Unisys Corporation?s Belgian subsidiary and Steria announced a Unisys-led consortium has won a framework contract to modernise the mission-critical communications network used by European Union member states to share customs and tax information and protect against tax and customs fraud.
The three-year contract (renewable twice, each time for a period of a year), awarded by the European Commission?s directorate general for taxation and customs (DG Taxud), has an estimated value of Euro 63 million.
Under the contract, the consortium will replace DG Taxud?s existing legacy communications infrastructure with a cost-effective, flexible platform based on industry standards and a services oriented architecture. The new network, to be called Common Communication Network 2 (CCN2), will provide mission-critical interoperability and communications links between the 28 EU member states? customs and tax operations and the multiple systems in operation across the region.
DG Taxud?s Common Communication Network (CCN) is the gateway for all tax and customs applications in the EU, supporting areas of taxation between member states, including VAT, excise duties, transit and import. In 2011 the CCN handled more than 1.2 billion data exchanges for EU countries.
