Customs declaration

What is a customs declaration?

A customs declaration is an official document that gives details of goods that are being imported or exported into or out of EU customs territory.

It is the legal act whereby an operator indicates their intention to place those goods under an EU customs procedure, as described in the Union customs code (UCC) (Articles 5 (12) and 158 to 187):

imports must be assigned to a customs-approved treatment or use (Article 48 UCC)
goods intended for export must be placed under the export procedure (Article 269 UCC).

Who makes a customs declaration?

Usually this is:

the owner of the goods
a person/company acting on their behalf (a representative).

But it can also be the individual, company or association that has ‘control over the goods’.

As a rule all these parties should be established (have a registered office) in the EU.

Where should the declaration be submitted?

At the customs office in the country/territory where the goods were or will shortly be presented on entry into EU customs territory (Article 159(3) UCC).

How to make a customs declaration

Online

Declarations must be made online (Article 6 UCC)

For details, see the EUCDM guidance.

Orally

In certain cases (e.g. goods of non-commercial nature).

Other means

Certain other acts may constitute a customs declaration (Article 141 UCC DA):

going through the green or 'nothing to declare’ channel
going through a customs office which does not operate the 2-channel system without spontaneously making a customs declaration
affixing a 'nothing to declare’ sticker on the vehicle (where this is permitted)
The sole act of entering into / exiting out from the EU customs territory.

Simplified declarations

UCC Title V provides for the following simplifications:

Simplified declaration (Article 166 UCC)

Permitted if some details or documents are missing when the declaration is made. If this is not done regularly, no authorisation is required.

Centralised clearance (Article 179 UCC)

As the authorisation holder, you can – if authorised – make your declaration at the customs office in the country where you are established, even if the goods are presented to customs in another EU country.

Entry in the declarant's records (Article 182 UCC)

As authorisation holder, you can submit a declaration in the form of an entry in your own records – if the details of that declaration are concurrently in possession of the customs authorities.

At the same time, you can present the goods to the customs, but in certain circumstances (please see Article 139 UCC) this is not obligatory.

This type of declaration is not permitted for all customs procedures (e.g. exclusion of transit).

Goods under multiple tariff subheadings (Article 177 UCC)

This simplification allows you to draw up a single declaration for goods falling under multiple tariff subheadings.

In this case, the duty must be charged on the basis of the subheading that has the highest duty rate.

Self-assessment (Article 185 UCC)

This allows economic operators to perform certain customs formalities usually carried out by customs, such as calculating duties and performing certain checks, under customs supervision.