Customs & EORI Services

An EORI number is required for economic operators or persons engaged in activities within the customs territory of the European Union. It is your unique customs identification number in the Union – the number used to identify your business/yourself to the customs authorities in all communications and in all matters of cross-border trade with any EU customs authorities where a customs identifier is required. EORI numbers are assigned by customs authorities in the relevant Member States.

By registering for customs purposes in one Member State, an economic operator’s EORI number is valid throughout the European Union. Being established in the customs territory of the European Union means being entitled to make a customs declaration in the EU, which allows customs to avoid cumbersome checks at the border when the customs declaration is made – enabling the smooth flow of goods across borders.

Economic operators established or engaged in activities in the customs territory of the EU must be EORI-registered in the Member State where they are established. Even if the first operation takes place in another Member State, economic operators must ask the Member State in which they are established to assign them an EORI number.

Example: ACME Company, established in Germany, makes an import customs declaration in Spain. Because ACME Company is established in Germany, it has to have an EORI number assigned by the German customs authority even if its customs activities are entirely performed in Hungary.

Where economic operators are not established in the customs territory of the Union, they also need an EORI for a number of different situations, including to:

1. Make a customs declaration with customs authorities in the European Union;
2. Submit an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS)
3. Make an Exit Summary Declaration (EXS)
4. Make a temporary storage declaration with customs authorities in the European Union
5. Act as a carrier for the purposes of transport by sea, inland waterway, or air within the European Union;
6. Act as a carrier who is connected to the customs system and wishes to receive any of the notifications provided for in the customs legislation regarding the lodging or amendment of entry summary declarations in the European Union.

Customs rules and requirements in the European Union, including Biding Tariff Information, the definition of “economic operators,” “persons,” “legal persons,” are complicated and onerous. 

Europe Incorporations will be your agent in Europe for all Customs related issues, including securing your EORI number.