#Custom declaration

[customshub]

The Role of the Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO) in ICS2 Compliance

The European Union’s Import Control System 2 (ICS2) is reshaping how goods enter the EU. One of its critical components is the Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO)—a term that may still be unfamiliar to many in the logistics and trade community. Yet, for freight forwarders, air carriers, and e-commerce platforms, understanding and implementing the ELO is now a fundamental compliance requirement.

This article explores the specific function and necessity of the Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO) within the ICS2 framework, and how overlooking it can result in shipment delays, non-compliance penalties, and costly disruptions.

What Is the Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO)?

The Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO) is a structured, digital data set required under the ICS2 system. It acts as a “container” that links multiple pre-loading and pre-arrival declarations for a single shipment into one unified electronic submission. The goal is to provide EU customs authorities with a complete and synchronized view of all related transport and goods data before the cargo reaches EU territory.

The ELO is especially crucial for shipments involving multiple actors—such as air carriers, freight forwarders, and postal operators—who each submit separate pieces of customs data. Without the ELO, these submissions may remain disconnected, leading to incomplete risk assessments or customs rejections.

Why Was the ELO Introduced?

Prior to ICS2, customs authorities often struggled to piece together fragmented information submitted by different parties. This lack of integration caused delays, security risks, and gaps in customs visibility.

The ELO resolves this by:

Consolidating data from all supply chain participants

Reducing the likelihood of duplicate or conflicting declarations

Enabling early risk analysis and faster customs decisions

Supporting EU safety and security standards

In short, the ELO is designed to create a digital bridge between all customs-related data points, forming a complete logistics picture before a shipment enters the EU.

Who Must Submit an Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO)?

Under ICS2 Release 2 and beyond, the Obligatory Logistics Envelope is required primarily for air shipments involving multiple actors, including:

Freight forwarders and logistics providers

Air carriers and ground handlers

Express and postal operators

E-commerce platforms shipping to EU customers

The ELO is mandatory for both pre-loading and pre-arrival filings. If any party fails to provide their required data or the ELO is not correctly structured, the customs risk assessment will remain incomplete—and the shipment may be held at the first point of entry.

Key Elements Included in the ELO

To form a valid Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO), the following data components typically need to be linked:

House-level data (H7 or H1 declarations)

Master-level transport data (AWB/MAWB)

Flight information and logistics routing

Consignee and consignor details

Product descriptions and tariff codes

This linking is done using a unique envelope reference number, which allows customs systems to merge data sets and evaluate the entire shipment as one.

What Happens If the ELO Is Missing or Incorrect?

A shipment entering the EU without a proper Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO) is considered non-compliant. The consequences can include:

Delayed clearance or cargo being held at the port or airport

Rejection of customs declarations and forced re-submission

Risk profiling of your company or shipping line

Fines or administrative penalties for repeated violations

Additionally, poor ELO compliance may result in your organization being flagged for future inspections, reducing operational efficiency and increasing costs.

The ELO and Post-Brexit UK-EU Trade

For UK-based exporters and logistics providers moving goods into the EU, ELO requirements apply just as they do for any non-EU country. With the UK now outside the EU customs union, businesses must ensure they are fully compliant with ICS2 processes—including proper use of the Obligatory Logistics Envelope.

Failure to adapt to these requirements post-Brexit has already caused backlogs for many UK-to-EU shipments, particularly in the air freight and e-commerce sectors.

Simplifying ELO Compliance with Expert Support

Creating and submitting a correct ELO requires coordination across multiple actors and a clear understanding of the ICS2 system. For many businesses—especially SMEs—this can be a steep learning curve.

That’s where Customs-Declarations.uk comes in. As specialists in EU and UK customs compliance, they offer hands-on support with:

Structuring and submitting Obligatory Logistics Envelopes

Coordinating data exchange between carriers, forwarders, and platforms

Ensuring all components of your ICS2 filing are properly linked and validated

Preventing costly delays or shipment rejections at the EU border

Whether you’re shipping occasional parcels or managing high-volume air freight, Customs-Declarations.uk ensures your ELO is accurate, timely, and fully compliant.

Final Thoughts

The Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO) may sound like just another layer of bureaucracy, but it plays a vital role in modern customs risk management. Under the ICS2 framework, it's not just helpful—it’s mandatory.

As customs systems across Europe become more digital and data-driven, companies that fail to meet new documentation standards like the ELO will face increasing friction. On the other hand, those who prepare—by understanding the requirements and working with trusted customs experts—will keep their supply chains smooth, compliant, and competitive.

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Renault 4 Douanes, 2010. A version of the original R4 created for the movie Nothing to Declare (Rien à déclarer) a Franco-Belgian comedy. The car was actually based on a Citroën BX GTi with modified Renault 4 bodywork. Douanes is a French word for Customs.

[moraygrotto]

a royal banquet where the attendees all switch to the next course when the monarch burps...

[faithwalkcreationscloneart]

WORK IN PROGRESS:

I just finished painting the 3D printed head for my Howzer lifesize statue. I thought I had a good pauldron but don't like it, so back to square one there. Waiting on the rest of the armor to arrive, takes a few weeks, so thankfully not that long. But it's starting to come together and will look great with my lifesize Hunter, whenever his armor gets here. (Over 3 months and still waiting).

I am working with a friend for a plan to make a bust base and offer these for sale (by commission, for any character I can get the heads for).

I have an Etsy shop with prints of my fan art and some custom 3D pieces for sale. https://www.etsy.com/shop/FaithwalkCreationsCo

On Facebook you can find me at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564620144107

[sepia-stained-sunset]

If you're traveling from an area that has plentiful mangoes to a place that has no mangoes, it is your moral duty to bring your loved ones mangoes. I don't make the rules.

[dilsdesigns]

hi, i'm dils. i do designs. i'm an artist who never left his emo phase, and i make merch about it. check out my stuff.

🛍️ store 📷 instagram 📧 newsletter 📇 carrd (for everything else)

[the-hwaelweg]

Oh god I've been so exhausted by this day, but we had orchestra tickets so I was gonna suck it up and go, but when I looked at the tickets just now they were for 11am this morning (instead of 7pm tonight), and it's like the universe itself said, "hey I know it's been shitty lately and you're exhausted, this one's on me girl. You can go to bed at 8pm tonight."

[danderria]

And that's it for my Dungeons and Daddies in The Sims 4 project! This was a blast. I hope you had fun, I know I did

You can find all the families on the Sims 4 gallery with my Gallery ID danderria or #dndadssims4!

If anyone's wondering about the Season 3 characters... They also exist, just not in The Sims 4... Stay tuned for the next six days! I think Matt would enjoy them 👀

Thank you again to the DNDADS fan creators out there. I truly would not have been able to complete this project without your works for inspiration

Check out all characters in this project here

[faunandfloraas]

I should walk to the post office and send a package this morning but... the heat.

[petewentzisblack1312]

globalizing the caribbean paperback for 14 us lets fucking GO

go here

[agentdeanswift]

the difference between my friend and i’s hauls is hilarious because one of us has bought several hundred dollars worth of candles and a three hundred dollar perfume. one of us has bought groceries.

[lilitargaryen5]

mission, The Book of Love, place temple of Mara, what better time for a declaration 😊

[oodlenoodleroodle]

Today at work I wrote my first ever description of an archive*

But I still don't quite know how to input the archive into the collections management system. Archives are organised hierarchically, so that David Smith's Archive has series* like A (identity documents), B (correspondence), C (manuscripts) and D (other documents), where A1 is his birth certificate, and A2 is his passport, B1 is letters from Mary Smith and B2 is letters from Bob Jones, C1 is a notebook full of poetry he wrote, and D1 is his rental contract and D2 is the program to his funeral. And such.

And I haven't decided whether I should do one entry in the system for the whole archive (and use the diary number I guess? 1/2025?) and then another entry for A (1/2025/A?), another for B, another for C, another for D, and then do entries for all the individual things, or bundles of things in the case of letters (1/2025/A:1?) Because that seems a little bit reductive, I would like to skip from 1/2025 to 1/2025A:1. But that may be not ideal. A lazy alternative is to stop at the 1/2025A -level and just verbally describe what documents are in that series.

Ugh, did I just rubber duck myself into doing it the right way...? -_-

A different consideration is whether the system has a category of object for the A/B/C/D -level of stuff or not. I know it has one for the 1/2025 -level, the overall archive. And I know it has one for the 1/2025A:1 -level, an individual document. And I do still wonder whether there is any need to have the middle manager level there at all. Like I can just describe the meanings of the alphabet in the description of the archive, and then skip directly to the documents.

.

* not sure if that's what it's actually called, I'm doing direct translation here

[pissmotif]

not to sound like i’m being That Way but. why are the customs people armed. like why would they ever need to exert lethal force.

[dilsdoes]

hope i can afford to get my suit custom embroidered when i get married some day

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

people are so weird about other people's death customs and funeral rites