Registration and identification of economic operators (EORI) or EORI-NIF association

All economic operators and those carrying out customs activities in the European Union must obtain an EORI number, distinguishing between:

1. Economic operators established in the customs territory of the Union who will be registered by the customs authority of the Member State in which they are established.
2. Economic operators not established in the customs territory of the Union who will be registered by the customs authority of the Member State in which they carry out, for the first time, any of the following activities:
   1. lodge a customs declaration in the customs territory of the Union other than one of the following declarations: 
      1. a customs declaration made in accordance with Articles 135 to 144 of the Delegated Regulation.
      2. a customs declaration for the inclusion of goods under the temporary import procedure or a re-export declaration for the termination of said procedure.
      3. a customs declaration made under the Convention on a common transit procedure by an economic operator established in a common transit country.
      4. a customs declaration made under the Union transit procedure by an economic operator established in Andorra or San Marino.
   2. lodge a summary declaration for entry or exit into the customs territory of the Union.
   3. submit a declaration for temporary storage in the customs territory of the Union.
   4. act as carrier for the purposes of transport by sea, inland waterways or air.
   5. act as a carrier connected to the customs system and wishing to receive any of the notifications provided for in customs legislation relating to the submission or modification of entry summary declarations.

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, letter a. , paragraph ii. , economic operators not established in the customs territory of the Union must register with the customs authorities before lodging a customs declaration for the placing of goods under the temporary importation procedure or a re-export declaration for the termination of such a procedure where registration is necessary for the use of the common guarantee management system.

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, letter a. , paragraph iii. , economic operators established in a common transit country must register with the customs authorities before lodging a customs declaration under the Convention on a common transit procedure when such a declaration is lodged instead of an entry summary declaration or is used as a pre-departure declaration.

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, letter a. , paragraph iv. , economic operators established in Andorra or San Marino must register with the customs authorities before lodging a declaration made under the common transit procedure when such a declaration is lodged instead of an entry summary declaration or is used as a pre-departure declaration.

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, letter d. , an economic operator acting as a carrier for the purposes of transport by sea, inland waterway or air shall not be required to register with the customs authorities where it has been assigned a unique third country identification number under a third country trade partnership programme recognised by the Union.

The EORI is intended for economic operators, i.e. those persons or entities that carry out customs-related activities within the framework of a business or professional activity.

Persons who are not economic operators shall not be required to register with the customs authorities unless one of the following conditions is met:

• That is required by the legislation of a Member State. The EORI is intended for those persons or entities that, within the framework of a business or professional activity, carry out activities related to customs.

Persons who do not carry out customs-related activities within the framework of a business or professional activity. They will not be required to register with the customs authorities unless one of the following conditions is met:

• That is required by the legislation of a Member State.
• That the interested party carries out operations in which an EORI number must be provided in accordance with Annex A and Annex B. Of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015.

Where the persons mentioned in the previous paragraph are required to register, the following shall apply:

1. If they are established in the customs territory of the Union, they shall be registered with the customs authorities responsible for the place where they are established.
2. If they are not established in the customs territory of the Union, they shall be registered with the customs authorities responsible for the place where they first lodge a declaration or an application for a decision.

Individuals, therefore, with some exceptions, do not need to be registered in the Registry.

In Spain, for the presentation of customs declarations by individuals, the code -P- must be indicated in the corresponding box of the declaration, in accordance with the provisions of the DUA Resolution.

Notwithstanding the above, individuals who regularly carry out customs operations may be required to verify that they are effectively carried out on a private basis and, where appropriate, to obtain an EORI number.

Customs representatives will obtain their EORI number just like other operators.

Yes. EORI is required to carry out any customs operation in the Union. This number will be unique and must be obtained in the Member State where the operator is established. 

In the event that the operator has an EORI assigned by another Member State, they may notify the Spanish customs authority in order to proceed with the link to the NIF that said operator has in Spain. This association will be carried out electronically through the Electronic Headquarters of the AEAT (in the CUSTOMS section. Request for EORI registration, EORI-NIF association). These requests will be processed by the Regional Customs Office of the operator's tax domicile, who will require, where appropriate, the provision of any additional documentation or information that it deems necessary.

The procedure for obtaining an EORI by a non-resident, and provided that Spain is the Member State responsible for assigning its EORI number, distinguishes two situations:

• Operators who do not have a NIF, but are required to obtain one in accordance with current legislation on this matter. You must obtain a NIF prior to applying for an EORI number.
• Operators not established in the European Union who are not required to have a NIF in accordance with current legislation on: You can request the assignment of the EORI number by submitting to customs the form available on the Customs and Taxes portal. of the AEAT.

Branches and permanent establishments cannot have their own EORI because they do not meet the definition of a person in Article 5.4 of the UCC but rather fall within the concept of a "permanent commercial establishment" referred to in Article 5.32 of the UCC, that is, a fixed centre of activities where the necessary human and technical resources are permanently located, and through which customs operations of a person are carried out. That is, they are means through which a person acts, without even having to resort to the legislation of the different MS to determine whether they are "entities with the capacity to carry out legal acts even if they lack legal personality."

Even if you do not have your own EORI, in order to operate in Spain, you are required to have a NIF "W" which must be associated with the EORI granted to your parent company.

If you do not carry out foreign trade operations in Spain, you will not have been automatically registered, so prior to formalizing the first operation, you must obtain your EORI number in Spain through the management of this same page.

The legislation restricts the allocation of an EORI to those operators with their own independent legal personality. Therefore:

1. If the parent company of the entity is established in a Member State of the Union, it will be responsible for assigning the EORI number.
2. If the parent company corresponds to a country that is not part of the European Union, the assignment of the EORI number may be requested from any Member State (only from one State, which will normally be the one in which the first operation is carried out for which an EORI number is required).