The new AES export system

The export process has been organised into three steps to make it easier for exporters to follow the correct procedures. We can help you through each step and handle the complex details, so you can focus on your core business.

The three steps

Step 1: the export declaration (IE515)

It starts with you as the exporter, or your customs broker, preparing a standard customs declaration and sending it digitally to Swedish Customs. This is a critical step in getting the goods released to the export procedure. We can provide this service, make sure all required details are completed correctly and submit the declaration on time.

Read more about IE515 and message IE529, the response you receive when the goods are released.

Step 2: presentation of goods at the office of exit (IE507)

When the goods reach the place of exit, which may be a port, airport or another border crossing, they must be presented to the office of exit. The notification must refer to the export declaration’s MRN.

The legislation does not specify who must submit the notification. In practice it is handled by the operator at the place of exit, meaning the port, airport or terminal, and not always your carrier.

You therefore need to know in advance who in your chain submits the notification, because that party needs the MRN. We can help map the roles in the logistics chain and ensure the number reaches the right party on time. Read more about IE507.

Step 3: notification of exit of goods (IE590)

The final step happens once the goods have left the EU. The office of exit must then be told that the goods have left. This information is essential for completing the export process. We can help your carrier understand and fulfil its obligations and make sure the necessary information is available. Read more about IE590 and exit confirmation.

The new export system

On 1 October 2024, Sweden introduced an entirely new export system, AES, the Automated Export System. It replaced TDS Export and the Export Control System and brought export processing into line with new EU customs legislation. The system was developed to simplify and streamline the export process and meet EU legislative requirements.

Key dates

Implementation took place in several stages. The later dates are those affecting exporters today.

Roles in the export process

Each step has its own responsibilities and participants, from the declarant’s responsibility to prepare the export to the notifications at exit. We work closely with the parties involved to make sure no details are missed.

Main types of export declaration

Standard customs declaration

The basic option for businesses with all the necessary information available when the goods are loaded. By submitting a digital standard customs declaration at loading, businesses can fulfil export requirements quickly and easily.

Simplified export declaration

Where not all information is available at loading, a simplified declaration may be used. It is followed by a supplementary declaration.

The ten-day period runs from the date the goods were released, not when the simplified declaration was submitted. If the case is selected for inspection, release may take place several days after submission.

Entry in the declarant’s records

With EIDR, the customs declaration is made by entering information directly in the declarant’s own records. The method was introduced for exports on 26 February 2026, with a transition period until 31 March 2026. Authorisation for entry in the declarant’s records, EIR, is required to use it.

EIDR may only be used for direct exports, meaning goods leaving the EU directly from a Swedish office of exit, and only when the declaration does not need to contain safety and security data. In practice this means exports and re-exports to Norway and, in certain specific cases, other countries within the safety and security zone. It cannot be used for restricted goods.

Note that digital submission in steps 2 and 3 of the standard process is not possible under EIDR. Presentation at the office of exit and exit notification instead take place at the customs office, digitally to Norwegian Customs through Digitoll, or by presenting the MRN as a barcode. The entries in the records must contain at least the information required for a simplified declaration, and every entry must be followed by notification to Swedish Customs.

Exporting to Norway

For goods exported to Norway, options include digital submission, visiting the customs office or using digital border crossing at certain crossings. Read more about exporting to Norway.

Centralised clearance and authorisations

Centralised clearance for export allows a business with CCL authorisation to send its export customs declarations to a single Member State, regardless of where in the EU the goods are physically located when presented for export.

Before you can apply for CCL, you must hold a valid Authorised Economic Operator authorisation for customs simplifications, AEOC. You apply in the country where you are established.

The authorisation specifies the Member States in which you may use it and the procedures, declaration types, goods and locations it covers.

The new export system gives Swedish exporters faster, simpler export processes and closer alignment with international standards and EU rules.

The messages in order

Information is submitted in three steps, but the exchange involves more than three messages. Two are easy to overlook and determine when the goods may actually leave the EU.

The goods may not leave the EU customs territory merely because IE507 has been submitted. They may leave when the office of exit responds with IE525, the decision releasing them for exit.

Time limits after release

If Swedish Customs has received no information from the office of exit about the goods’ exit within 90 days after release for export, an enquiry procedure begins. The period therefore runs from release, not from submission of the declaration.

Swedish Customs then sends an enquiry about export without exit confirmation in message IE582, and you or your representative respond with IE583. You can also submit IE583 on your own initiative before the 90 days have passed.

Goods intended to leave the EU customs territory must leave within 150 days of release. If Swedish Customs has received no exit information within that period and no alternative evidence has been accepted, it may invalidate the export declaration.

Alternative evidence can include a transport document signed by the carrier, such as a bill of lading, air waybill or CMR, a released import declaration from the destination country, or a business’s accounting records for goods supplied to ships and aircraft.

The goods’ journey out of Sweden

When goods are exported from Sweden, information is exchanged digitally in several stages, between different parties and at different times, to ensure everything is handled correctly.

Customs supervision is an important part of the process. It covers all measures Swedish Customs takes for goods that are imported, stored, exported or re-exported. Goods declared for export, internal Union transit or outward processing are under supervision from acceptance of the customs declaration until they leave the EU customs territory, are abandoned to the state, are destroyed or the declaration is invalidated.

When goods are under customs supervision, their holder or anyone else may not take action involving them without Swedish Customs’ permission. This prevents alteration, dispersal or evasion of checks, minimising the risk of restricted goods leaving the EU without authorisation.

Several notifications and declarations are required to ensure supervision.

If the transport runs on a single transport contract all the way out of the Union, exit is handled in a particular way. This is described on our page about STC.

How to prepare

Familiarise yourself with the declaration options and decide which best matches your business’s needs and the situations you handle. Keep up to date with Swedish Customs’ guidance. Detailed export declaration guidance is published and updated regularly.

The new system gives businesses greater flexibility and efficiency in handling international shipments. Understanding and using the options helps businesses adapt their processes to current and future rules.

Read on

More on how exports work, whatever the country, is on our page about exporting from Sweden.