Customs declaration
What is a customs declaration?
A customs declaration is the declaration you need to issue when you import goods to Sweden from other countries outside the EU - this in the form of a document that is sent to the Swedish Customs Administration. If you have goods that you are going to import into Sweden, you must always declare these goods. You do this through an import declaration. The information you will need to provide is, among other things, what kind of goods you are importing, what customs duty you must pay and whether the goods are to any extent subject to restrictions or other laws/regulations.
There are 3 different types of declarations when you have to complete an import declaration:
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Customs declaration through registration in the declarant's accounting.
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Standard customs declaration.
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Simplified declaration on import.
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Keep in mind that all goods you import must be declared in a customs declaration. If you have an item or several items that you have not reported or declared, it is considered a non-customs item (smuggled). Not reporting or declaring goods imported into Sweden is illegal and can be a crime under the Smuggling Act.
A customs declaration can also mean customs handling and declaration of exports. This is also called an export declaration. But this only happens when you carry out an export to countries outside the EU and is the opposite of an import declaration.
Customs specialist in Sweden
If you are going to carry out an import or an export outside the EU, we always recommend that you turn to a customs specialist. Customs specialists in the form of customs brokers will be able to help you with all handling of import and export of goods.
At Tullify, we have chosen to simplify all handling for our customers. You as a customer can either choose to fill in some of our forms yourself for the fastest processing. If you are unsure and have never completed a customs declaration before, you are most welcome to contact one of our agents and we will help you immediately.
Use the Customs Agency's own templates to learn how to complete a declaration on your own. This is only something we recommend if you have experience in this before.
Customs duties and customs costs
Import
If we start by looking at customs duties around imports, you as a company have an obligation to pay customs duties, VAT and other fees. As a company, you need to complete the following two steps to calculate which customs duty you must pay:
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Carry out a classification of your goods. This allows you to find out the correct product code and which customs duties and other charges are added.
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Calculate the total customs value of the goods or goods. You must then calculate customs duties and other fees on these.
The easiest way to find your product codes is to contact a customs agent who will do this for you. If you want to carry out a search for the correct product code yourself, you should contact Statistics Norway or the Customs Service (the Swedish Customs Administration's own search service).
Export
If, on the other hand, you are to export goods outside the EU (or EU areas that are outside specific tax areas), you must not pay any VAT. The export in this case is therefore VAT-free.
Keep in mind that there are specific rules around goods such as tobacco, energy, alcohol, chemicals and plastic bags. These rules revolve around consumption taxes and excise duties for specific goods. According to the main rule, excise duty must be paid in the country to which the goods are moved and at that country's tax rates (destination principle).
If you are unsure, you are very welcome to contact us and we can explain what applies to you and your goods that would be exported.
Customs Tariff
and Classification
When you work with import handling and export handling, you will need to keep track of customs rates, import and export regulations, exchange rates and product manuals. Among many other things. The customs tariff is an EU-joint list of all of these categories. In the Customs Tariff, you will also find the commodity codes for goods that you want to import or export. The commodity code is the most important information you will need to find out when using the customs tariff. This code allows you to link your goods to specific information, you can also see which permits you need and which licenses are required to import the goods.
The customs tariff has five basic rules that you need to know. The basic rules allow you to classify an item correctly. These basic rules are called the general regulations in the customs industry. The reason why you want to work with the five rules is because they talk about how you should interpret the notes and headings of the customs tariff.
The general provisions also help you to classify goods as:
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Are disassembled or not assembled.
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Consisting of or composed of different substances.
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Consists of goods in the form of sets.
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Not complete.
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Not finished.
Regardless of whether you carry out an import or an export, you are responsible for ensuring that your goods are correctly classified. This also applies if you hire an agent (customs agent) who completes the declaration for you and your company.
Contact us if you cannot find your product code or if you need help with the customs tariff and the correct customs classification. We have many years of experience in this and have helped thousands of customers over the years.
