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Import and Export Manual for low value shipments

h) The ED 13 04 017 000 «Importer identification number»

The note regarding this ED requires that the identification number of the party to whom the goods are actually shipped be indicated.

Please enter the EORI number of the person concerned, as defined in Article 1, paragraph 18, of AD CAU .

This note should be read in conjunction with footnote no. 8 of Annex B of AD CAU: should only be provided when available. However, if the importer is an economic operator for which an EORI number is required, and the customs declaration for release for free circulation is submitted by the importer itself or by its direct representative, the importer's EORI number must be provided in said declaration, because in such cases the importer is also the declarant. In case of indirect representation, the importer's EORI number must be provided whenever the declarant has it.

When the importer does not have an EORI number, the customs administration may assign him a number ad hoc for the declaration considered. Where the importer is not registered in the EORI system, because it is not an economic operator or established in the Union, the number required by the legislation of the Member State concerned must be indicated.

Examples:

In the case of direct representation, the customs declaration is submitted in the name and on behalf of the importer, who therefore also acts as declarant.

The importer [the represented party] may be a private individual or an economic operator. In the event that an express transport company represents, as a direct customs representative, an economic operator as an importer in the H7 customs declaration, the direct representative of the declarant/importer (who in this case will be the same person) must provide the corresponding EORI number of the declarant/importer in data element 1305 017 000 — declarant identification number.

In cases where the direct customs representative represents a private importer, the following shall apply:

  • A customs declaration H7 must be lodged in Member State 'A', and the importer (i.e. the consignee) is a private individual . National legislation in that Member State does not require individuals to be registered in the EORI system. In this case, the ED 13 04 017 000 must be left blank or filled in according to the national legislation of that Member State, provided that the person submitting the declaration has this information at the time of submitting it.
  • A customs declaration H7 must be lodged in Member State 'B' and the importer (i.e. the consignee) is a private individual . National legislation in that Member State requires individuals to be registered in the EORI system. In this case, the individual's EORI number is entered in the ED 13 04 017 000.

All of the above is valid regardless of the mechanism used to collect theVAT to the import (the IOSS, the special regime or the ordinary VAT collection mechanism).

However, Member States that require individuals to use an identifier pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of the CAU AD may continue to do so. Member States where such registration is not required should not introduce new obligations with a view to incorporating the H7 dataset into their National Import System.