EU customs duty relief system

KEY POINTS

Relief from import duties

There are various categories of goods which are eligible for relief from import duties. Subject to certain conditions, goods are free from import duties when they concern the following.

• Personal property:
  • personal property of people changing their normal place of residence from a non-EU country to an EU Member State, provided that the place of residence had been outside of the EU for at least 12 consecutive months;
  • goods imported on the occasion of a marriage, provided that the person concerned has been residing outside of the EU for at least 12 consecutive months and can provide proof of marriage;
  • personal property inherited by an EU resident;
  • clothing, study materials and furniture of students coming to study in the EU.
• Goods of negligible value, non-commercial goods, capital goods and goods contained in travellers’ personal luggage:
  • goods of negligible value;
  • goods of a non-commercial nature, sent directly from one private individual in a non-EU country to another in the EU;
  • capital goods and other equipment belonging to a business that has definitively terminated its activities in a non-EU country and has moved to the EU;
  • goods that are exempt from value added tax (VAT) contained in the personal luggage of travellers arriving from outside the EU.
• Agricultural, biological, chemical, pharmaceutical and medical products:
  • agricultural, stock-farming, beekeeping, horticultural and forestry products from properties in adjoining non-EU countries operated by EU farmers;
  • seeds, fertilisers and products for treatment of soil and crops imported by agricultural producers from non-EU countries, but intended for use in the adjoining Member States;
  • laboratory animals and biological or chemical substances intended for research;
  • therapeutic substances of human origin and blood-grouping and tissue-typing reagents;
  • instruments and equipment used in medical research, diagnosis or treatment;
  • reference substances for the quality control of medicinal products;
  • pharmaceutical products used at international sports events.
• Other categories:
  • educational, scientific and cultural materials, and scientific instruments and equipment;
  • goods for charitable or philanthropic organisations (see also below);
  • honorary decorations or awards, gifts received in the context of international relations and goods to be used by monarchs or heads of state;
  • goods imported for trade promotion purposes;
  • trademarks, patterns or designs sent to organisations protecting copyrights or industrial and commercial patent rights;
  • tourist information literature;
  • ancillary materials used for the stowage and protection of goods during their transport;
  • litter, fodder and feedstuffs accompanying animals during their transport;
  • fuel and lubricants contained in motor vehicles and motorcycles entering the EU;
  • materials for the construction or maintenance of war memorials;
  • coffins containing bodies, funerary urns containing ashes and ornamental funerary articles.

Where relief from import duties is subject to the goods being put to a particular use, the person concerned must provide the relevant authority with proof that these conditions have been met. In this situation, only the relevant authorities of the Member State concerned may grant this relief.

Relief from export duties

There are various categories of goods which are eligible for relief from export duties. Subject to certain conditions, goods are free from export duties when they concern:

• goods of negligible value;
• domesticated animals exported when an agricultural business transfers its activities from a Member State to a non-EU country;
• agricultural or stock-farming products obtained by non-EU farmers in adjoining countries;
• seeds exported by agricultural producers for use on properties in non-EU countries;
• fodder and feedstuffs accompanying animals during their exportation.

Examples of relief from import duties and VAT

In certain emergency situations, the Regulation provides that the granting of the duty relief is subject to a decision by the European Commission, acting on the request of the Member State(s) concerned.

• Over the years, the Commission has adopted decisions permitting the duty-free import of goods intended to be distributed or made available free of charge to victims of earthquakes (for example, in Italy, following earthquakes in 2009, 2012 and 2016), or of floods (in Poland and Hungary in 2010).
• In March 2020, Member States requested relief from import duties and exemption from VAT on the import of goods needed to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the pandemic and the challenges it posed constituted a disaster within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, the Commission adopted Decision (EU) 2020/491 permitting the import of these goods free of duties for the period from 30 January 2020 to 31 December 2021.
• In July 2022, as the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has major consequences not only in Ukraine, but also in a number of Member States, and constitutes a disaster affecting a number of Member States within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 and of Directive 2009/132/EC, the Commission adopted Decisions (EU) 2022/1108 and 2023/829. The decisions allow relief from import duties and VAT exemption on imports of goods to be distributed or made available free of charge to persons fleeing the war and to persons in need in Ukraine. The relief and exemption will remain in place until 31 December 2023.