There are three types of powers a consignee/consignor (principal) can grant to a customs representative in the e-MTA.

• An empowerment for submission of customs declarations shall give a customs representative the right to lodge customs declarations on behalf of a consignee/consignor.
• Empowerment for use of the prepayment account in customs shall give the right for the customs representative to pay the amount of tax determined on the customs declaration from the prepayment account of the consignee.
• Empowerment for the use of a guarantee for customs operations shall give the right for a customs representative to defer the payment of the amount of tax determined on the customs declaration, using the consignee’s guarantee.

Administering access permissions in the e-services environment e-MTA
It is most convenient to administer (grant, terminate, change, etc.) access permissions electronically in the e-services environment e-MTA, where select Settings – Access permissions – Access permissions of representatives from the menu after signing in.

To complete the export declaration, the following information is required:

• Location of the goods during customs clearance
• Customs office code for exit from the EU
• Invoice containing the following: description of goods to determine the customs code; value of goods; quantity; net and gross weight; packaging; delivery terms, EORI number
• Import declaration is mandatory for temporarily imported goods

The customs procedure of placing goods under the inward processing relief is used for non-Union goods intended for introduction to the Union market or for private use or consumption within the Union customs territory. Placing goods under the inward processing relief grants non-Union goods the status of Union goods.

If non-Union goods, originally exported as Union goods from the Union customs territory, are brought back (completely or partially) within three years and declared for placing under the inward processing relief, import duties can be waived based on a person’s request.

To complete the import process, the following information is required:

• Location of the goods during customs clearance – whether in a warehouse, port, or transport vehicle
• Presence of a customs stamp
• Invoice containing the following: description of goods to determine the customs code; value of goods; quantity; net and gross weight; packaging; delivery terms, EORI number
• Document proving preferential origin – invoice declaration, certificate of origin
• Transport invoice
• CMR, AWB, Bill of lading
• T1 transit declaration / Storage notice
• Export declaration in case of return
• Special permits

Temporary import
In the case of temporary import procedure, a special use with full or partial customs duty exemption may be applied to non-Union goods intended for re-export on the customs territory of the Union. Partial duty exemption for temporary import procedure is not granted for consumer goods.

At the time of granting the permission, the customs specifies a period within which the goods subject to temporary import procedure must be re-exported or directed to the next customs procedure. This period must allow achieving the purpose of use specified in the permit. When using goods under the temporary import procedure for the same purpose and under the responsibility of the same permit holder, the period may be up to a maximum of 24 months.

Processing
Processing allows non-Union goods to be processed duty-free. Trade policy measures, except those related to import, do not apply. Processing can generally be applied to goods with a specified customs duty rate greater than 0% or subject to trade policy measures (e.g., quantitative restrictions). Goods may be released for free circulation after processing. The procedure is used when the customs duty rate on the imported goods is higher than the processed product.
Prerequisites for applying for a permit:

• the imported goods are identifiable in the finished product;
• the processing location and accounting, as well as the summary of the procedure, allow customs supervision;
• the economic conditions for issuing the permit are met.

The Intrastat report is a mandatory statistical report that must be submitted by companies engaged in trading goods with other European Union countries if their trade turnover exceeds the established threshold. This report replaces customs declarations in EU internal trade and is used to collect data on the movement of goods between member states.

Our services include:

• Collecting and processing all necessary data for the correct completion of the report.
• Correct and timely submission of all necessary data.
• Providing consultations on all questions related to Intrastat reporting and support at all stages of the process.

Our company offers accounting and customs clearance services, as well as the necessary administrative support for your business.

Successful foreign trade activities require reliable customs clearance, ensuring smooth commercial operations. Our team ensures that all documents are prepared on time and all requirements are met.

We offer pre-clearance services for customs declarations, allowing you to prepare all necessary documents before shipping goods from your warehouse or upon arrival. This makes the handover to transport quicker and smoother for the client.

Services:

• Preparation and submission of customs declarations: export, import, temporary import/export, special procedures
• Representation of clients in customs authorities
• Export control and confirmation of export
• Accounting support for foreign trade activities
• Preparation of specifications
• Statistical reporting
• Packaging reporting
• Determination of the customs code for goods
• We strive to offer flexible cooperation conditions, competitive prices, and an individual approach to each client.

By working with us, you can be confident that your customs clearance will be done on time, with high responsibility and deep knowledge of the procedures. The customs declaration is an important document submitted to customs authorities and tax authorities to prove the payment of taxes and duties or to be exempt from them.

The exporter applying for the movement certificate EUR.1 or EUR-MED must be prepared to submit all documents proving the originating status of the products concerned.

The main difference between the EUR.1 and EUR-MED certificates is the following:

• When the EUR.1 movement certificate has been issued, products concerned must stay on market of the importing country and cannot be re-exported under preferences to other countries of the zone (bilateral EC – Mediterranean partner Countries trade).
• EUR.1 confirms the origin of goods from a certain country and allows you to satisfy the requirements of customs authorities to provide evidence of the origin of goods.
• When the EUR-MED movement certificate has been issued, products concerned can be reexported under preferences, from the importing country to any other country of the zone with which Pan-Euro-Med cumulation is applicable (diagonal Pan-Euro-Med trade).
• EUR-MED is used to report the origin of goods containing materials from different countries participating in the accumulation agreement within the Euro-Mediterranean region.

ATR certificate for the movement of products with a preferential customs duty rate – within the framework of trade relations between the European Union and Turkey.

The certificate application must be accompanied by the invoice, delivery note and, if necessary, documents confirming that the exported goods were in free circulation in the Union;

ATR registration helps your partner to use preferential customs rates when delivering goods to Turkey, which can significantly reduce costs and increase the company’s competitiveness in the Turkish market.

The ATR applies to all eligible goods [industrial products] except agricultural goods, minerals and steel products.
This certificate provides exemption from customs duties on imports and exports of industrial products, without it, normal non-EU customs tariffs would apply.

Conditions for application of duty relief:

• Relief shall be granted only to persons whose normal place of residence has been outside the European Union for a continuous period of at least 12 months.
• The personal property, in respect of which the relief shall be granted, must have been, in general, in the possession of the person at his former normal place of residence for a minimum of six months before the date on which he ceases to have his normal place of residence in the third country of departure.
• Personal belongings are intended to be used for the same purposes at the new permanent residence of the migrant, i.e. purpose of use of personal belongings must not change at importation.
• Can import personal belongings duty-free within 12 months beginning from the date he/she settled in Estonia. During the specified period, personal belongings may arrive in several separate consignments.
• Within 12 months beginning from the date when the items (imported duty-free) were allowed to be released into free circulation, these items must not be provided for use free or for a fee, used as security or transferred without prior notification to the customs authorities.
• Can carry out these operations with items imported duty-free before the 12-month period, if he/she has informed the customs authorities and has paid the corresponding import duties.

Dokuments giving entitlement to duty relief:

• supplementary document
• an identity card and in the case of a representative – a power of attorney;
• certificates attesting residence, work or study in a third country, for example, residence permit, work permit, proof of residence, letter of the Estonian Embassy, employment contract, company registration documents, if the person owns a company; confirmation of the employer about work in a third country or a certificate from an educational institution about studying in a third country; certificate/tax declaration of the tax administrator of a foreign country, etc.;
• documents confirming the date of resettlement, for example, plane or ferry tickets, travel documents with stamps of crossing the border, etc.;
• documents confirming settling to Estonia, for example: a residence permit issued by the Estonian authorities (if a citizen of a third country moves to Estonia), employment contract, rental agreement, etc.;
• complete list of items in Estonian or English, which includes the value in euros and description of the items, confirmed with date and signature;
• proof of purchase and use of items, such as purchase invoices, warranty coupons, delivery notes, etc.;
• transport documents of items (the sender and recipient of the items must be the same person in the transport documents);
• a security if the person is importing goods prior to resettlement or if the customs authorities have reasonable doubts whether the person intends to stay in the EU permanently.

This list is not complete, and the customs authorities may require other documents to make a decision. The customs authorities have the right to demand explanations regarding the submitted documents.

The person applying for a decision on the application of customs legislation must submit all the information required by the competent customs authorities to make such decision (Article 22 of the Union Customs Code).

The person applying for the duty relief is responsible for the correctness and accuracy of the information provided, as well as for the authenticity of the supporting documents.

The IOSS special scheme allows the seller to include the VAT due on the import of goods (with a final value not exceeding €150) in the sales price at the time of the sales transaction, so generally the final consumer will not incur additional tax obligations upon receipt of the goods.

Shipments with a value over €150 are subject to both VAT and customs duties.

The IOSS special scheme can be used by taxpayers engaged in distance selling of goods imported from non-EU countries to end consumers located in the EU. If a non-EU business operator wishes to use the IOSS special scheme without having a place of establishment or business in the EU, they can do so through an intermediary who is obligated to fulfill the duties specified in the special scheme on their behalf. An exception to the requirement of appointing an intermediary applies to a non-EU entity engaged in distance selling from a country with which the EU has concluded a mutual assistance agreement in the field of VAT cooperation, fraud prevention, and recovery of claims. Currently, the EU has such an agreement only with Norway. In Estonia, a person eligible to act as an intermediary must be creditworthy, have an impeccable reputation, and not have any tax arrears.

The process is as follows:

• A non-EU business operator (e-commerce store) selects an intermediary in an EU country, who will submit IOSS VAT declaration forms on their behalf, declaring the VAT on goods sold to end consumers in all Member States;
• The e-commerce store provides the intermediary with information regarding the VAT paid by buyers at the time of purchasing the goods;
• Based on the data provided by the e-commerce store, the intermediary prepares the IOSS VAT declaration (declaring sales of imported goods) by the end of the month following the month in which the turnover occurred and submits this declaration and pays the VAT to the tax authorities of their registration country by the deadline for declaration submission (in the case of a registered intermediary in Estonia, to the Estonian tax authorities).

Customs clearance for goods can take place in any EU country (not necessarily where the IOSS declaration is submitted), as these are separate procedures. A non-EU e-commerce store does not need to separately register as a taxpayer or have an EORI number.