Heavy fines of up to €40,000 for businesses that transport products without the required digital shipping documents are included in the new Customs Code.
New Customs Code: What changes – Detailed penalties
According to the provision that will be included in the bill, fines increase tenfold compared to existing ones, tightening penalties for violators.
Specifically, the penalties for non-issuance of digital documents are structured as follows:
- €5,000, instead of €500 today, for businesses maintaining single-entry bookkeeping.
- €10,000, from €1,000, for those required to use double-entry accounting systems.
Escalation in cases of repeat offenses
In case of repeat violations, fines double:
- €10,000 for single-entry accounting
- €20,000 for double-entry accounting
If there is a second repeat offense, fines quadruple
- €20,000 for single-entry accounting
- €40,000 for double-entry accounting
Who is affected by mandatory digital shipping document issuance
The measure affects 155,415 businesses operating in the sectors of fuels, construction and medical materials, and agricultural and pharmaceutical products, while in the second year the measure will extend to the entire spectrum of distribution. Businesses will issue digital documents that will transmit data to the myDATA platform while there will be the ability to control shipments by scanning the QR Code on shipping documents, and the control mechanism will be able to identify cases of turnover concealment through non-issuance or issuance of fictitious documents and VAT theft.
The transition to myDATA and deadlines
The first phase of implementing the digital invoice measure is already in effect for most businesses, while for certain others there is a transitional stage as follows:
- Until November 30, 2025, optional transmission to the digital myDATA platform of digital goods movement tracking data for businesses not included in the first implementation period and mandatory from December 1, 2025.
- From August 1, 2025 to November 30, 2025, optional transmission to the digital myDATA platform of digital goods movement tracking data for Phase B for all obligated businesses.
- From December 1, 2025, mandatory transmission to the digital myDATA platform of digital goods movement tracking data for all obligated businesses.
Exceptions
There are also exceptions from the measure for categories such as:
- Farmers under special VAT regime,
- individuals who sell products or services occasionally for transactions up to €10,000,
- public or private employees or retirees who are authors or presenters of educational programs and seminars,
- distribution of natural gas, water, gas-light, electricity and thermal energy,
- distribution of university textbooks to students electronically tracked by the “Eudoxus” information system,
- retail transactions when accompanied by value documents, except for shipments through postal services and courier entities as well as fuel shipments,
- distribution of newspapers and magazines to postal service companies or directly to subscribers from publishing or distribution companies,
- shipments by technicians of necessary tools and machinery for executing and completing their work,
- movement of fixed assets provided they are not transported for sale purposes,
- movement of inventory within the same entity facility or between professional facilities that are up to 10 kilometers apart,
- movement of raw quarry products (sand, gravel, etc.) by construction entities produced by the same entities for projects they execute, ore from site to site and from site to storage, processing and unloading areas, as appropriate, operated by mining entities and stone, gravel, claystone and clay soil, by aggregate material, lime and cement production entities, from collection or extraction sites to processing sites.
