Logistics Tip: One Shipment Can Require Different ENS Procedures Depending on the EU Entry Route

When planning road freight from Ukraine to the European Union, distance, border queues and transport costs are only part of the calculation. The customs procedure itself can change depending on the country where the truck first enters the EU.

One of the key elements is the ENS - Entry Summary Declaration.

What exactly is an ENS?

The ENS is an electronic safety and security declaration containing advance information about the cargo, transport, consignor, consignee and other shipment details. It is submitted through the EU’s ICS2 - Import Control System 2 before the goods arrive at the EU’s external border.

Customs authorities use this information to perform a pre-arrival security risk analysis. Missing, incomplete or inaccurate information can therefore result in additional requests from customs and potential delays at entry.

After Ukraine introduced NCTS Phase 6 in June 2026, transit and safety data can, in certain cases, be combined in a single transit declaration. However, the procedure currently differs depending on the EU country of first entry.

🇵🇱 Poland and 🇸🇰 Slovakia

When a combined NCTS Phase 6 transit declaration containing the required safety and security data is used, a separate ENS submission to ICS2 is not required.

In practice, one declaration can cover both the transit procedure and the safety information required for entry into the EU.

🇭🇺 Hungary and 🇷🇴 Romania

The procedure is different. In addition to the standard T1 transit declaration, an ENS must be submitted separately through ICS2.

For road transport, the declaration should be prepared and submitted in advance, generally around one hour before the vehicle reaches the border crossing point.

LOADSTAR Tip

Always tell your logistics provider which country will be the first point of entry into the EU before the truck is dispatched.

This becomes especially important when a route changes because of border congestion. Redirecting the same truck and the same cargo from a Polish crossing to a Hungarian one may also change the electronic declaration procedure and require a separate ENS filing.

It is also important to provide accurate cargo descriptions, shipper and consignee details, commodity codes and other relevant information in advance. The earlier the logistics provider receives complete data, the lower the risk of last-minute issues before the border crossing.

LOADSTAR considers customs and transit requirements during route planning, helping businesses reduce the risk of avoidable delays caused by missing declarations or changes in the required filing procedure.