Two importers bring in the same goods, from the same country, on the same day. One pays 16.9% at the border. The other pays 8%, or nothing. The difference is not a loophole. It is the tariff code, and the code is a decision you can get right.
In the EU, the import duty you pay is set by the tariff classification of the goods, their HS and Combined Nomenclature code. The same goods can fall under different codes with very different rates, so the correct code, not the default one a forwarder picks, controls the bill. A Binding Tariff Information (Informacao Pautal Vinculativa in Portugal) confirms the code in advance, is valid for three years, and binds customs across the EU. Customs duty is a real cost; import VAT is usually recoverable.
Every product that enters the European Union has to be described in one language that customs understands: a numeric code from the Harmonised System (HS), extended by the EU Combined Nomenclature and TARIC. That code, together with the customs value and the country of origin, decides the duty. Most of the attention in a shipment goes to price and logistics. The code is treated as a formality and handed to a freight forwarder. That is where money is quietly lost.
Three real cases, same pattern.
Each case below is one shipment worth 100,000 euros. On the left, the common misclassification and the duty it triggers. On the right, the code that reflects the real product, and the duty that actually applies. Same goods, same origin, two very different bills.
Declared as footwear with a textile upper on a 100,000 EUR shipment.
Classified by the actual upper material, leather, on the same shipment.
The upper material drives the code. Footwear with a textile upper (6404) and footwear with a leather upper (6403) are taxed very differently. The code must reflect what the shoe is actually made of.
Declared as television reception apparatus on a 100,000 EUR shipment.
A monitor without a TV tuner enters duty free under the Information Technology Agreement.
Function decides the code. A screen built as a computer monitor (8528.52) is duty free; the same screen described as a television (8528.72) carries 14%. What the device really is, not what it looks like, governs the classification.
Declared as a food preparation on a 100,000 EUR shipment.
A product in measured doses for therapeutic use is classified as a medicament.
Form and purpose decide the code. Capsules presented in measured doses for a therapeutic use can qualify as a medicament (3004), duty free, rather than a generic food preparation (2106) at 12.8%. This one is fact-sensitive and needs proper substantiation.
The rates above are real EU tariff rates at the time of writing, shown on a round 100,000 euro shipment to make the gap legible. TARIC is updated continuously, so the exact figure on your import should always be checked on the day. The pattern, however, is stable: the code is where the money is.
This is not about labelling goods as something they are not. It is about classifying them correctly, because the correct code is frequently not the one that gets used by default.
Estimate your own duty.
Put your shipment value in and pick a product to see the duty. Where two classifications compete, the tool shows both and the gap between them. For anything else, choose Other and enter the rate you found in TARIC.
Indicative only. Rates shown are standard EU MFN rates, before any trade-agreement preference or anti-dumping duty. Always confirm the exact rate for your goods in TARIC on the day of import.
Why the wrong code is the default.
Classification is technical, and the people filing your declaration are usually optimising for speed, not for your duty bill. A forwarder picks a plausible code, the goods clear, and nobody revisits it. Over a year of shipments, a two-digit difference in the code compounds into real money. The importer of record carries the cost and the liability, not the forwarder.
How to make the right code safe: the Binding Tariff Information.
You do not have to guess and hope. You can ask customs to rule in advance. A Binding Tariff Information (BTI), known in Portugal as Informacao Pautal Vinculativa (IPV), is a formal written decision from a national customs authority confirming the classification of a specific product. Under Articles 22 to 37 of the Union Customs Code, it is valid for three years and binding on customs across all EU member states, not just the one that issued it.
A BTI turns a grey area into legal certainty. It protects the lower, correct rate before the goods move, and it protects you if customs later query the code. For any importer moving meaningful volume of a repeat product, securing one is usually the single highest-return hour of tax work available.
Do not confuse the duty with the VAT.
At the border two different charges land. Customs duty is a real, usually unrecoverable cost, and it is the one the classification controls. Import VAT is different: a VAT-registered business normally deducts it, so it is a cash-flow matter, not a final expense. Businesses routinely overstate the cost of importing because they treat recoverable import VAT as if it were lost. Separate the two, and the real number to work on is the duty.
If you sell into Portugal from outside the EU as an ecommerce operator, the mechanics of import VAT and the low-value regimes are their own subject. I cover them in the companion piece on ecommerce VAT for non-EU sellers.
What to take from this.
- Treat the HS code as a tax decision, not a logistics detail. It is the single field that decides the duty rate.
- Classify by what the product actually is. Material, function, and form drive the code. Correct classification is legitimate; mislabelling is fraud.
- Secure repeat products with a Binding Tariff Information. Three years of certainty, binding across the EU.
- Separate duty from import VAT. The duty is the real cost; recoverable VAT is not.
- Review last year's imports. If a product was misclassified, the fix is forward-looking and, in some cases, a refund claim on the past.
Frequently asked questions.
What decides how much import duty I pay in the EU?+
Can I legally pay less customs duty by changing the HS code?+
What is a Binding Tariff Information (BTI / IPV)?+
Is import VAT the same as customs duty?+
Who is liable if the classification is wrong?+
Sources and references.
This article draws on the official EU customs framework. Primary sources:
- European Commission: EU Binding Tariff Information (BTI). Legal basis, three-year validity, and EU-wide binding effect.
- European Commission: EU Customs Tariff (TARIC). The database that returns the duty rate for each code.
- European Commission Access2Markets. Look up duties and rules of origin by product and country.
- Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Articles 22 to 37. The rules for customs decisions and BTI.
- WTO Information Technology Agreement. Why qualifying IT products, including computer monitors, enter duty free.
This article is general information, not customs or tax advice. Duty rates are illustrative and change; always confirm the current TARIC rate and the correct classification for your specific goods. Discuss your case with me on a discovery call before you import.