Customs clearance in the EU: how Centralised Clearance for Import works

Customs clearance in the EU does not always have to be completed in the member state where the goods physically arrive.

Centralised Clearance for Import (CCI) allows an authorised business to lodge its customs declaration with the customs office responsible for the place where it is established, while the goods are presented to customs in another member state.

A company established in Poland could, for example, lodge its import declaration in Poland for goods presented to customs in Germany or the Netherlands.

The customs procedure can be centralised in this way because the Union Customs Code (UCC) applies across the EU. Import VAT, excise duties and some other taxes are different. Their treatment still depends on the national rules of the member state where the goods are imported.

For companies using several EU ports or border points, this distinction is important. CCI can simplify customs clearance, but it does not create one EU system for the taxes due at import.

What CCI changes in the customs clearance process

Article 179 UCC allows an authorised trader to separate two parts of the customs procedure that would normally take place in the same country.

The supervising customs office is the office where the customs declaration is lodged. It is normally responsible for the place where the authorisation holder is established.

The presentation customs office is where the goods are physically presented to customs.

The two customs authorities exchange the information needed to process the declaration and carry out any controls. This allows the business to manage declarations through its customs administration in one member state even when imports enter the EU elsewhere.

The European Commission describes CCI as a way for economic operators to centralise customs processes, accounting, logistics and distribution.

It does not change where the goods actually enter the import process. That difference becomes particularly important once VAT and national taxes are considered.

Who can use Centralised Clearance for Import?

Cross-border centralised clearance requires an authorisation. Under Article 179(2) UCC, the applicant must be an Authorised Economic Operator for Customs Simplifications (AEOC).

Article 149 of the UCC Delegated Act allows centralised clearance to cover:

release for free circulation;
customs warehousing;
temporary admission;
end-use;
inward processing;
outward processing;
export; and
re-export.

For import customs clearance, the practical scope also depends on the implementation of the CCI electronic system and the procedures available in the member states concerned.

An application involving several member states requires consultation with the customs authorities in the countries where goods will be presented. National VAT, excise and other requirements are considered during this process.

The European Commission publishes a practical guide to Centralised Clearance for Import, including national contacts and information on VAT, excise duties and other requirements.

Guarantees also need attention. The authorisation has to work with the customs debt and other charges that may arise in the member states covered by the arrangement. A guarantee that does not cover the required operations or territory can prevent the intended CCI arrangement from working.

Why VAT does not become centralised with customs clearance

The main difference comes from the legal basis.

The UCC is an EU Regulation and applies directly across the Union. VAT is governed by Directive 2006/112/EC, which leaves important parts of import VAT administration to individual member states.

Article 60 of the VAT Directive states that the place of importation is the member state where the goods are located when they enter the EU.

Where non-EU goods first enter under an arrangement such as external transit or another qualifying suspensive procedure, Article 61 places the import in the member state where the goods cease to be covered by that arrangement.

CCI changes where the customs declaration is lodged. It does not move the goods to the country where that declaration is submitted.

That has a direct effect on VAT.

If a Polish company uses CCI to declare in Poland goods presented and imported in the Netherlands, the customs declaration may be handled through Poland. The import VAT position is still determined by the Netherlands if that is the member state of importation under Articles 60 or 61.

The VAT Directive then gives member states further discretion.

Article 201 allows each member state to designate the person or persons liable for import VAT. Article 211 allows member states to determine the detailed arrangements for payment.

A single CCI authorisation can consequently cover several countries while the importer's VAT obligations differ in each of them.

What can change from one member state to another?

The customs rules remain based on the same UCC. The national tax administration around the import is different. One country may allow postponed accounting for import VAT. Another may require deferred payment through a customs account. Some require a VAT registration or additional authorisation before a particular payment method can be used.

The customs declaration itself may require additional national data. Germany, for example, uses national data requirements under CCI, while Sweden, Ireland and Slovenia have their own national codes for specified information.

National taxes create another difference. Goods imported into Germany can be subject, for example, to German coffee tax. The Netherlands has a consumption tax on certain non-alcoholic beverages. Sweden applies national taxes to specified products including chemicals, nicotine products and snus.

These charges are separate from the EU customs duty. This means that centralising the customs declaration does not produce one identical customs clearance cost in every member state. The EU customs treatment can remain the same while the VAT procedure and national tax liability change according to the country where the goods are imported.

Germany shows how the national requirements work in practice

Germany provides a useful example because it permits deferred payment for import VAT under CCI. From 1 January 2026, section 21b of the German VAT Act sets conditions for treating a customs declaration lodged in another member state as the German import VAT declaration.

The declaration must reach the competent German customs authority in an editable form and contain the information required to assess import VAT. A person involved in the declaration must also hold the required deferred payment authorisation for German import VAT.

Using deferred payment in Germany involves national systems as well as the EU CCI authorisation. A business needs the relevant deferred payment authorisation and the BIN required for its use in ATLAS.

This illustrates the distinction at the centre of CCI. The EU authorisation determines how the customs declaration can be managed across member states. National systems still determine parts of the import VAT process.

Customs representatives can become particularly important where the authorisation holder is established in another member state. Depending on the arrangement and national law, a representative may provide a guarantee or deferred payment facility and may also take on legal responsibilities connected with the import. For a detailed examination of the German position, see 'Centralised clearance for import and deferred payment authorisations in Germany: practical challenges', by Michael Lux, CCRM Issue 36.

CCI can simplify customs clearance without standardising import taxes

For a business considering CCI, the important point is not simply which countries participate. The arrangement has to work in every member state where goods will be presented. That includes the VAT payment method available there, any registration or representation requirement, the person liable for import VAT, national declaration data and any taxes specific to the goods.

The Commission's practical guide brings much of this national information together. It is particularly useful when an authorisation is intended to cover several countries of presentation. The difference can become significant for businesses importing the same product through several EU markets. The commodity code and EU customs duty may remain identical. The amount and administration of import VAT, excise duty or another national tax may not.

What the EU customs reform could change

CCI forms part of the current Union Customs Code framework, but the EU customs system is being reformed. The Council and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on the reform on 26 March 2026. The agreed framework includes a new EU Customs Authority, an EU Customs Data Hub and additional simplifications for highly trusted traders.

The Data Hub is intended to create a single environment for customs information across the EU. The reform also introduces the 'Trust and Check' trader status, under which qualifying businesses will receive broader customs simplifications.

This could reduce some of the administrative differences involved in customs clearance across several member states. It does not, by itself, make national VAT and excise systems identical. As long as EU tax legislation leaves relevant parts of import taxation to national law, the country where the goods are imported remains important.

Use case: the same coffee, two countries of import

Consider a company using CCI for roasted coffee from Brazil under commodity code 0901 21 00. In the first transaction, the coffee is presented and imported in Germany.

The company asks Smart Taric AI:

09012100 from Brazil to Germany, what is VAT and are there other national taxes?

The result includes the German VAT treatment and any national taxes connected with the product.

Now take the same Brazilian coffee under the same commodity code. This time, the goods are presented and imported in the Netherlands.

The question becomes:

09012100 from Brazil to the Netherlands, what is VAT and are there other national taxes?

The EU customs classification has not changed. The origin has not changed either. What has changed is the member state of importation.

That can produce a different VAT rate, payment process and national tax treatment.

This is the part of customs clearance that CCI does not centralise.

Smart Taric AI allows the user to search the commodity code, origin and country of import together, so the EU customs measures and relevant national taxes can be reviewed for the actual destination.