04 05 Insurances. Import Transactions START-UP DOCS. Import Regimes. Fiscal Considerations. Customs Vocabulary

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1 DOCS 01 Import Regimes 02 Fiscal Considerations 03 Customs Vocabulary Insurances and documentary credit 06 Import Customs transactions Commercial documents and transportation documents Barcelona Activa SAU SPM,

2 01. Import Regimes When considering the import of a particular product, it is important to be aware that there are several different import regimes, which can vary from the free movement of goods to their total restriction, depending on the origin of the product. Therefore, depending on the countries and regions of origin of the import, the various existing regimes are: - Freedom of trade regime: the goods subject to this regime do not require any previous document transactions. - Previous monitoring regime: the previous submission of a document is required, the Prior Import Notification NOPI - if the surveillance measure is national, and issue of the Community Surveillance Document if it is within the European Union. - Authorisation Regime: the imports of goods subject to European Union restrictions require authorisation of the Import license document, whereas goods which are subject to national restrictions may require the issue of a document called Administrative Authorisation of Import. - Trade Embargoes: in exceptional circumstances, the import regime of a particular country can be modified as a result of the imposition of trade embargoes decreed by International Organisms or Institutions of the European Union. In these cases, the trade regime will be subject to the specific rules established. An on-line search can be made to find out the existing import regime of a particular country and for a particular product. This search can be made on the following website: Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade 2 / 12

3 02. Fiscal considerations IAE Membership - Census declaration for starting an activity In order to be able to begin to import, registration in the IAE - Economic Activities Tax will be required for the products we wish to buy, as well as formalization of the Census declaration of start of operation. In order to carry out these two procedures, you will need to contact the Treasury Department1 and to obtain membership, fill out model 037. Taxation Import transactions are taxed, basically, through two fiscal systems: VAT and excise duty. VAT VAT is an indirect tax which is applied to the deliveries of goods and services supplied to companies, and imports. An import is the temporary or permanent entry of goods in the peninsular territory of Spain and the Balearic Islands, as long as they come from countries which do not belong to the European Union or from excluded territories such as Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla2. What is known as exterior neutrality is applied to VAT, according to which imported products do not carry the corresponding tax from the country of origin, and it is in Spain where Spanish VAT is applied -16%, 7% or 4%-. Chapter III of Law 37/1992 on Value Added Tax. All transactions are made at the Treasury Department or Local Treasury Office. Excise Duty This tax is applied to imports or entries of specific goods such as alcohol, tobacco, etc. to Spanish territory. The tax is paid when customs duty is applicable, when the government warehouse of the product is applied or when it is self-consumed. It is suspended when it is assigned to export or certain other deposits. In order to obtain the fiscal license and pay taxes, you will need to contact your local Treasury Office. 1 General information Tel: ; 2 We must take into account that the exchange of goods between countries of the European Union is not considered as import. See the section Intrastat in this report. 3 / 12

4 03. Customs vocabulary Importing a product entails a process that requires several documents. These documents are not generally well-known, but import companies need to be completely familiar with them. Next, we will examine a few of the most important concepts in the import process. The tariff (Arancel) 3 The products we wish to import are subject to a tax which must be paid when products enter the EU. These taxes will basically depend on the product type and the country of origin. The tariff is a percentage of customs duty, which determines the amount to be paid. Customs duty is determined according to the price of the products, production costs or valuation of similar goods. The import company indicates all the elements that will be used as a base for liquidation of the customs rights. There is a European database where the tariff amount can be located. To use the database, you need to be familiar with at least two variables: TARIC codification of the product and country of origin. The TARIC codification is a numbered list, classified by product sections, and can be found on the following website: European Commission Taxation and Customs Administrative single document - DUA The DUA - administrative document is an administrative document required to complete bureaucratic customs procedures for trading with goods. The customs document was created by the European Commission in order to harmonize customs procedures and information in the European Union, and applies to import, export and transit transactions. In addition, it is used as a base for tax declaration and for informational purposes. The DUA consists of nine units, but only the following are required to import: - Number 6: for entry or import customs - Number 7: to provide Exterior Trade statistics - Number 8: for any interested parties - Number 9: to authorise the reception of goods With the elimination of European Union borders, the DUA is exclusively used to obtain data from the exchange of goods with non-member countries from outside the European Union. 3 Of Arab origin, but of uncertain etymology, possibly from the Arab al- ánzâl, plural of nuzl product, fruit, of the root n-z-l to lower, to decrease Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana 4 / 12

5 Currently, the document can be processed through the AEAT Virtual Office. In order to process the document, you will need to obtain the user digital certificate. For more information: Intrastat document The Intrastat is a document used to obtain data on trade between EC member states. The method means that any company involved in an intra-community transaction is obliged to provide statistical information through periodic declarations, recorded on paper or in electronic format, which are sent to the Intrastat8 office. There is a 140,000 Euro limit which means that communitarian imports of under this amount are excluded from making the declaration. The Intrastat declaration is published monthly on the Internet, within the first twelve calendar days of the month following the date when the transaction was carried out. For more information, go to: Special documents and certificates - Monitoring document - DOVI- DOVI is used to import specific goods included in the commercial freedom regime which may be subject to monitoring prior to import. - Administrative Authorisation of import - AAI- The AAI is required to import specific goods subject to quantitative restrictions or monitoring according to EC policy. When goods are subject to a quantitative restriction, the quantitative quota also applies. To import restricted goods, a license must be displayed in the AAI - Communitarian Import. All of these procedures can be made at the Regional Office of the General Department of Exterior Trade, Via Augusta, with c/calvet 5 / 12

6 Certificates Depending on the destination and the product, a number of additional documents will be required to import goods: - Import Certificate - for goods subject to a previous monitoring, that decides and authorises the dates of import and the amount of goods. Issued by: Regional Office of the General Department of Foreign Trade 4. - ATA card - for goods sent to fairs and exhibitions. Issued by: Official Chamber of Commerce, Trains and Navigation 5. - External Health Certificate - for specific health promotion products. Issued by: Health Department. - Veterinary Certificate - to avoid spreading existing diseases in Spain to other countries. Issued by: Health Department 6. - Phytosanitary Certificate - to control plagues. Issued by: Agriculture Department 7. - CATICE Certificate - for certain types of food products specific quality rules are required. Issued by: Subdivision of General Inspection, Certification and Attendance - CATICE Certificate of origin or Certificate of circulation EUR1, EUR2 - to certify the country of origin. Issued by: Official Chamber of Commerce, Trains and Navigation. Department of Customs and Special taxes of the Treasury 9. - Consular visa at the request of the import company, certain specific documents must be acquired. Issued by: Consulate of the country into which the goods are imported. - TIR Card - to permit the transit of goods through countries into which the goods are not being imported. Issued by: Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation 16 and Transport Union. 4 Via Augusta, (corner C/Calvet) Barcelona Telephone: Fax: Av. Diagonal, Barcelona Telephone: Fax: Trav. de les Corts, Barcelona Telephone: Fax: Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Barcelona Telèfon: Fax: Pº de la Castellana, Madrid Telèfon: / (CITES) - Fax: C/ Josep Carner, Barcelona Telèfon: / / 12

7 - TIF card - same as TIR but specific for railroad. - ECS card - used in certain countries where the TIES is not used. - Certificate of previous deposit to import this is required when the previous deposit of goods is made before dispatch. - International Certificate of Import. Issued by: Regional Trade Office 10. Next, we will look at Commercial and Transportation documents 10 Via Augusta, (corner C/Calvet) Barcelona Telephone: Fax: / 12

8 04. Commercial documents and transportation documents Commercial documents - Commercial invoice: document produced by the exporter, according to its own model. It displays the price of the goods and conditions in which the sale has been agreed. It is used as a sale contract and as a method of charging the operation. - Packing list: document attached to the commercial invoice, which lists the contents of the imported goods. Transportation documents Depending on the method of transport used for international trade, one of the following specific documents will be required: - Maritime transport: the required documents are - receipt on boarding, boarding list, cargo policy - book of contract conditions- and boarding information. The latter document is the most important one, since it is comprised of the receipt of goods by the shipping company, the transport contract and property title of the goods. - Land transport: this includes transport by road or railway, and the carrying card is required. This card contains the transport contract and receipt of goods by the road or railway transport company as well as the membership card of TIR or TIF, respectively. - Air transport: the carrying card is required, which, as in the case of land transport, contains the transport contract and receipt of goods by the airline company. - Multiform transport: the transport of goods by more than one means of transport. The transport document is required, as well as the voucher of the transitory agents. Processing: Airline companies and International Air transport Association- IATA / 12

9 05. Insurances and documentary credit Insurances In the case of an international contract, it is advisable to obtain insurance that covers certain risks inherent to this kind of operation. A comprehensive insurance policy will cover all the risks arising from the transport of goods. Transport insurance companies provide this type of cover. Issued by: Insurance companies of credit and caution 12 The documentary credit 13 The most common document to insure transactions between the importer and the exporter in two different countries is documentary credit, through which the bank representing the importer guarantees payment of the transaction to the bank of the exporter. To find out more, we recommend visiting the following website: 12 Spanish Export credit Insurance commpany - CESCE- Pg. of Gràcia, Barcelona Telephone: Fax: For more information: El crédito documentario y sus documentos by Luis Molina - published by CONFEMETA Foundation-. 9 / 12

10 06. Import Customs transactions The administrative procedures for importing goods from outside the European Union can be quite laborious and complex. We should take into account that, depending on the goods we wish to import from outside the EU, the process can sometimes be a counter-productive one for our European company. Intra-community transactions, as is expected, are much more simple and straightforward, as far as bureaucratic procedures are concerned, than inter-community transactions import transactions. For the duration of the process, the document of reference will be the DUA. At the end of the document, you will find a small scheme of the transaction of goods imported from outside the EU. The articles mentioned in each section refer to current legislation - Regulations - the EEC nº2913/1992 of the Council by which the Communitarian (EC) Customs Code is approved. We advise contacting a customs office or commission agent to obtain more information on the cost of contracting an import service outside the company. You can find a directory of these on the website of the Official School of Customs Agents and Customs Commission Agents of Barcelona: 10 / 12

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12 Written by the Barcelonanetactiva team from the following sources of information: - State Treasury Department, Ministry of Economy and Treasury - Foreign Trade Office of the State Department of Tourism and Commerce, Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade. - Official school of Customs Agents of Barcelona - Chamber of Commerce Barcelona Activa SAU SPM, Last Update: 15/09/2009 Barcelona Activa SAU SPM will ensure that this information and the data contained in the reports are accurate and faithful. These reports are published to provide general information. Barcelona Activa SAU SPM will not accept under any circumstance any responsibility for losses, damages or theft, or for any other business decisions based on data or pieces of information that can be extracted from this report. 12 / 12