- New UCC. Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 was adopted on 16 September and entered into force on 21 September. It applies gradually, and day-to-day aircraft imports still run on today’s procedures for now.
- France. A parliamentary report shows French-registered business-jet movements down 11–20% a quarter since the higher solidarity rate came in. Operators are moving to foreign registers.
- Spain proposed EU-wide taxes on private flights to fund climate adaptation. This is a political proposal, not legislation.
- EASA opened consultation on a CS-25 update (to 7 December). These are design rules, not operating rules, for the existing fleet.
European Union · customs
Medium · structural
The EU customs reform is adopted and enters into force
What happenedOn 16 September the European Parliament and the Council adopted the customs reform, published as Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, the new Union Customs Code. It was published in the Official Journal on 19 September and entered into force on 21 September, with implementation phased in over several years. It creates an EU Customs Authority in Lille and an EU Customs Data Hub. The Data Hub will be optional for traders from 2031 and mandatory for all importers from 2034. A Commission delegated act, C(2026) 6694, accompanies it.
Why it mattersThe procedures an aircraft owner relies on are customs concepts: release for free circulation, temporary admission (with its non-EU register and non-EU user conditions), inward processing and end-use relief. Our current articles cite them under Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and Delegated Regulation 2015/2446. The reform is phased, and on our reading those familiar provisions keep governing day-to-day clearances while the new architecture is built. Article numbers and data requirements will change over time, and the transitional provisions should be checked for each transaction. We will update our references as the new rules start to apply. Over the longer term, “Trust & Check” trader status and the single data hub may make repeat aircraft movements easier to evidence.
Sources: European Commission, EU Customs Reform; Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, EUR-Lex; Commission press release, 21 September 2026.
France
High · operators
Parliament measures the cost of the business-aviation solidarity rate
What happenedOn 23 September the National Assembly’s finance committee filed an information report (n° 3189, rapporteur Philippe Juvin) covering the higher solidarity rate on business-aviation passengers in force since 1 March 2025. It found that movements by French-registered business jets fell 11–20% in each quarter since October 2025, while flights by foreign-registered aircraft into France rose 3–4%. AIN reported the findings on 1 October and noted that the foreign share of the French charter market rose from 86% to 91%. Some French operators have already moved aircraft to registers such as Malta.
Why it mattersTwo lessons for structuring. First, the tax follows the departure, not the flag. Moving an aircraft to Malta does not remove the tax from a French departure, and the ministry’s notice says it is due from any operator, whatever its nationality. Second, an operator relocation has consequences beyond tax: new AOC holder, crew home base and social security, CAMO, and the lease and management chain. An owner whose operator is moving its fleet abroad should check that the VAT and operational analysis still holds with the new operator.
Sources: Assemblée nationale, report n° 3189; AIN, 1 October 2026; Ministry notice on the solidarity rate.
Spain
Watch
Madrid asks Brussels for EU-wide taxes on private flights
What happenedSpain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition sent the Climate Commissioner a proposal for a permanent EU climate-emergency response system. It would be financed partly by EU-wide taxes on private-jet flights and partly by windfall profits in oil and gas. The revenue would fund adaptation, including a shared aerial firefighting fleet.
Why it mattersThis is a political signal, not a draft law. EU-level taxation needs unanimity in the Council, which is a high bar. It still shows where the debate is heading: after France’s solidarity rate, the Dutch charter-tax debate and the UK’s APD extension from April 2027, private flights are now a named revenue source in EU discussions. Owners who base aircraft in Palma, Ibiza or Málaga should watch the Spanish national follow-up as well as the Brussels track.
EASA
Watch
A CS-25 update goes to consultation; an Opinion on take-off performance
What happenedEASA published NPA 2026-03 on 7 September, proposing an update to CS-25, the certification specifications for large aeroplanes. Comments are open until 7 December 2026. On 22 September it issued Opinion 07/2026 on take-off performance for large aeroplanes in commercial air transport.
Why it mattersLarge-cabin business jets are certified to CS-25, so the NPA matters to OEMs and to buyers of aircraft still in development. It does not change how an existing aircraft is operated or taxed. The Opinion is aimed at airline-type operations. AOC holders operating large aeroplanes should have their operations teams review it, but it does not affect structuring.
Carried over
High · watch
The ETS proposal works its way through the Council; the taxonomy ruling stands for now
ETSThe Commission’s 17 July proposal removes the flight-frequency exemption and introduces a single emissions threshold for all aircraft operators. From 2029 it covers departures to third countries within 5,000 km. EBAA estimates that around 383 more operators would be covered, and says business aviation is excluded from support for sustainable aviation fuel. Council working parties spent September preparing the first ministerial debate, which took place on 12 October (see Weekly No. 1).
TaxonomyOn 24 June the General Court annulled the exclusion of business-aircraft manufacturing from the EU taxonomy’s transitional activities (Case T-77/24, Dassault Aviation v Commission). We have not seen a report of an appeal. Check the CURIA register before relying on the outcome. The ruling concerns green-finance labelling of manufacturing, not how an aircraft is taxed or operated. It may matter for financing new aircraft.
Sources: EBAA, 17 July 2026; CURIA, T-77/24; EBAA, 24 June 2026.
The BCA view
September showed again that moving the register does not shrink a tax bill based on departures. What decides the result is where the aircraft actually flies from, who actually operates it, and whether the paperwork shows that. The new customs code changes the system around the declaration. It does not change the questions an inspector asks: who uses the aircraft, where it is based, and whether import VAT was settled. Our note on VAT audits covers those questions.
Monthly review · published 20 October 2026 by Alexander Baranov, BCA Group. General information from public sources, not legal, tax or aviation advice. Items still under negotiation are marked as such.