Importing into the EU: the basics

You need an EORI number

An EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number identifies you to customs authorities across the EU. You apply once, through the customs authority in your own member state, and you use it on every customs declaration thereafter.

Get this before your goods ship, not while they are sitting at a port. It is free or near-free and usually quick, and not having one will stop a clearance dead.

Your commodity code decides almost everything

Every product imported into the EU is classified under a commodity code — the Combined Nomenclature, extended by TARIC for imports. That code determines your duty rate, whether any trade measures apply, and what licences or certificates are needed.

Classification is genuinely technical. A "cotton bath towel" and a "cotton kitchen cloth" sit under different codes with different consequences, and the distinctions can hinge on material composition, construction or intended use.

Getting the code wrong is one of the more expensive clerical errors available to an importer — it can mean underpaid duty recovered later with interest, or overpaid duty you never notice.

If you are unsure, your customs broker can classify the goods, and for high-volume products it is worth asking your national customs authority for a binding tariff ruling.

How landed cost is actually calculated

The rough order of operations:

1. Customs value. Normally the price paid for the goods, adjusted to include transport and insurance up to the EU border.
2. Customs duty. A percentage of the customs value, at the rate for your commodity code and the goods' origin.
3. Import VAT. Charged on the customs value plus the duty plus certain onward costs — so you pay VAT on the duty as well as on the goods.
4. Everything else. Inland freight, clearance fees, port and handling charges, and your broker's fee.

This is why an ex-works unit price tells you very little. Two quotes that look 10% apart at the factory gate can land within a per cent of each other, or invert entirely.

Import VAT

Import VAT is charged at your own country's standard rate. If you are VAT-registered and the goods are for your business, it is normally recoverable or deferrable — but it still has to be funded at the point of import, which is a cash-flow event even when it is not ultimately a cost.

Standard rates in the Nordic markets sit around 25%, though they do change: Finland, for example, raised its standard rate in 2024. Check the current rate for your country rather than trusting a figure on any website, including this one.

Many member states operate a deferment or postponed-accounting scheme that lets you account for import VAT on your return instead of paying it at the border. If you import regularly, this is worth asking your accountant about early — it can materially improve your working capital.

Incoterms: who pays for what

Incoterms are the standard three-letter codes defining where the seller's responsibility ends and yours begins. Quoting a price without one is meaningless. The current edition is Incoterms 2020. The ones you will meet most often:

For a first shipment, a delivered term removes a great deal of complexity. As you gain confidence, moving up the chain towards FCA or FOB usually saves money, because you stop paying someone else's margin on freight.

Origin documents

Origin determines the duty rate, and proving it requires the right document. Two you are likely to encounter:

• A.TR movement certificate — proves entitlement to move under the EU–Türkiye Customs Union, which is what makes most industrial goods from Türkiye duty-free into the EU. Without a valid A.TR, customs has no basis to apply that treatment.
• EUR.1 / statement on origin — used to claim preferential origin under the EU's various trade agreements. A different mechanism from the customs union, needed for different goods.

Which document applies depends on the product and the country. It is issued on the export side, so it is your supplier's job to produce it correctly — and worth verifying before shipment rather than after.

Product compliance is your responsibility

This is the part that surprises people most, so it is worth stating bluntly: when you import goods into the EU and place them on the market, you take on legal obligations for their safety and conformity. Not the factory. Not your sourcing agent.

Depending on the product, that can include:

• CE marking and a declaration of conformity, for regulated categories — electrical goods, toys, machinery, personal protective equipment and others.
• General product safety obligations. The EU's General Product Safety Regulation applies from December 2024 and requires, among other things, that a responsible person established in the EU can be identified for products offered to EU consumers.
• Sector-specific rules — food contact materials, textile fibre labelling, chemicals restrictions, packaging and waste obligations, energy labelling.
• Technical documentation retained and producible on request.

Practically: ask about certification before you order, not after. Discovering that your product needs testing you did not budget for — once 800 units are already in your warehouse — is a genuinely bad afternoon.

A note on Norway

"Nordics" and "EU" are not the same thing. Norway is in the EEA but not in the EU customs union, so it operates its own customs regime and its own import VAT arrangements. Goods moving into Norway clear Norwegian customs, and the EU–Türkiye customs union does not apply to them.

If you are importing into Norway, treat the EU guidance above as background rather than instruction, and get country-specific advice.

First-shipment checklist

• EORI number obtained
• Commodity code identified, and duty rate confirmed for the goods' origin
• Incoterm agreed in writing and reflected in the price
• Landed cost modelled, including duty, import VAT and clearance fees
• Customs broker or forwarder appointed
• Origin document confirmed with the supplier before shipment
• Compliance and certification requirements checked for your category
• Specification and inspection standard agreed in writing before payment
• Import VAT funding or deferment arrangement in place

Not advice. This is a general orientation, not legal, tax or customs advice, and rules change. Your obligations depend on your specific goods, commodity code, country of import and business circumstances. Confirm the details with your customs broker, your accountant or your national customs authority — and we will help you gather what you need on a real order.