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Customs Procedures in Poland — Meyis Biuro Rachunkowe, Warsaw
Services

Customs Procedures

Moving goods across the EU border means customs declarations, the right tariff codes, EORI registration and duties that can make or break a shipment. Getting the classification and the paperwork right before the goods move is what keeps a shipment out of costly delays.

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Overview

Meyis advises across the whole chain: we guide you through the registration processes, help prepare and check your import and export declarations, review tariff classification and origin, and look for the duty and VAT treatment that fits your trade. Declarations are submitted in your company name.

What’s included
  • Import & export customs advisory
  • EORI & AEO registration guidance
  • Tariff classification & origin review
  • Customs declaration preparation
  • Duty & VAT optimisation
Customs Procedures — advisory and ongoing support from our Warsaw office
In detail

What each part of the service actually covers

Import & export customs advisory

Every consignment crossing the EU border needs a customs procedure chosen before it moves, not after it arrives. Release for free circulation, temporary admission, inward processing and transit each carry different duty and VAT consequences, and switching after the fact is rarely possible. We look at what you actually move, how often and under what commercial terms, and advise on the procedure and the Incoterms that fit — because who is the declarant, and who therefore carries the customs debt, is decided by the contract.

EORI & AEO registration guidance

Any business importing into or exporting from the EU needs an EORI number. It is the single identifier that customs uses for your company, it is issued once and it is valid across the whole Union. AEO status is a separate and more demanding matter — it is a trusted-trader authorisation that brings faster clearance and fewer physical checks, but it requires a documented record of compliance and solvency. We advise on the documents each requires and on whether AEO is worth pursuing at your volume.

Tariff classification & origin review

The CN code your product sits under decides the duty rate you pay, and similar-looking goods can fall into classes with very different rates. Origin is the second lever: goods coming from countries the EU has a trade agreement with can attract a preferential rate, but only when the origin documentation is correct and the product genuinely meets the rules-of-origin test. Both are checkable in advance, and a binding tariff information decision can put the classification beyond dispute.

Customs declaration preparation

The declaration is the document that carries the classification, the customs value, the origin and the procedure. An error in any of them creates delay at best and additional duty plus penalty at worst, and corrections after release are slower and more expensive than getting it right the first time. We help prepare your import and export declarations and check them against the underlying invoices and transport documents before they go in — declarations are submitted in your company name.

Duty & VAT optimisation

Import VAT is the item that most often surprises a growing importer, because the cash goes out at the border and comes back only through the return. Poland allows import VAT to be settled through the VAT return itself where the conditions are met, which changes the working-capital picture substantially. For distance sellers there is the further question of OSS and, for warehouse-based models such as Amazon FBA, registration in each country where stock is held. We assess which of these apply and set the structure up with the accounting side already aligned.

Who it is for

Businesses we do this work for

  • Importers bringing goods into the EU

    Your margin is decided before the container arrives: by the tariff code, by whether preferential origin applies and by how import VAT is settled. All three are answerable in advance, and all three are expensive to fix afterwards.

  • Exporters selling outside the Union

    Export sounds simpler than import until a customer asks for proof of origin, or a shipment stops because the declaration and the transport documents disagree. Getting the paperwork consistent is most of what keeps an export moving.

  • E-commerce and marketplace sellers

    Distance selling within the EU brings the OSS question above certain thresholds, and any model that holds stock in another member state — Amazon FBA being the common one — can create a VAT registration obligation there. We map where you actually owe registration before a marketplace does it for you.

  • Manufacturers with cross-border supply chains

    If components come in and finished goods go out, procedures such as inward processing can change the duty picture materially. The condition is documentation: the goods have to be traceable through the process, which is an accounting question as much as a customs one.

Warsaw city centre at golden hour, looking down Aleje Jerozolimskie
Warsaw — where your company is registered and your books are kept
How we work

A clear path from first call to clean books.

Four steps from first hello to books you never have to think about again — clear, quick, and handled in your language.

Book an appointment
01

Introductory call

Tell us about your business in a free first conversation — in your language.

02

A tailored plan

We map the services, deadlines and documents your situation actually needs.

03

Smooth handover

We onboard your records and take bookkeeping, payroll and filings off your desk.

04

Clear, ongoing reporting

You get regular, plain-language updates — and an advisor who answers when you call.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is an EORI number and how do you get one?

EORI is the Economic Operators Registration and Identification number — the single identifier customs authorities use for your business anywhere in the EU. Without it you cannot lodge a customs declaration at all. It is applied for once, through the customs administration of the member state where you are established, and it stays valid across the Union. We advise on the documents the application needs and check it before it goes in; the application is made in your company name.

What documents are needed to import into the EU?

At minimum a commercial invoice, a packing list, the transport document and, where a preferential rate is claimed, proof of origin. Depending on the goods you may also need licences, certificates or conformity documentation — and those are the ones that hold shipments at the border, because they cannot be produced retrospectively. We review the document set against the specific goods before the first shipment.

Can import VAT be settled without paying it at the border?

In many cases yes. Poland allows import VAT to be accounted for through the VAT return rather than paid at the point of import, provided the conditions are met and the taxpayer is in good standing. The effect on working capital is significant for a regular importer. Whether you qualify, and staying qualified, needs the customs and the accounting side to be looked at together — which is the practical argument for keeping them with one advisor.

What happens if the tariff classification is wrong?

If the code is wrong, the duty is wrong, and customs can revisit past entries within the statutory period — meaning an underpayment discovered later comes with interest and potentially a penalty, on volumes you have already sold. Overpayment is recoverable but only if you notice it. Where a product sits close to a class boundary, a binding tariff information decision fixes the classification in advance and removes the argument.

As an Amazon FBA seller, do I need a VAT registration in Poland?

If your stock is held in a warehouse in Poland, then generally yes — holding goods in a member state creates a taxable presence there independent of where your company is registered, and OSS does not cover it. This catches sellers who joined a pan-European fulfilment programme without noticing that stock was moved across borders on their behalf. We check where your inventory has actually been.

Related services

Other ways we help businesses in Poland.

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