Import / export file

What an import / export file must contain

Whatever the country, customs needs to know who ships and who receives, which goods are moving, where they come from, what they are worth and how they are transported. This information comes from several documents that must match each other.

• The parties: shipper, consignee and, in the European Union, the EORI number of the importer or exporter
• The flow and countries: country of dispatch, country of destination and country of origin of each item
• The goods: precise description, commodity code, quantity, net weight and gross weight
• The value: invoice amount, currency and Incoterm, which determines the costs included in the value
• The transport: mode of transport, transport document reference, number of packages
• The documents: commercial invoice, packing list, transport document and, where relevant, proof of origin, licences or certificates

The most common inconsistencies

Most hold-ups are not caused by complex customs rules but by simple discrepancies between the pieces of information in the file. The check looks for them systematically.

• Gross weight lower than net weight, or no weight on a line
• Invoice total different from the sum of the goods lines
• Description too vague ("parts", "samples", "miscellaneous") to classify the product
• Missing country of origin, often confused with the country of dispatch
• No Incoterm, although it drives the customs value
• No EORI number for goods entering or leaving the European Union

Import or export: what changes

On import, the value, origin and commodity code determine duties, VAT and any trade measures (anti-dumping, quotas, restrictions). A mistake leads directly to a wrong amount or an inspection.

On export, the declaration proves that the goods left the territory, which supports the VAT exemption of the sale. An incomplete file can undermine that evidence. Trade between two EU countries does not require a customs declaration, and the check tells you so.

Low-value consignments

When an import into the European Union is worth no more than €150, a simplified data set (H7) can be used for e-commerce consignments. The check tells you when this applies, and you can then check an H7 declaration directly.