and confirm the proof presentation automatically by verifying the master reference number (MRN) and confirming that the goods have the Union status.
As most of MS reported significant delays in the MNSW deployment and the volume of proofs currently covered by shipping manifests makes the manual registration process via the PoUS STP impractical, the Commission has suggested to the MS customs administrations, which are late with their MNSW development, to make use of the possibility of requesting temporary derogations. The derogations will allow continuing with the shipping company’s manifest in accordance with Articles 126a (2-4) UCC DA.
Related systems
- The Customs Decisions Management System: if the proof request is submitted by an Authorised Issuer, the PoUS system connects to the Customs Reference System (CRS) – which includes the decisions from the Customs Decisions Management System (CDMS) – and queries it to validate the authorisation (ACP).
- National Risk Analysis systems: can be connected to PoUS to streamline the PoUS process. Some of national systems (e.g. Presentation Notification system) may be connected to PoUS to simplify the customs processes for the Economic Operator.
- The European Maritime Single Window Environment (EMSWe): When the PoUS for CGM is deployed, the interconnection between PoUS and EMSWe is envisaged. It is possible for the National Single Windows (NSW) of the EMSWe to exchange information with PoUS for endorsement/registration and presentation purposes.
Legal texts
- Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 laying down the Union Customs Code
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 laying down the Union Customs Code
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 for Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 laying down the Union Customs Code
FAQs
The list of FAQs is not exhaustive and will be updated regularly
Relevant links
Useful documents:
- Guidance on using EUCTP: TP UMN (europa.eu)
- Access Management through UUM&DS: Access Management through UUM&DS (europa.eu)
- UUM&DS Central Delegation Management Tool: f7a0f92d-8c5e-4558-98ce-f325b2e7f7ce_en (europa.eu)
- Access and delegation of rights: Access to PoUs system
