Changes affecting the logistics industry in 2025
At the turn of the year, numerous legal changes will come into force that will have an impact on operational procedures for companies in the freight forwarding and logistics sector:
Road freight transport
- Denmark will abolish the previous Eurovignette system at the beginning of the year and introduce a distance-based toll for heavy goods vehicles over 12 tonnes.
- In the Netherlands, the tariff structure of the Eurovignette is changing. In addition to the Euro emission class and the number of axles, the tariffs will also take CO₂ emissions into account from 1 January.
- In cross-border traffic, vehicles over 3.5 tonnes that are equipped with first-generation analogue or digital tachographs must be converted to the second-generation intelligent tachograph from 1 January 2025. At the same time, the retention period for tachograph data will be extended from 28 to 56 days from 1 January 2025.
Maritime shipping
- Over the course of 2025, the Secure Release Order (SRO) will be gradually introduced in the release process for import containers in the seaports of Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven. This digital process replaces the previous PIN-based system and aims to increase the security of container release and prevent unauthorised pick-ups. All parties involved in the transport chain are included in the new process. Communication is no longer direct, but encrypted via the neutral and cross-location IT platform German Ports.
- As part of the gradual introduction of the EU ETS (EU Emissions Trading System), shipping companies are obliged to purchase certificates for 40 per cent of their emissions in 2024. This proportion will rise to 70 per cent in 2025.
- From 1 January 2025, the FuelEU Maritime Regulation stipulates that ships calling at EU ports must gradually reduce their greenhouse gas intensity (measured in grams of CO₂e/MJ): minus 2 percent in 2025
Air freight
- From 1 January 2025, the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation will require jet fuel suppliers to replace at least 2 percent of the jet fuel delivered to airports with Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).
- The principles for the application of cybersecurity measures for the area of Sections 9 and 9a of the German Aviation Security Act (LuftSiG) serve the uniform implementation of EU Regulation 2019/1583. The parties involved in the secure supply chain (Regulated Agents et al.) must take these requirements into account from 1 January 2025 and describe them in their Air Cargo Security Programme (LFSP).
All modes of transport
- The international agreements on the safe transport of dangerous goods by road (ADR), rail (RID) and inland waterway (ADN), which are amended every two years, come into force on 1 January 2025 - with a general transition period until 30 June 2025. Without a transition period, the 66th edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations will come into force for air transport at the beginning of the year. In maritime transport, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) in the version of Amendment 42-24 can be applied on a voluntary basis for the transport of dangerous goods by sea-going vessels from 1 January 2025.
Customs / foreign trade / taxes
- Following the introduction of the Import Control System 2 (ICS2) in the air freight sector and for sea and inland waterway transport, the launch for road and rail transport companies will follow between 1 April and 1 September 2025. Carriers must use ICS2 to declare all imported goods before they physically arrive in the EU by means of an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS).
- On 1 January 2025, the obligation to issue electronic invoices for domestic B2B transactions will be introduced in stages in Germany. Invoices for services that are tax-free in accordance with Section 4 (8) to (29) of the German Value Added Tax Act (UStG) are exempt
- The Bureaucracy Relief Act, which was passed in October 2024, includes the following tax changes from 1 January 2025: The retention period for accounting documents will be reduced from ten to eight years.
- Since New Year's Day, large companies are required to fulfil the data collection requirements of the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). As of the turn of the year, its provisions apply to all companies in the European Union that have more than 250 employees and a balance sheet total of 25 million Euros or an annual turnover of more than 50 million Euros. The CSRD is a key component of the EU's Green Deal as a transformation programme for the economy and climate. It is intended to help ensure that companies base their long-term strategy on environmental and social criteria in addition to financial requirements, and obliges companies to systematically manage risk in all three areas.
- In response to repeated concerns from the retail and freight forwarding sectors, the EU has postponed the application of the EU Withdrawal Regulation (EUDR) by one year to 30 December 2025 for large companies and 30 June 2026 for micro and small companies. The EUDR contains strict compliance obligations to ensure that products associated with deforestation are not traded on the EU market.
Source: DSLV German Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association
