The term ‘import´ means bringing goods into the European Union (EU) from a country outside the EU. Before you can use or sell your goods, you must clear them through customs. This means that you submit an import declaration and pay fees for customs duties, VAT and other applicable tax. If you are registered for VAT in Sweden, you do not have to pay VAT to Swedish Customs. Instead you report it to the Swedish Tax Agency in your VAT return. The import declaration may be submitted electronically or using the SAD form (Single Administrative Document). To make an import declaration, you must first classify the goods, i.e. determine the proper commodity code, and find out whether you need a license or special permit for import. The commodity code can be found in the customs tariff at Taric Query System Online.

Customs value

When importing, the customs duty to be paid is calculated on the item´s customs value. The customs value is normally based on the price paid to the supplier when they sold the goods to the EU, the cost of transport to the EU border, and the cost of any transport insurance.

If the customs value for your shipment exceed 188 166 SEK and you are liable to pay customs duty you must fill in a customs valuation declaration This is required in order to show all costs and the circumstances that may have affected the price of the imported goods.

What happens at the border?

When your goods arrive in Sweden you have to take them to a place that we have approved of. These places may be located in the vicinity of the border or somewhere else in the country. You have to present the goods for importation clearance here. If the goods are not presented to us immediately upon their arrival to Sweden, the forwarder must enter them for temporary warehousing or customs warehousing.

Source: Swedish Customs

The term ‘export´ means sending goods to a country outside the EU. This may be in connection with the sale of goods, but other shipments can also be considered export. No general permit is required to begin exporting. However, permits are required for the export of certain goods, such as agricultural products, cultural objects and endangered species of animals and plants.

Before exporting goods, you must submit an export declaration to Customs. You may submit the declaration yourself, or use an authorized representative. All export declarations must be submitted electronically.

In the export declaration, you must enter a commodity code for your goods, selected from the common nomenclature used in the EU. Determining the proper commodity code for your goods in accordance with the customs tariff, Taric, is called classification.

Before you export, it is also important to check whether the importing country has any regulations that apply to you as an exporter. For more information, contact Business Sweden – the Swedish Trade & Invest Council.

The EU has signed a number of free trade agreements with various countries. If you include a certificate of origin with your export, your goods may be imported duty-free or with a tariff reduction in the importing country.

The VAT territory of the EU

Certain regions within the EU are part of the customs territory but not of the VAT territory of the EU. When you send goods to these regions you still have to submit an export declaration to Customs, presenting details of the goods removed from the VAT territory.

For example, this is the case for the Åland Islands and the Canary Islands, but also for some other regions belonging to France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Exit summary declaration

You have to send pre-departure information to Customs for all goods leaving the EU. The purpose is to protect the EU from dangerous goods and to meet the increased security requirements in world trade.

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