Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2494 of 9 December 2025 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 as regards the structure of messages relating to the movements of excise goods exchanged pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 of 2 May 2012 on administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2073/2004 (1), and in particular Articles 9(2), 15(5) and 16(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 (2) lays down the procedure to be followed for the movements of excise goods between Member States and the monitoring and surveillance of those movements by means of the computerised system referred to in Article 1 of Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) (‘the computerised system’).

(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 (4) sets out the rules on cooperation and exchange of information between Member States regarding the movements of excise goods and the data required for mutual administrative assistance documents referred to in Article 9(2), Article 15(5) and Article 16(3) of Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012.

(3) Pursuant to Directive (EU) 2020/262, the computerised system was modified to include the movement of excise goods that are exported outside the Union and the movement of excise goods which have been released for consumption in the territory of one Member State and that are moved to the territory of another Member State in order to be delivered there for commercial purposes. These modifications affected the messages for the exchange of information between Member States. As a result, certain data elements of the computerised system have become obsolete or required modification. The computerised system should be revised to correct any such inconsistencies.

(4) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(5) In order to allow Member States adequate time to prepare for the amendments to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323, and to align the application date of this Regulation with the date on which the new version of the computerised system referred to in Decision (EU) 2020/263 becomes operational, this Regulation should apply from 12 February 2026.

(6) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Excise Duty,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 is replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 12 February 2026.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 9 December 2025.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 121, 8.5.2012, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/389/oj.

(2) Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 of 19 December 2019 laying down the general arrangements for excise duty ( OJ L 58, 27.2.2020, p. 4, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2020/262/oj).

(3) Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2020 on computerising the movement and surveillance of excise goods ( OJ L 58, 27.2.2020, p. 43, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2020/263/oj).

(4) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 of 24 February 2016 laying down detailed rules on cooperation and exchange of information between Member States regarding excise goods pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 ( OJ L 66, 11.3.2016, p. 1, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2016/323/oj).