EORI — is European number which assigned to all foreign trade economic operators on the territory of EU. He must to be obtained only one time: in the country of registration for resident of the EU and in the country when foreign activity starts nonresident. It is used for identification of foreign trade participants by the customs office. Very useful for partners checking. Economic operators — physical person or legal entity, or associations of entities.
| EORI | Economic Operators’ Registration and Identification — unit system of registration and identification of participant of foreign trade. |
| What is it for? | EORI number indicated on the customs documents and is necessary for quick and easy identification of participant of foreign trade activity. |
| How to obtain by nonresident | Оnly once, in the country of residence, according to the local legislation. |
| How to obtain by resident | Оnly once, in the country when economic activity starts, according to the local legislations. |
| Price for EORI | EORI is free, but it could be paid assistance by agent |
| Checking for EORI | Can be checked on the website ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/eos/eori_validation.jsp. Enter the number into the window and get the answer enter. |
What does EORI for
Purpose of the EOS (Economic Operator System) and EORI number on the territory of EU is to make interconnection between economic operators and customs service more efficient, quick and make better statistic. Easy to check of the partner or contractor is another useful feature.
This number is used only for customs purposes. EORI not used when buying or transportation inside the EU so it is not provided automatically to residents.
Code can be obtained:
By nonresidents of the EU — any economic operators registered outside of the EU,
By residents of the EU — any economic operators (E.O.) registered in the EU.
Where is EORI used
Carnet TIR,
TIR EPD,
Carnet ATA),
Import, Export, transit declarations,
declaration ENS, EXS
Customs and transit warehouses goods placement
What is EORI consist of
The number consist of:
2 letters (country of issue)
2 numbers (year of issue)
10 numbers (code of the client, sometimes has number of VAT)
Sometimes letters are at the end
How to get EORI number
When obtaining EORI residents and non-residents must consider:
1. Period for obtaining of EORI about a couple of days (plus the time to prepare the necessary documents).
2. Documents must be checked and only after entering EORI number into EOS system it can be provided to the applicant.
3. Registration documents must be submitted to the customs office of the correct country (for residents and non-residents).
4. Form of submission can either be different (form at the webpage, by post, personally or through representative.
5. List of needed documents can be different too (see appendix 2), but obligatory information which must be provided is the next:
— Number of EORI,
— Full name of the economic operator,
— Residence of the economic operator,
— For resident VAT number must be provided,
— Address of the E.O.,
— Short name of the E.O.,
— EORI starting date,
— Agreement about opening of information,
Some customs officers can require some additional information:
— Nonresident identification number (in home country),
— Date of registration in home country,
— Type of E.O. (physical person, legal entity, association…)
— Type of economical activity.
In case of changing of legal (registration) information this changes must be provided to Customs service beforehand.
Specific of EORI obtaining for nonresidents
Non-resident of EU (for example USA company) can obtain EORI number in the country of EU where he make his first economical operation (purchase of goods or deliver into EU territory etc…)
Specific of EORI obtaining for residents
EORI can be obtained by physical persons, legal entities and associations.
The residents must to obtain EORI in the country of registration. Some specialties must be taken into account:
1. It does not matter in which country the business concentrated EORI is obtained only in the country of registration.
2. Legislation about who is who (physical person or legal entity or association) can be different in different European countries.
3. In some countries of EU number of EORI can be established on the base of VAT number.
4. In some countries EORI must be changed if VAT number has been changed.
Checking of EORI
It is easy and important to check EORI number to confirm that it is valid. It should be done before any foreign trade operations with EU countries.
It is useful to check EORI of contractors or Transportation Company. If partner does not have valid EORI deals with them could make some problems (from violations of the contract to fraud).