Customs, one question per page
In short
Each page answers a single question and cites where the rule comes from. If you only read one, read procedure 42 or representation: they decide what you pay and who carries the risk.
Customs procedure 42 explainedCustoms procedure 42 releases imported goods for free circulation in one member state while exempting import VAT, because the goods are immediately supplied to a VAT-registered customer in another member state who accounts for the VAT under reverse charge. Customs duty is still payable at the border. The exemption rests on Article 143(1)(d) of the VAT Directive 2006/112/EC.Who can use procedure 42, and what it is worthIf you import into Slovakia and the goods then go to another member state, you are the intended user of procedure 42 — whether you are a distributor moving pallets to Rotterdam or a Polish shop taking one container home. Only goods that remain in Slovakia attract Slovak import VAT at the border.Direct and indirect customs representationA direct representative files in your name and on your behalf: you are the declarant and you carry the customs debt. An indirect representative files in its own name, and under Article 77(3) of the Union Customs Code is jointly and severally liable for the duty. We act directly by default, and indirectly only where you are not established in the EU and therefore cannot be the declarant.Fiscal representation in SlovakiaA fiscal representative holds a VAT registration on behalf of a non-established business so that business can import and make intra-community supplies without registering itself. Homola Cargo does not offer fiscal representation at launch. This page is an explainer, not a service.Import VATImport VAT is charged on the customs value plus duty plus transport costs to the place of arrival. There is no de minimis: VAT is due on consignments of any value. It is not payable at the border where the import is exempt under procedure 42 because the goods are supplied onward to another member state.Customs dutyDuty is a percentage set by the EU Common Customs Tariff for your commodity code, applied to the customs value of the goods. The two expensive mistakes are the wrong code and a customs value that leaves out freight.Customs valueThe customs value is normally the transaction value: the price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the EU, adjusted to include transport, loading and insurance up to the place of entry into the customs territory.EORI numbersAn EORI is the identification number every business needs to lodge a customs declaration in the EU. You get one from the customs authority of the member state where you are established, and one number works across the whole EU.HS codes and classificationThe commodity code decides the duty rate, whether an anti-dumping measure applies, and which product rules bite. The first six digits are the worldwide HS code; the EU adds two for the Combined Nomenclature and two more for TARIC.Documents required for importMost delays are documentary, not physical. A commercial invoice that describes the goods properly, a packing list whose numbers match, and a transport document in the right name will clear on the day the container lands.Low-value consignment rulesThe duty relief for consignments under 150 EUR is being removed as part of the EU customs reform package, which ends the practice of splitting shipments to stay under the threshold. Import VAT was never subject to a de minimis and is due on any value.Duty reliefSeveral special procedures suspend or repay duty: inward processing for goods that are worked on and re-exported, returned goods relief for goods coming back, and end-use relief for specified purposes. Each requires an authorisation and adds record-keeping.Customs warehousingIn a customs warehouse, non-Union goods are stored without duty or import VAT becoming due. The charge arises when the goods are released into free circulation, which means you pay as you sell rather than as you land.Preferential originWhere the EU has a trade agreement with the country of origin, goods that meet the rules of origin can enter at a reduced or zero duty rate. Origin is not where the goods were shipped from; it is where they were produced or last substantially transformed.