Basic customs duties

If your company is considering exporting, this section helps you find out which import duties and other costs you could face. It does not provide product-specific information. For that, you should use the product search function.

When a product is traded internationally, a customs duty or customs tariff will often apply.

However, when there are special trading arrangements (such as Free Trade Agreements or GSP), there are sometimes lower or no tariffs. These are referred to as preferential tariffs.

It is also possible that anti-dumping, countervailing duties or safeguard measures will apply to your product.

 

To find out which of these duties or measures apply to your good, it is necessary first to determine the correct tariff or product code.

To have legal certainty in advance that you are applying the correct classification to your goods, you can apply for a Binding Tariff Information (BTI) decision.

Preferential tariff quotas

Under tariff quotas, specified quantities of goods can be imported at reduced or zero duty rate in a given timeframe. This does not affect any anti-dumping duties also in place.

Such quotas are commonly found in trade agreements and preferential arrangements between countries or trading blocs. Please refer to the Markets section for more detail on quotas in place for your product.

My Trade Assistant provides you with detailed information about the tariffs and measures applicable to your product and market.

Where trade agreements define a gradual dismantling of duties on particular product lines, My Trade Assistant can help you identify the future development of duties for your product. You can also consult the tariff dismantling schedules (for the EU or for the trade partner) directly in the trade agreement (links to the legal texts are included in the Markets section).

Customs Valuation

Customs Valuation refers to calculating the economic value of goods declared for entry at the border. Having a standard set of rules for establishing these goods' value is of great importance for several reasons.

Most significantly, customs duties (and VAT) are calculated as a percentage of the goods’ value. Businesses and customs authorities need to have clear rules on how to value goods.

Once the value of the goods is determined, the customs tariff and the origin of the good can be factored in to calculate the total customs duty due for the product.

For more information on how customs value is calculated in the EU, see here.

While common rules are in place for customs valuation in the EU, valuation practices in may vary from one country to another. EU trade agreements often contain principles of trade facilitation and may include alignment with the EU Customs Code.

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