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Import and Export Manual for low value shipments

Release for free circulation of commercial samples

Commercial samples can be declared:

  1. in a customs declaration with the H7 data set: as consignments of no estimable value, subject to exemption from import duties in accordance with Article 23(1) or Article 25(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 and subject to payment of VAT corresponding accrued. According to Article 23, duty-free applies to all types of goods provided that all relevant conditions are met (namely that they have been shipped directly and whose intrinsic value does not exceed 150 EUR ), in particular the conditions provided for in Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009; or
  2. in a customs declaration with data set H1: as commercial samples of no estimable value, subject to duty-free and VAT exemption, in accordance with Article 86 of Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 and Article 63 of Directive 2009/132/EC. To be imported free of VAT and import duties, samples must also meet several cumulative conditions:
    • They must be samples "of no estimable value";
    • They can only be used in response to requests in which they are requested;
    • Orders in which they are requested must be placed with a view to importing into the European Union the type of goods that these samples represent.

As for the term "no estimable value", it is only defined in the context of Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 ("goods of no estimable value"), but not in Article 86 of the same Regulation, Thus, customs must determine, on a case-by-case basis and depending on the type of goods in question, whether goods imported as samples for the promotion of trade can be considered "without estimable value."