ATLAS and DMS: the German and Dutch systems

In Germany, the electronic customs declaration goes to ATLAS, the Automatisiertes Tarif- und Lokales Zollabwicklungssystem [1] [2]. The data reaches ATLAS through certified software, and the declarant's signature is replaced by a participant identification number, the BIN [2]. In the Netherlands the system is DMS, the Douaneaangiften Management Systeem, Dutch customs' digital platform for lodging and processing import and export declarations [7], which replaced the older AGS in 2024 [8]. Both carry the data set of the Union Customs Code, and each adds national elements and rules of its own [6] [10]. The EU customs reform makes the EU Customs Data Hub mandatory from 1 March 2034 [15]; until then, declarations not made through the hub are lodged in ATLAS and DMS.

ATLAS in Germany

German customs describes ATLAS as the IT procedure that provides the largely automated clearance and supervision of cross-border goods traffic [1]. Its import part, ATLAS-Einfuhr, covers release for free circulation, customs warehousing and inward processing, the summary declaration, and post-clearance recovery, repayment and remission [1].

The electronic declaration is mandatory whenever no other form of declaration is allowed [2]. Taking part in ATLAS requires certification [1], and taking part in electronic data transmission requires prior registration with a body the Federal Ministry of Finance names [4]. German customs announced that ATLAS release 10.2 would go into production on 28 February 2026 [5].

There is also the Internetzollanmeldung, the IZA, a web form open to citizens and businesses for release for free circulation [2]. The declaration made in it has to be printed, signed by hand and handed in with all the documents it needs at the ATLAS customs office; for the IZA, a scan by e-mail or a fax is also accepted [3].

One detail matters for anyone mapping data into ATLAS. The German customs guidance for 2026 notes that ATLAS may present the data differently from Annex B of the Delegated Regulation, because its adaptation to Annex B is not yet complete, and that electronic declarations therefore follow the specifications of the EDI implementation handbook for now [6].

DMS in the Netherlands

DMS took over from AGS in 2024 [8]. Dutch customs' FAQ says that all import, export and storage declarations and their messages, including presentation notifications, go into DMS; e-commerce import declarations up to EUR 150 may be made in DECO if they meet the conditions, and transit declarations stay in a separate system [9].

The data set is Annex B of Delegated Regulation 2015/2446, the EU common data requirements, and on top of it the elements that are mandatory in the Netherlands, listed in Annex VIa of the Algemene Douaneregeling [10]. In DMS, almost everything is coded: the Dutch customs handbook says the only element still given as text is the description of goods, data element 18 05 [11]. As a main rule, a declaration is made in Dutch or English [11].

DMS is linked to the Dutch tariff system, DTV, which checks that the goods code in a declaration is correct and exists [14]. And since 16 May 2026, documents that customs asks for during a control of an import or export declaration are delivered through a link between the customs software and DMS, not by e-mail [12]; for presentation notifications and supplementary declarations under the IIAA scheme, Dutch customs still asks for the attachments by e-mail [7].

Side by side

The guide on how a commodity code is built explains the eleventh German digit and the Dutch additional codes.

One EU data set, two national dialects

The differences are real, but they sit on one EU base. German and Dutch customs guidance both describe the declaration in the data elements of Annex B, numbered the same way: 18 05 for the description of goods, 18 09 for the commodity code, 14 01 for the delivery terms, and so on, though the electronic format of ATLAS may still differ [6] [11]. A broker working both sides of the border can keep the case data in those EU terms and map it to each system at the end, rather than keeping two versions of the same shipment.

What changes next

The EU customs reform moves this data into one EU Customs Data Hub. Importers and exporters may use it voluntarily from 1 March 2031 and must use it from 1 March 2034 [15]. Until then, declarations not made through the hub are lodged in ATLAS and DMS. The guide on the EU customs reform has the dates.

Athren prepares the case from the shipment email; your declarant checks what is open and files it in ATLAS or DMS. Athren files nothing.