EU Customs Procedures and Tariff Regulations

Posted on Feb 14, 2026 in Law & Jurisprudence

EU Customs Procedures and Arrival of Goods

When goods enter or leave the EU Customs Territory (TAC), customs controls them. There are two main regimes: Internal and External. Additionally, there are four special regimes: Transit, Deposit, Special Destinations, and Improvement.

The process begins with the presentation of the goods at the customs office of entry by the person transporting them. The goods remain under customs surveillance until they are granted a customs destination.

Documentation for Goods Declaration

  • SAD / DUA
  • Commercial Invoice
  • Packing List
  • DV1 Value Statement
  • Certificate of Origin
  • Transport Documents
  • Certificates from different bodies
  • Insurance policies
  • Any relevant documents required by customs

The Customs Process

  1. Frontier
  2. Customs of entry
  3. Customs destination
  4. Transfer to appropriate location
  5. 90 days maximum (Choice of customs procedure, Abandonment, Re-export, or Destruction)
  6. Choice of a customs procedure (Internal/External transit, Free trade zone, Temporary importation, Special destinations and final destination, or Active/Passive processing)
  7. Release for free circulation
  8. Inclusion of a special customs procedure
  9. Export

Temporary Storage Conditions

  1. Goods must be in authorized places and can only be checked to verify their condition.
  2. Authorities require the person responsible for the goods to provide a guarantee for possible non-payment of debts.
  3. Facilities must be less than 25km from the customs office of control.
  4. Goods subject to excise duties or specific controls are excluded from storage.
  5. The maximum period to stay in a warehouse is 90 days.

Import, Export, and Transit Regimes

Import: Release for free circulation occurs when a non-EU good enters the TAC. After the payment of duties, it becomes a community asset that cannot be resold.

Export: This is a special customs procedure. The Transit Regime allows goods to be exported from one country to another, passing through other countries without paying tariffs, though goods remain subject to customs. Documents required include T1 and T2.

Types of Transit Regimes

  • External Transit: Allows non-EU goods to transit through the EU to arrive at their final destination.
  • Internal Transit: Allows transit through a non-EU country for goods that have an EU country as both origin and final destination.

Customs Warehouses

  • Fiscal Warehouse: For imported goods subject to the payment of excise duties (e.g., tobacco, alcohol).
  • Bonded Warehouse: For companies with a low volume of trade.

Special Customs Procedures

  1. Internal and external traffic
  2. Bonded warehouses and free zones
  3. Inward and Outward processing
  4. Temporary Importation
  5. Special destinations and final destination

Customs Tariff and Coding Systems

The Customs Tariff is an instrument for regulating foreign trade included in the trade policy of countries.

Harmonized System (HS): Consists of 6 digits. It starts with raw materials (animal, vegetable, and mineral). It contains 10 sections, and each section is subdivided into chapters 1–97 (first 2 digits). The Subheading (digits 5–6) includes general rules of interpretation, section/chapter/subheading notes, and is managed by the committee that monitors the application of the agreement.

INTRASTAT: A mandatory system where statistics are collected on intra-community trade.

Combined Nomenclature (CN): The sum of the HS and the EU’s own nomenclature. It is the basis of the current coding system, consisting of 8 digits.

Free Zones and Processing Regimes

Free Zones are areas where goods have tax privileges to promote international trade by alleviating tariffs and encouraging companies to store, manufacture, and process goods. Locations include Barcelona (BCN), Vigo, Santander, Sevilla, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Cádiz, and Tenerife.

Processing Regimes

  • Inward Processing: Allows processing operations within the TAC. Non-community goods are processed and re-exported as compensating products without paying customs or being subject to restriction measures. Goods released for free circulation/consumption are re-exported with a refund of previously paid customs duties.
  • Outward Processing: Allows temporary exports of community goods to be processed outside the EU. Upon return, clearing products for free circulation or consumption receive total or partial exemption from customs duties.

Temporary Importation and Benefits

Temporary Importation lasts for 24 months, and goods may not be modified.

Key Benefits

  • Short term: Possibility to import certain goods with no customs charges (9 months maximum).
  • Long term: Possibility to import certain capital goods and their spare parts with a deferral of customs charges (5 years maximum).