Customs
Direct and indirect customs representation
In short
A 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.
Updated 20 August 2026 · Last reviewed 20 August 2026 · M. Homola, Founder, customs agent
Key takeaways
- Article 18 UCC sets out the two forms of representation.
- Direct: declaration in your name; you are the declarant and debtor.
- Indirect: declaration in the representative's own name; Article 77(3) UCC makes the representative jointly and severally liable for the customs duty.
- ECJ Case C-714/20 (U.I. Srl, 12 May 2022) held that this joint liability covers customs duty but not import VAT, unless national law imposes it separately.
- Advancing duty and VAT on your behalf is a payment service, not a transfer of liability.
The two forms
| Direct representation | Indirect representation | |
|---|---|---|
| Declaration filed | In your name, on your behalf | In the representative's own name, on your behalf |
| Declarant | You | The representative |
| Customs debt | You | Both, jointly and severally (Art. 77(3) UCC) |
| Available to non-EU established persons | No | Yes |
| Our default | Yes | Only where you cannot be the declarant |
What C-714/20 changed
In U.I. Srl the Court of Justice was asked whether the indirect representative's joint liability extends to import VAT. It held that Article 77(3) UCC concerns the customs debt, and that import VAT is not a customs duty; liability for import VAT falls on the indirect representative only where national law expressly provides for it. Anyone telling you the two always travel together has not read the judgment.
Why we file in your name
Because it is the honest structure. You own the goods, you choose the classification, and you are the person the authority should be able to reach. We are accountable for filing correctly and for the advice we give, and we say so; we do not pretend to absorb your customs debt in order to win a job.
This is general information, not advice for a specific shipment. Rules change; check the official source or ask us about your consignment.