What is customs duty? Duties, customs value and rates
Quick answer
Customs duty is a charge levied when goods enter the EU customs territory from a country outside the union. What you pay depends on three things: the commodity code, customs value and origin. Import VAT is charged in addition and uses a broader taxable amount than customs value.
What customs duty is, and what it is not
Customs duty is a charge on goods entering the EU customs territory. Trade within the union is duty-free, with goods moving freely between member states.
Customs duty and VAT are often confused. Customs duty is a charge that goes to the EU. Import VAT is a tax handled by the Swedish Tax Agency for VAT-registered businesses. They use different calculation bases and are paid to different recipients.
The commodity code determines the requirements
The commodity code determines the duty rate, whether permits are needed and whether anti-dumping measures or quotas apply. The customs tariff contains around 15,000 codes, leaving plenty of scope for mistakes.
The code is built in stages. For imports, the first levels are not enough.
- HS heading: four digits. The World Customs Organization’s basic level.
- HS subheading: six digits. The same in over 200 countries.
- CN: eight digits. The EU Combined Nomenclature. This is used in export declarations.
- TARIC: ten digits. The EU integrated tariff, linking anti-dumping measures, licences and tariff suspensions. This level is required in import declarations.
Look up the code in Tulltaxan, Swedish Customs’ national tariff system. It is based on TARIC and updated nightly with its data. TARIC is the EU database; Tulltaxan is the Swedish gateway to it.
Customs value and the VAT calculation
Customs value is the basis for customs duty. Start with the price paid for the goods, then add freight and insurance up to the EU point of entry. Transport within the union is not included in customs value.
The VAT basis is broader. It includes customs value, customs duty and other government taxes and charges, plus incidental costs such as freight and insurance to the destination in Sweden. Transport from the EU border to your premises therefore increases VAT even though it is not part of customs value.
You cannot reclaim customs duty as VAT. But it is fully deductible as a business cost.
This is a common misunderstanding that appeared in the earlier version of this page. Import VAT is reclaimed as input VAT in the VAT return. Customs duty cannot be reclaimed that way, but forms part of the goods’ acquisition cost with the purchase price and freight, affecting profit when the goods are sold.
- What determines duty
- Commodity code, customs value and origin
- Import commodity code
- Ten digits:
TARIC - Export commodity code
- Eight digits:
CN - Import VAT
- VAT-registered businesses report to the Swedish Tax Agency; private individuals pay Swedish Customs
- Customs surcharge for errors
- 20% of the duty underpaid
- Retrospective claims
- Normally three years, five for a criminal act, with an ultimate limit of ten
Key facts
Origin determines whether you qualify for reduced duty
Trade with a country covered by an EU free trade agreement can attract reduced duty, often zero. The goods must meet the agreement’s origin rules and their origin must be substantiated.
The required proof depends on the agreement. Older agreements use EUR.1 or an invoice declaration. Newer EU agreements, such as those with the UK, Japan, Canada and Vietnam, instead use a statement on origin from a registered exporter in the REX system, or the importer’s knowledge. No EUR.1 is issued under those arrangements.
Always check which proof applies to the country before ordering documents. The traditional answer is misleading for some of the largest trade flows.
What Brexit actually changed
Brexit reintroduced customs formalities between the EU and the UK, not automatic customs duty. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides zero tariffs and no quotas for goods meeting origin rules, but only if origin can be substantiated with a statement on origin.
Without preferential origin, the normal duty rate applies. Declarations and documentation are required as for any third country, which is the cost many businesses actually noticed.
Online shopping and low-value consignments
Since 1 July 2026, a customs charge of EUR 3 applies to goods worth EUR 150 or less bought online from outside the EU. It is charged per goods item, not per shipment. A phone case and a jumper in the same order therefore incur two charges.
- The charge is temporary. It applies until 1 July 2028, when a percentage-based duty replaces it.
- Gifts are exempt from the EUR 3 charge.
- The simplified declaration cannot be used between businesses. B2B trade requires a standard customs declaration.
CN22 and CN23 are postal contents declarations accompanying a shipment, not substitutes for a customs declaration. CN22 is used for letter-post items up to SEK 2,000; CN23 for parcels and letter-post items above that value. An electronic customs declaration is still required for imports into the EU.
Exports, step by step
Exports are handled in AES, launched on 1 October 2024, with transitional rules ending on 15 December 2025. The process has three steps, and the final one provides your proof.
- IE515: submit the declarationYou or your representative submit the export declaration. Swedish Customs responds with an MRN, the master reference number that follows the shipment throughout.
- IE507: arrival at the place of exitThe goods are presented at the customs office of exit, quoting the MRN. The legislation does not designate who submits this notification; in practice, it is the operator at the location.
- IE590: exit notificationOnce the goods leave the union, this is notified to the office of exit in an IE590 message. This message is sent in, not received back.
- IE599: the certificate you keepWhen all three steps are complete, the office of exit issues certification of exit and sends it to the declarant in message IE599. IE599 supports VAT-free export and is retrieved from Swedish Customs’ online services.
CBAM when importing metals or cement
Since 1 January 2026, CBAM has been in its definitive phase for six product groups: cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. The threshold is 50 tonnes per calendar year.
- Below 50 tonnes. Enter document code
Y137in the customs declaration. No application or certificates. - Above 50 tonnes. You need authorised CBAM declarant status, applied for through the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, not Swedish Customs.
- Emissions are declared annually, not per shipment.
The cost of mistakes
If incorrect information causes underpayment of duty, Swedish Customs can impose a 20% customs surcharge on the amount underpaid.
Time limits are set by law. Swedish Customs can normally recover duty up to three years after the customs debt arose. If it resulted from an act that could lead to criminal proceedings, the period extends to five years, with an ultimate limit of ten. Keep supporting records for at least that long.
What is the difference between customs duty and VAT?
Customs duty goes to the EU and is based on customs value. Import VAT uses a broader amount: customs value plus duty plus freight to the destination.
VAT-registered businesses report import VAT to the Swedish Tax Agency and pay none to Swedish Customs. Private individuals and non-VAT-registered importers pay it to Swedish Customs at import.
Can I deduct customs duty?
Not as input VAT. But it is a deductible business cost. It forms part of the acquisition cost with the purchase price and freight, affecting profit when the goods are sold.
What proves an export is VAT-free?
Certification of exit in message IE599. It is sent to the declarant after all three export steps and retrieved from Swedish Customs’ online services. Do not confuse it with IE590, the notification submitted to customs.
How many digits does a commodity code have?
Ten for imports, at TARIC level. Eight for exports, at CN level. A six-digit HS code is not enough for an EU declaration.
How far back can Swedish Customs review?
Normally three years from the customs debt arising. Five years if it arose from an act that could lead to criminal proceedings, and never later than ten years.
Read on
How the commodity code is chosen is covered on our page about customs classification of goods.
How importing works is covered on our page about importing into Sweden.
How exporting works is covered on our page about exporting from Sweden.
More guides are collected in our customs guides.
Sources
The information on this page was checked against the following sources on 7 September 2026. Rules can change and the page may become outdated. Please let us know if you spot anything incorrect.
- Swedish Customs: Tulltaxan customs tariff
- Swedish Customs: the export process
- Swedish Customs: new customs charge from 1 July 2026
- Swedish Customs: customs surcharges
- Swedish Customs: import VAT
- Swedish Customs: registered exporter, REX
- Swedish Environmental Protection Agency on CBAM
- Union Customs Code, Regulation 952/2013
