EORI number

The number attaches to the legal person, not to a site and not to a consignment. In Germany it is issued on application by the German customs authority, and it begins with the country code of the registering member state. Anyone declaring in their own name needs a number of their own; anyone having a service provider declare for them appears in the declaration as the represented party.

Exports add a second condition: the exporter must be established in the EU. A producer or brand owner from outside the EU therefore cannot act as exporter itself and needs a party established in the EU holding its own EORI number.

Authorisations also hang on the number: deferred payment, guarantees, authorised consignee status and every further customs authorisation are tied to it. Changes to the company name, legal form or address therefore have to be notified. Where the declaration and the master data do not match, clearance stalls.

The most common mistake on exports: the customer gives their VAT identification number when the EORI number is asked for. Both start with a country code and therefore look alike, but they come from different registers and different authorities. A VAT identification number does not replace an EORI number.

The second mistake is a supplier from outside the EU being written into the declaration as exporter although it is not established in the EU. The declaration is then rejected and the consignment stands still until an established exporter is named and that party's number has been checked.