Importing goods into Europe as a company based outside the EU
You make or source goods outside the EU and want to sell them in an EU country or across the EU. Customs rules are the same in every member state, but each country decides how import VAT is paid and whether you need a fiscal representative. This guide compares 15 countries, each rule linked to its official text.
Companies that import into the EU from outside it
And the cases where an EU or UK importer faces the same questions.
Manufacturers and traders outside the EU
Companies in the US, the UK, the Gulf, Turkey or India that import goods into an EU country and resell them there or in another member state.
One port of entry, buyers across the EU
Importers that clear goods in one country, such as Latvia, and deliver them to business customers in other member states under customs procedure 42.
Importing into another member state
The import VAT rules of the country where the goods are released apply to EU companies too.
Imports into the United Kingdom
Importers into the UK, which is outside the EU and has its own customs and VAT rules. Northern Ireland is not covered.
Import VAT and representation, country by country
Rules in force on 6 November 2026, each with its official source.
| Country | What differs there | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Import VAT is paid to customs with no reverse charge, due on the 26th of the second month that follows under a payment deferral (§21 UStG); a fiscal representative is allowed only for a company making exempt transactions alone, and others register themselves (§22a UStG). | Germany guide |
| France | Reverse charge of import VAT on the return has been mandatory since 1 January 2022 for any business with a French VAT number (French customs); a non-EU company needs a fiscal representative unless its country has a mutual assistance instrument with France (art. 289 A CGI). | On request |
| Netherlands | Deferral needs an article 23 licence reserved to businesses established in the Netherlands (form OB 624), so a foreign company goes through a general (AFV) or limited (BFV) fiscal representative (2022 decree). | Netherlands guide |
| Spain | Deferral to form 303 is reserved to monthly filers, by an option filed in November for the following year (AEAT); a non-EU company needs a fiscal representative, except from the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla or a country with an assistance instrument (art. 164 LIVA). | On request |
| Italy | Direct VAT identification is open only to companies from countries with a mutual assistance agreement, and others appoint a jointly liable fiscal representative (art. 17 DPR 633/1972); articles 17 and 35-ter are repealed on 1 January 2027 by the new consolidated VAT code (D.Lgs. 10/2026). | On request |
| United Kingdom (outside the EU) | Postponed VAT accounting needs no application for a VAT-registered business (GOV.UK); a company based abroad registers from its first taxable supply with no threshold (HMRC) and can only use an indirect customs representative, jointly and severally liable for the duties (GOV.UK). | On request |
| Poland | A company with no seat or establishment in an EU member state appoints a fiscal representative, and import VAT on the return needs certificates under 6 months old of active VAT status and no arrears above 3% (VAT Act, arts. 18a and 33a). | On request |
| Ireland | Postponed accounting is open to every business registered for VAT and customs, though Revenue can ask for security or exclude a trader (Revenue); a non-established importer registers for VAT whatever its turnover (Revenue). | On request |
| Belgium | Deferral needs an ET14000 authorisation requested on MyMinfin, open to businesses based in Belgium or abroad that file periodic returns (FPS Finance); a non-EU company needs a responsible representative to identify for VAT (art. 55 VAT Code). | On request |
| Sweden | A registered importer pays import VAT to Skatteverket in its VAT return and an unregistered one pays Tullverket (Skatteverket); a non-established company needs an approved representative (ombud) unless its country has a mutual assistance agreement (SFL ch. 6). | On request |
| Austria | Not confirmed yet: the official legal database was unavailable, and we could read only an unofficial copy of the VAT Act (§26 UStG, unofficial copy). | On request |
| Portugal | Import VAT goes on the return only for monthly filers that meet the other legal conditions (art. 27 CIVA); a non-resident with no seat in the EU appoints a jointly liable fiscal representative, with no exception for mutual assistance (art. 30 CIVA). | On request |
| Latvia | A non-EU company may register for VAT itself with no fiscal representative required, import VAT on the return needs a VID permit and 12 months of activity, and goods supplied unprocessed within 30 days to a business in another EU country are taxed at 0% at import (VAT Law). | Latvia guide |
| Lithuania | No official source read yet: the authorities' sites blocked our access. The EU customs rules apply as in every member state (Union Customs Code). | On request |
| Estonia | Import VAT on the return needs a permit after 12 consecutive months of registration with no late returns or arrears, answered within 30 days (EMTA); a non-EU company appoints an approved tax representative unless its country has an assistance agreement, as Norway and the UK do (EMTA). | On request |
Not yet confirmed in an official source, so check with the authority: EORI processing times, the Dutch EORI form for non-EU companies, whether Ireland ever requires a fiscal representative, national excise rules, and the status of the EU reforms of low-value consignments and of the Customs Code.
What the EU harmonises: EORI, declarant and representative
The Union Customs Code applies in the 14 EU countries of this guide, not in the UK.
Every operator holds a single EORI number. A company established outside the EU registers with the customs authority of the place where it lodges its first declaration or applies for its first decision (UCC art. 9(2)). The application follows national practice: free of charge and through the Zoll-Portal from 1 October 2026 in Germany (zoll.de), on paper, by signed e-mail or through the EDS system in Latvia (VID).
The declarant must be established in the EU customs territory, except for transit, temporary admission and an occasional declaration that customs accepts as justified (UCC art. 170). A company outside the EU that imports regularly therefore cannot lodge its declarations itself. It works through a customs representative, also established in the EU, acting directly, in the client's name and for its account, or indirectly, in its own name for the client's account. Each member state sets the conditions for offering this service on its territory (UCC art. 18).
Customs warehouses
Non-EU goods can be stored in authorised premises under customs supervision, in a public warehouse open to any user or a private one reserved for the holder of the authorisation (UCC art. 240).
Alcohol, tobacco and energy products
Excise becomes chargeable on release for consumption, importation included, unless the goods go straight under a suspension arrangement, under rules applying since 13 February 2023 (Directive (EU) 2020/262).
Import VAT and the fiscal representative: national choices
The VAT Directive sets the frame, and each country fills it in.
Each member state names the person who owes import VAT and decides whether it is paid at the border or entered on the VAT return: article 211 allows the second route and lets each country set who qualifies (VAT Directive arts. 201 and 211). Germany keeps payment at customs. On 10 September 2026 the Länder finance ministers asked the federal government for a model that offsets import VAT in the VAT return, with 1 January 2030 as the target: a political request, not a law (Land NRW).
The fiscal representative follows the same logic. Any business not established in a country may appoint one, and a member state may require one from a business established in a country with no mutual assistance instrument with the EU (VAT Directive art. 204). In France, one-off fiscal representation ended on 31 December 2025, and non-EU companies, even from countries with mutual assistance, were excluded from it (BOFiP).
Member states may also exempt goods placed in a free zone, a customs warehouse or inward processing (VAT Directive arts. 156 and 157). In Italy, goods entering a VAT warehouse (deposito IVA) are released without import VAT, against a guarantee unless the operator is certified or exempt (art. 50-bis DL 331/1993), and Latvia applies 0% to supplies of non-EU goods in a customs warehouse or free zone before release for free circulation (VAT Law art. 43).
Customs procedure 42: import in one country, deliver to another
Goods are exempt from import VAT when they are then supplied to another member state. Three conditions apply: a VAT number of the importer, or of its fiscal representative, in the country of import; the customer's VAT number in the other member state; and proof of transport (Directive 2009/69/EC). One private source says France now requires non-EU companies using procedure 42 to register for VAT there; no official source confirms it yet, so check with the French tax office.
Do you need an EU company?
Not to import. It changes which national rules apply to you.
When your home company is enough
A company outside the EU can import with an EORI number, a customs representative established in the EU and, in each country of import, a VAT registration or a fiscal representative. The UK and Ireland require it to register from its first taxable supply or import, with no threshold (HMRC, Revenue).
When an EU company helps
The fiscal representative obligations we found in France, Spain, Poland, Portugal and Belgium target companies established outside the EU, and Italy opens direct VAT identification to EU operators (art. 35-ter DPR 633/1972). An EU company is also established in the EU customs territory for its own declarations. National conditions remain: the Dutch article 23 licence requires establishment in the Netherlands, and the Latvian and Estonian import permits require 12 months of history.
A Latvian SIA importing through Riga can apply for the VID permit once it has 12 months of activity and VAT registration in Latvia, no tax debts and no return filed more than 5 days late over 12 months, among other conditions (VAT Law art. 85). If an EU company fits your plans, see our pages on forming an EU company as a non-resident and on setting up a Latvian subsidiary for a foreign company.
What Balt Partners coordinates
One contact in Riga for the European side of your imports.
Import obligation map
EORI, customs representation, VAT registration or fiscal representative, and import VAT deferral for each country you import into, with the conditions and deadlines in one document.
A Latvian SIA for imports through Riga
We form the SIA, open its bank account and set up its accounting. The VID permit requires 12 months of activity and VAT registration in Latvia, so the registration date matters.
The Latvian import file
We list what the VID asks for, from the EORI application to the permit conditions, and coordinate the file with you and with the customs representative who lodges your declarations.
Licensed advisers in other countries
For a VAT registration, a fiscal representative or a deferral authorisation in another country, we bring in a licensed adviser in that country. A licensed local adviser handles the filing; we do not file abroad.
Questions from non-EU importers about Europe
Yes. It needs an EORI number from the member state of its first customs operation and a customs representative established in the EU, because a company outside the EU that imports regularly cannot lodge declarations itself. It then registers for VAT or appoints a fiscal representative, depending on the country of import.
In the member state where it lodges its first customs declaration or applies for its first customs decision, under article 9(2) of the Union Customs Code. None of the official pages we read gives a processing time, so apply before the goods ship.
It depends on the country. France, Spain and Italy require one from non-EU companies unless their country has a mutual assistance instrument, Poland and Belgium require one, and Portugal requires one with no exception. Sweden and Estonia ask for an approved representative unless there is an assistance agreement. Latvia does not require one.
In most countries of this guide, on national conditions. France applies reverse charge automatically to businesses with a French VAT number, Ireland and the UK offer postponed accounting to registered businesses, Belgium and the Netherlands require an authorisation, Spain limits it to monthly filers, and Latvia and Estonia require 12 months of history. Germany collects import VAT at customs.
An exemption from import VAT for goods imported into one member state and then supplied to a business in another. It needs the VAT number of the importer or its fiscal representative in the country of import, the customer's VAT number in the other member state, and proof of transport.
Yes. Latvian VAT law lets it register for VAT itself, or through a person it authorises in Latvia, from its first taxable transaction. A fiscal representative is optional. Moving import VAT to the return needs a VID permit and 12 months of activity in Latvia.