Customs clearance for import into the EU: steps, step by step

Importing a product from outside the European Union requires placing it under the free circulation regime. This regime is governed by the Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. Concretely, a customs declaration is submitted electronically to the customs of the country of entry or destination. It describes the goods, their origin, value, and the requested regime. Customs processes it, collects the duties and taxes due, then authorizes release. Only at that moment can the goods move freely within the Union.

The declarant can be the importer themselves or a representative, most often a freight forwarder. This choice does not transfer responsibility: the declared data binds the importer. In China, export formalities are the seller's and their local forwarder's responsibility. European customs clearance is a separate operation that takes place on your side.

Customs clearance is prepared before the arrival of the ship or plane. The declaration can even be submitted before the goods arrive, saving time at the port. To process the file, customs relies on a set of documents. If one is missing, or if the documents contradict each other, the goods wait, and the waiting costs demurrage and delivery delays.

Check the consistency of these documents with each other. Quantities, weights, product descriptions, and prices must match across documents. Inconsistencies between the invoice, packing list, and transport document are a frequent cause of customs holds.

Each product is classified in the customs nomenclature of the Harmonized System. In the Union, the Combined Nomenclature goes down to eight digits, and the European Commission's TARIC database specifies ten digits for certain measures. The code selected determines the customs duty rate, but also specific measures: anti-dumping duties, import licenses, restrictions.

The TARIC database is freely available online and gives the applicable rate for each code. An incorrect classification is costly: back duties, penalties, even prosecution for customs fraud. If in doubt, customs can issue a binding tariff decision on your product, which then secures your position.

Duties and VAT are calculated on the customs value. Except in special cases, this value is the price actually paid or payable for the goods, plus transport and insurance costs to the Union border. Concretely, for an ex-works purchase, you must add freight to the EU. For a CIF purchase, these costs are already part of the price.

The invoice must reflect the true transaction price. An under-declared value constitutes fraud, and the consequences fall on the importer: back duties, penalties, possible seizure. Customs can also compare the declared price with the databases it holds. Keep your payment proofs: they support the declared value in case of a check.

A declaration may be accepted immediately, but customs retains the right to inspect. This may be limited to documents only, or go as far as a physical inspection: scanning, opening packages, taking samples. A documentary check is often resolved by providing the missing document. A physical check adds days, depending on the port and the period.

Customs also checks product compliance with European rules: CE marking, consumer safety, health regulations depending on the category. Non-compliant goods may be blocked, destroyed, or re-exported at the importer's expense. Counterfeits are seized. Hence the importance of ensuring compliance before the goods leave the factory, not when the container arrives.

Once the declaration is accepted, customs calculates the amounts due. Customs duties are obtained by applying the code's rate to the customs value. Import VAT is calculated on the customs value plus duties and certain fees. In France, the standard rate is 20%, with reduced rates depending on the product.

Since January 1, 2022, any taxable company with a French VAT number self-liquidates import VAT: it declares and deducts it on its VAT return, without a cash advance. Customs duties are paid to the customs administration, often before release, unless a payment facility is granted by customs. Upon receipt of the amounts, the goods are released and delivered. The declaration reference number, the MRN, serves as proof for your subsequent procedures, notably resale and accounting.

Sorva is a brokerage and sourcing firm. On each file, our sinophone team in Guangzhou checks at the factory the documents that will feed the declaration: invoice, packing list, product descriptions, consistency with what is actually manufactured. We also prepare the compliance part, CE marking and certificates, before departure, so that customs clearance is not the moment when a problem is discovered.

In most cases, you pay no fees: you open a file, we negotiate the goods for you and we take a commission on their ex-works value. The filing of the declaration remains handled by your European freight forwarder, but you arrive with a clean file, a reliable invoice, and a compliant product. It is this preparation that shortens the customs clearance process.