Importing and exporting: EORI, DUA and customs

The EORI number (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) is a single number valid throughout the customs territory of the European Union that customs assigns to anyone carrying out foreign trade operations. It identifies you in any procedure before EU customs authorities. In Spain it is made up of the prefix ES followed by your NIF (Spanish tax identification number).

The DUA (Documento Unico Administrativo, the Single Administrative Document) was for years the customs declaration for any goods entering or leaving the customs territory of the Union, that is, in operations with non-EU countries. The classic import DUA was closed for good on 14 October 2025: imports are now declared with the H1 declaration as a general rule (and, depending on the case, H7 or others) and exports through the AES P1 system. The declaration records who the operator is, what the goods are (tariff classification), their value, their origin and the customs procedure requested.

Since 14 October 2025, the import declaration in Spain is filed using the H1 system, a structured electronic message adapted to the Union Customs Code. In practice it is still the import customs clearance: what changes is the format (electronic messages instead of the classic form with boxes). Exports also stopped being declared using the DUA boxes: since 9 May 2023 they are filed through the AES P1 system, likewise an electronic message adapted to the Union Customs Code, with the definitive period running from 15 December 2025. It is still customarily called the export DUA but, as with imports, it is no longer a form with boxes but an electronic message.

An EORI is needed by any company, autonomo (self-employed worker registered in Spain) or entity carrying out customs operations: importing goods from outside the EU, exporting to non-EU countries, or any related customs procedure. Every customs declaration by an operator carries its EORI. If your NIF does not start with N, M, X or Y, the AEAT assigns it automatically (ES + NIF) when your first declaration is lodged, without you having to apply; with an N, M, X or Y NIF you must apply for it beforehand.

The EORI is not the same as the NIF-IVA (Spanish VAT number) or as registration in the VIES (which is used for intra-Community operations, within the EU). Nor is it the Authorised Economic Operator (OEA) certificate, which is voluntary and additional. All operators need an EORI; only some apply for OEA status.

Private individuals making an occasional import for personal use are, as a general rule, not obliged to obtain an EORI. Anyone importing in the course of their business activity is an economic operator and must have an EORI (articles 5 and 9 of the Union Customs Code).

If your NIF does not start with N, M, X or Y, you do not need to apply: the AEAT registers you in the EORI system automatically when you lodge your first customs declaration, although you may apply earlier if you prefer. If your NIF starts with N, M, X or Y, you must apply at the electronic office of the Agencia Tributaria (the AEAT) through procedure DC13, or in writing at any customs office. The application is handled by the Regional Customs Unit (Dependencia Regional de Aduanas), which may ask for further documents; there is no fee and no official decision period.

If you are an operator established in Spain, you must first have a NIF assigned by the AEAT; your EORI is built on that NIF (ES + NIF). If you already have an EORI assigned by another Member State, you can notify Spanish customs so that it is linked to your NIF in Spain. Operators not established in the EU that have no NIF apply with a form at customs and receive an EORI in the format ES + K.

Once assigned, the EORI can be validated in the European Commission system, which confirms that it is an active number and valid throughout the EU. When an application is needed, Managora files it under your authorisation, follows it up and checks the validation before your first operation.

Both imports (H1) and exports (AES P1) are filed online at the AEAT electronic office, through the electronic customs system. It is not a paper form handed in over a counter: it is an electronic message that customs validates automatically.

On imports, the declaration includes the classification of the goods by their TARIC code, the customs value, the origin and the procedure requested (usually, release for free circulation and for consumption). With that data customs assesses the customs duties and the import VAT.

When the declaration is accepted and the duties are paid or guaranteed, customs grants the levante (customs release), which is the authorisation to collect the goods (on import) or to load them (on export). The declaration is lodged by your company or by a registered customs representative; Managora prepares the declaration data and checks the assessment.

The customs duty (import duties) is calculated by applying to the customs value the percentage corresponding to the TARIC code of the goods. The customs value is, as a general rule, the transaction value (the price paid), to which costs such as transport and insurance up to the point of entry into the Union are added.

Import VAT is calculated on a base made up of the customs value, the customs duty and the incidental costs (such as transport and insurance up to the first place of destination within the EU), and the rate corresponding to the goods is applied (21% standard, 10% reduced or 4% super-reduced). It is settled together with the customs clearance.

Businesses and professionals with a monthly filing period can opt for deferred import VAT: instead of paying the VAT at customs, they declare it on the modelo 303 for the period (box 77) and deduct it in the same return, with a neutral cash flow effect. It requires filing VAT returns monthly (large business, registered in the REDEME monthly refund register or a VAT group) and exercising the option with the modelo 036 in November of the previous year: from 1 to 30 November 2026 for it to apply from 1 January 2027. Any amounts not included in the return go straight to enforced collection.

The customs representative is the person who files the declaration with customs on behalf of the operator. They can act in direct representation (in the name of and on behalf of the client: the client is the debtor, but the representative is responsible for the accuracy of the data and documents it lodges) or in indirect representation (in their own name and on behalf of the client, being liable for the debt together with the client).

To practise, the representative proves the required qualification and is listed in the AEAT Register of Customs Representatives (Registro de Representantes Aduaneros). They must be established in the customs territory of the Union, except when acting on behalf of persons who are not required to be established there. In Spain, anyone who wishes to be represented to lodge customs declarations must use a registered customs representative; otherwise the company declares itself, and a company does so electronically and may only authorise its directors or employees on a permanent contract for that purpose.

Managora is not a customs representative and does not lodge customs declarations. The customs declaration is lodged by your company or by a registered customs representative; we prepare everything else: we apply for your EORI when an application is needed, classify the goods in the TARIC, calculate the customs value, duties and VAT, review the documents, handle the deferred import VAT option (modelo 036) and the modelo 303 and, if customs issues an assessment or a penalty, file the submissions, appeal or claim on your behalf.