Swedish Customs
Swedish Customs
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Swedish Customs' main responsibilities are

  • Charges.
  • To supervise and control traffic entering and leaving Sweden in order to ensure compliance with any import or export prohibitions and restrictions.
  • To collect and compile trade statistics.
  • To provide both the businesses and the general public with good service.
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On the arrival of goods at the customs office, or at any other place designated or approved by the customs authorities, a presentation of the goods to customs shall be made. Upon notification the goods are to be placed in a custom 'ms-approved treatment or use.

Customs-approved treatment or use of goods means:

  • the placing of goods in a customs procedure;
  • heir entry into a free zone or a free warehouse;
  • their re-exportation from the customs territory of the Community;
  • their destruction;
  • their abandonment to the Exchequer.

Customs procedure means:

  • release for free circulation;
  • transit;
  • customs warehousing (authorisation required);
  • inward processing (authorisation required);
  • processing under customs control (authorisation required)
  • temporary admission (authorisation required);
  • outward processing, (authorisation required);
  • exportation

Authorisation is applied for with the customs authorities.

On notification a customs import entry shall be presented either in writing on a Single Administrative Document (SAD) or via the Customs' Computer system (TDS).

Information as to customs duties, tariff quotas, tariff preferences, and so forth can be found in The Integrated Tariff of the European Communities

(TARIC). It can be brought -from Fritzes, tel. 0 81690 90 90.

In the TARIC there are some 24006 ten-digit codes used on importation to the EU. At exportation eight digits are used. All products& have a statistical code of their "own".

The statistical code decides the customs duty. The local customs authorities can give advice on how to set the correct statistical code for goods; a process called classification of goods. To classify goods, very precise and detailed information about their character is needed. The importer or exporter of goods may apply for binding tariff information (BTI) from the Swedish Board of Customs.

VAT.should be paid when importing goods that are subjects to tax. The rate is either 25 %, 12 % (foodstuffs), or 6 % (daily papers etc) of the tax assessment value. The tax assessment value for VAT is the customs value of the goods (the value of the invoice, including the costs of freight and insurance up to the customs territory of the Community) and, the costs of the freight to the place of destination, customs duty and other charges/duties.

Imports
The most frequently used customs procedure is release for free circulation, which means that the imported goods are at the disposal of the importer. The purpose is to change the customs status of the goods from non-Comm. unity to Community goods. When goods receive the status of Community goods, they may, with a few exceptions for some particular goods, be circulated freely within the entire customs territory of the Community. The goods are released for free circulation once the national taxes and any regulations have been taken into account.

The normal procedure (direktförtullning) and the simplified procedure (hemtagning) are the most frequently used procedures as goods are assigned to release for free circulation. The normal procedure implies that the goods are released when a complete import declaration, accompanied by all necessary documents, is made to customs.

The import declaration should be accompanied by the following documents:

  • an invoice
  • a declaration of the particulars for the assessment of the customs value of the goods declared. The document is only mandatory if the value of the shipment exceeds ECU 3000 or SEK 48000. where appropriate, a certificate of origin (for instance a GSP form A or an EUR 1) other documents (if there are any special circumstances which need to be confirmed; you might have to enclose for instance a declaration of returned goods accompanied by a copy of the export declaration, a license etc)

The customs authorities could also demand that shipping documents, or a packing list, are presented.

The simplified procedure requires authorisation from the customs authorities, a so-called hemtagningstillstånd. The permit is applied for at the local customs authorities in the area where the applicant is established. To receive a permit the importer must have credit with the customs authorities.

The customs declaration could be handed in either by the importer/debtor or by proxy. The representative must be registered with the customs authorities and be established in Sweden. It is, however, always the importer debtor who carries the full responsibility that the customs declaration is made and that all submitted information is correct.

How to-fill in the Single Administrative Document is explained in the SÄD guide (FD-handledning), which is published by the Swedish Board of Customs. The booklet may be acquired free of charge fr?m the customs authorities. It is, unfortunately, not available in English. English speaking importers may receive help from the information help line of the Customs Authority Stockholm (08/789 7955) or the nearest customs office.

Exports
The general rule is that the customs declaration should be presented to the local customs authorities in charge of the area where the exporter is established or where the goods are packed/loaded. Remember that it is the exporter's responsibility to find out whether any pennit is necessary or if the export is subject to any other restrictions.

How the Single Administrative Document is filled out for exportation is also explained in the SAD guide. English speaking expertness may turn to the information help line of the Customs Authority Stockholm (o8n89 7955) or to the nearest customs office.

Observe that all. imports and exports must be declared with customs and that errors and omissions may involve liability ,y under the Smugling of Goods Act or the Swedish Customs Act.

Liabilities for payment
The importer exporter must pay any customs debt (customs duty and agricultural levies) as well as any other duties or charges for goods imported from, countries outside the Community.

Payment may be made in cash if the debtor doesn't have credit with the customs authorities. Application for credit may be handed in to The Collection and Statistic Division of the Swedish Board of Customs. If the debtor presents the declaration to customs by proxy, the proxy may assume the liability.

If the debtor is not satisfied with a customs valuation, local- customs authorities may within a three-year-period be requested to make a review of the decision. Another alliterative is to file an appeal with the Swedish Board of Customs against the decisionn.