What you actually need before your first import
An EORI number, an HS code and a decision about who is the importer of record. Most of the paperwork people worry about is somebody else’s job.
To import commercially into the EU you need three things: an EORI number, an HS code for your goods, and a clear answer to who the importer of record is. Almost everything else is handled by your customs agent or forwarder.
In the United States you need an EIN or an importer number, the same classification decision under a different tariff schedule, and in many cases a customs bond.
The reason first imports feel intimidating is that the internet describes them as if you personally must file everything. You will not. A customs agent files the entry, a forwarder moves the box. What you must do is a much shorter list, and it is worth knowing precisely, because the handful of decisions that are genuinely yours are also the ones that cost money when they are wrong.
1. An EORI number, if you are importing into the EU
EORI stands for Economic Operators Registration and Identification. It is the number customs uses to recognise your business across the whole Union. One number works in every member state; you apply once, in the country where you are established.
In Slovakia the application is made to the Financial Administration (Finančná správa). It is normally issued within days, and there is no fee. If your business is registered in another member state, you apply to that state's customs administration instead.
You cannot lodge an import declaration without one, so this is the item to start first. Everything else can be arranged while you wait.
2. The HS code for what you are buying
Every product crossing a border is classified under the Harmonised System, a six-digit code agreed internationally, which the EU extends to eight digits (the Combined Nomenclature) and the US extends to ten (the HTSUS). The code decides your duty rate, and it decides whether any licence, quota or restriction applies.
Two things surprise people here.
The first is how much difference a small distinction makes. Goods that look identical on a shelf can sit in different headings because of a material, a coating, a water-absorption percentage or how they are presented for sale, and the duty rates attached to those headings are not similar.
The second is that classification is your responsibility, not your supplier's. A Chinese factory's invoice will often carry a code. That code was chosen for their export declaration, and it carries no authority over your import. If it is wrong on your entry, the exposure is yours.
If a classification is genuinely borderline and a lot of money rides on it, both the EU and the US offer a way to get a ruling in advance that is legally binding on customs. In the EU it is called Binding Tariff Information; in the US, a ruling from Customs and Border Protection. Both are free to apply for and take some weeks.
3. Who is the importer of record
This is the decision people skip, and it is the one with legal weight. The importer of record is the party named on the customs entry as responsible for the declaration: for the value declared, the classification used, and the duty paid. If any of it is wrong, customs comes to that name.
It is not automatically whoever paid the supplier, and it is not the freight forwarder. It is whoever is named. So before you agree a delivered price with anybody, ask who will be the importer of record, and make sure the answer is written down.
In the EU there is a practical consequence beyond liability: import VAT is generally recoverable only by the importer of record. Get this wrong and the VAT becomes a real cost instead of a cash-flow timing issue.
4. The documents customs expects
For a straightforward commercial import, the pack is short:
- Commercial invoice. Seller, buyer, a proper description of the goods, quantity, unit price, total, currency, and the Incoterm with its named place.
- Packing list. What is in which carton, with weights and dimensions.
- Transport document. A bill of lading for sea freight, an air waybill for air.
- Proof of origin, where you are claiming a preferential rate. Only relevant if a trade agreement gives your goods a lower rate, and only valid if the goods genuinely qualify.
Product-specific requirements sit on top of this and depend entirely on what you are importing: CE marking and a declaration of conformity for many goods entering the EU, FDA requirements for anything food-contact entering the US, and so on. This is the part where a general guide stops being useful and you need to check your specific product.
5. Money at the border
Duty and import VAT are due when the goods are entered, not when you sell them. For a first container this is often the cash-flow surprise: you pay tax on goods that are still sitting on a pallet.
Both the EU and the US have mechanisms that soften this. Several member states operate postponed VAT accounting, where import VAT is declared and reclaimed on the same VAT return rather than paid at the border. Deferment accounts allow duty to be settled monthly instead of per shipment. The details vary by country and by your own VAT position, so this is a conversation to have with your accountant before the first shipment rather than after it.
What the United States looks like instead
The shape is the same, the names differ. You need an importer number, which for a US business is normally its EIN. You classify under the HTSUS rather than the Combined Nomenclature. Entry is filed with Customs and Border Protection, in most cases by a licensed customs broker acting for you, and a customs bond is commonly required. Duty is generally charged on the FOB value, which means the ocean freight is usually outside the dutiable value rather than inside it as in the EU.
The honest summary
Apply for the EORI, settle the classification, decide who the importer of record is, and appoint a customs agent. That is the real list. The rest is your supplier's paperwork and your forwarder's routine.
Nothing on this page is legal, tax or customs advice, and requirements change. Check your specific goods and your own position before you commit.
Common questions
Yes, for commercial imports. It is issued once by the customs administration of the country where your business is established and is valid across the whole European Union. In Slovakia you apply to the Financial Administration, and there is no fee.
You are. Your supplier may put a code on their invoice, but that was chosen for their export declaration. On your import entry the classification is the importer of record\u2019s responsibility, and so is any underpaid duty.
The party named on the customs entry as responsible for the declaration: the value, the classification and the duty. It is not automatically whoever paid the supplier, and it is not the forwarder. In the EU it is also normally the only party that can reclaim the import VAT.
At the point of entry, before the goods are released, not when you sell them. Deferment accounts and postponed VAT accounting can move that timing, and the rules differ by country.
Yes. The EU issues Binding Tariff Information and US Customs and Border Protection issues advance rulings. Both are free to apply for, both take some weeks, and both bind customs to the classification they give.
You are not legally obliged to use one in the EU, but almost every importer does, because the declaration is technical and the liability for errors is yours. In the US a licensed broker is the normal route and a customs bond is commonly required.
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