Export

When the exporter sends us the necessary documents (Invoice, Packing List, Certificate of Origin, Consignment note and B/L) we continue with the customs procedure relating to exportation and the issuance of the necessary certificates (EUR1, ATR).  Upon completion of the whole procedure we send the export declaration to the consigned freight forwarder.

Exporting goods

Export, in accordance with the provisions of the Community Customs Code, is considered a customs procedure.

The export procedure is obligatory for Union goods leaving the EU customs territory.  When leaving EU customs territory, these goods become non-Union goods.  This implies that the export act is necessary, including, where applicable, the payment of export duties or export refunds and the implementation of commercial policy measures, e.g. issuance of export licenses, prohibitions, restrictions, etc.

Any reference to export duties is only theoretical because, in practice, such duties are not imposed, as Member States are seeking to increase their exports.

The export of goods is exempt from VAT and consumption taxes.

Direct or indirect export

The export of goods from the territory of the Community is either direct or indirect.
Direct export shall take place when the goods are sent directly from the Community customs territory to a third country.
Indirect export means that the goods to be exported are first transported to another Member-State.
In the case of indirect export, the 3rd copy of the export declaration shall accompany the goods to the customs office of exit. When there is a single export license, the customs office of the export procedure also acts as exit customs by placing the EXPORT stamp onto the necessary documents.
The EXPORT stamp is a proof that the export procedure has been concluded at the customs office of exportation, while the customs office of exit shall only inspect the loading of goods.

According to the Community provisions:
The customs office of export is the office where the export procedure should be concluded in order for goods leaving the Community territory to be assigned a customs-approved procedure.
The customs office of exit is the office where the goods are presented before they leave the Community territory and where the goods are subject to customs controls with regard to the application of export formalities and appropriate risk-based controls.

The export procedure
This procedure comprises two stages:
In the beginning, the exporter/ customs broker shall present the goods, the export declaration and, where appropriate, the export license to the competent customs office. The customs office is determined in relation to the exporter’s headquarters or the place of packaging or loading of goods.
Then this customs office issues the export license under the condition that the goods leave the Community customs territory in the same state as they were at the time of the declaration acceptance.
The export declaration and the goods shall then be presented to the customs office of exit, which accepts that the goods presented correspond to the goods covered by the declaration and supervises their actual exit.

During the export procedure the following distinction should be made clear:

• The customs broker is the person that presents the goods to the customs office and submits the declaration while
• the exporter is the actual goods owner at the time of the declaration acceptance.  In cases when ownership or the right of disposal belongs to a person established outside the Community, the Contracting Party established in the Community shall be considered to be the exporter.

The placing of goods under an export procedure shall begin upon presentation of the export declaration to the customs office of the Member-State which is responsible for the exporter’s supervision or to the customs office where the goods are packed or loaded onto the means of transport for the exportation.

An export declaration is necessary for:

• Goods that leave the Community customs territory, including the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Member States: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
• Goods that are sent to specific territories which are part of the Community customs territory but not of the Community tax territory (Martinique, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Réunion, Canary Islands, Channel Islands, the Aland Islands);
• Goods covered by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that is subsidized goods.

The export declaration is filled using a specific form – Single Administrative Document (SAD). The customs broker or their legal representative should be aware of the following provisions:

• The customs declaration that they have signed is binding as long as the following are concerned: The completion of the necessary fields of the export declaration according to the specific export procedure under which the goods are to be placed;
  • The accuracy of the declaration’s data.
  • The authenticity of the declaration’s data.
  • The authenticity of the accompanying papers and
  • in general the obligation of abiding by the regulations of the specific customs state.
• The presentation of the accompanying papers in respect to the specific customs procedure.

When the goods to be exported have not left the Community territory, the exporter should inform the export customs immediately and return the third copy of the relevant declaration