Convenció internacional i procediments duaners a Estònia

International Conventions

Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Party to the Kyoto Protocol
Party to the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Party to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
Party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer
Party to the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls For Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies
Party to the International Coffee Agreement

International Economic Cooperation

Estonia belongs to about 180 international organizations. Estonia has bilateral investment promotion and protection agreements with the USA, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, the Czech republic, Austria, Ukraine, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Non Tariff Barriers

In accordance with its European Union membership since May, 1st of 2004, Estonia applies the European Union trade policy such as antidumping or anti-subsidy measures. The European Union import regime applies to Estonia. If Estonia has adopted the main part of the community legislation on May, 1st of 2004, a transitional period has been granted to the country regarding some EU rules like freedom of movement for workers or cabotage inside some countries. For further information about each candidate country’s compliance with the acquis, please consult the Enlargement of the Negotiation Guidance Notes - Europa published by the European Commission.

While the European Union has a rather liberal foreign trade policy, some products need import licenses. There are some restrictions, especially on farm products, following the implementation of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy): the application of compensations on import and export of farm products, aimed at favoring the development of agriculture within the EU, implies a certain number of control and regulation systems for the goods entering the EU territory.

When being introduced into Estonia, some products must be "CE" marked in respect to the European Directives adopted on the basis of the New Approach and the Global Approach. For further information, please consult the Guide to the Implementation of Directives based on New Approach and Global Approach.

Customs Duties and Taxes on Imports

Since 2000, the "Most favored nation treatment customs duty act" came into force. According to this Act, goods originating from third (non-EU) countries are subject to customs duties.

Customs Classification

Since its accession to the European Union on May, 1st of 2004, Estonia has adopted the EU Common External Tariff. Consequently, trade with Estonia is totally free from customs duties, provided that the country of origin of the goods is one of the other 27 EU Member States. Nevertheless, when introducing goods into Estonia, exporters shall fill in an intrastate declaration.

When the country of origin of the goods exported to Estonia is not part of the European Union, customs duties are calculated Ad valorem on the CIF value of the goods, in accordance with the Common Customs Tariff (CCT).

The duties for non-European countries are relatively low, especially for manufactured goods (4.2% on average for the general rate), however textile, clothing items (high duties and quota system) and food-processing industry sectors (average duties of a 17.3% and numerous tariff quotas, PAC) still know protective measures.

In order to get exhaustive regulations and customs tariffs regarding their products, exporters shall refer to the TARIC code and its database, which includes all applicable customs duties and all customs trade policy measures for all the goods.

Import Procedures

Estonia is part of the European Union and its customs are therefore subject to intra-Community procedures. As part of the "SAFE" standards set forth by the World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union has set up a new system of import controls, the "Import Control System" (ICS), which aims to secure the flow of goods at the time of their entry into the customs territory of the EU. This control system, part of the Community Program eCustoms, has been in effect since January 1, 2011. Since then, operators are required to pass an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) to the customs of the country of entry, prior to the introduction of goods into the customs territory of the European Union.
The required documentation required is:

• a signed commercial invoice
• certificate of origin/goods certificate.

You will need to pay a customs duty on goods during customs formalities when importing goods into free circulation. The amount depends on the type of the goods, country of origin and quantity. Besides customs duties, you will need to pay VAT and, for some goods, an excise duty: alcohol, tobacco, motor fuel.

For general information on imports to EU member state, please visit the EU Customs Union website. You can also visit the Estonian Customs website.

Importing Samples

Temporary exemption from duty is granted for samples.

To go further, check out our service Import Controls and Export Controls.

For Further Information

Customs office