Export declaration in Sweden: how it works, and how we do it for you within 2 hours
All goods leaving the EU must be declared to Swedish Customs before they are shipped, and without the proof of export that the declaration provides, the Swedish Tax Agency can demand Swedish VAT on a sale you invoiced VAT-free. Here you get the Swedish Customs process in three steps, what the proof means for your VAT, what it costs and when it pays to let a broker do it. Send us the invoice and the export declaration is ready within 2 hours. Call +46 31 755 77 76 or email info@easytull.com.
When is an export declaration required?
Every time goods leave the EU from Sweden, whether they are sold, lent out, repaired abroad, returned or sent as samples. Norway counts as outside the EU despite the EEA, so every shipment to Norway requires an export declaration, see our guide to exporting to Norway. Goods going to another EU country are not declared at all; the VAT rules for intra-EU trade apply instead.
“The VAT-free invoice is enough”
Invoicing without VAT is easy. Keeping the VAT exemption requires you to show the Swedish Tax Agency that the goods actually left the EU. That evidence comes from the export declaration, not from the invoice.
We lodge the declaration, follow the exit of the goods and deliver the proof ready for your bookkeeping.
What is an export declaration, and is there a paper form?
An export declaration is the digital notification to Swedish Customs stating what is leaving the EU, from whom, to whom and under which commodity code. According to Swedish Customs it must always be made digitally, so there is no longer any paper form. The standard customs declaration is the normal method, and there are two alternatives for companies with authorisations.
MOST COMMON
Standard customs declaration
All details are lodged at once in the Swedish Customs system before the goods depart. The normal method according to Swedish Customs, and the one we use for most shipments. The declaration receives an MRN that follows the goods to the border.
REQUIRES AUTHORISATION
Simplified declaration
Fewer details when the goods are placed under the export procedure, the rest in a supplementary declaration within a time limit. Requires authorisation from Swedish Customs. Suits flows where the truck must move before all documents are ready.
FOR LARGE FLOWS
Entry in the declarant’s records
The export is declared by an entry in the company’s own records, with authorisation and requirements on procedures. Used by exporters with many shipments and stable commodity codes.
Export declaration, export customs declaration, export clearance or exit?
The same event with different words. Customs declaration is the umbrella term, export declaration is the declaration when goods leave the EU, export clearance is the process, and exit is the customs term for the actual crossing of the border. Forwarders and carriers mix the terms freely. Swedish Customs says export declaration.
export declaration export customs declaration export clearance exit of goods proof of export MRN export declaration Norway export declaration formHow an export declaration works at Swedish Customs
The Swedish Customs export process is three steps of providing information: the export declaration, the presentation of the goods at the customs office of exit and the notification of exit. This is what it looks like in practice, including the preparations.
EORI number and establishment
The exporter must be established in the EU and hold an EORI number. Without it, no declaration can be lodged in the company’s name. How to get an EORI number (in Swedish).
Collect the documents
Commercial invoice or pro forma invoice, packing list, transport booking and the statement on origin or EUR.1 if your customer is to avoid duty. The invoice must state the description of the goods, value, currency, delivery terms and country of origin.
Commodity code and statistical value
The eight-digit commodity code for every line item, plus the value and weight that Swedish Customs and Statistics Sweden use for trade statistics. Search the commodity code for free.
Export declaration and presentation at an approved location
The declaration is lodged digitally before the goods depart and receives an MRN. The goods are then presented at the customs office of exit or an approved location, for Norway also via digital border crossing.
Exit confirmed, the proof is created
When the goods have left the EU, the exit is confirmed and the declaration gets the status exited. That is your proof of export for the Swedish Tax Agency. We deliver it to you and file it in the customer portal.
Which documents are needed for an export declaration?
We review the documents before the declaration is lodged, so the goods are not held up at the border or at your customer’s customs.
Commercial invoice
Seller and buyer, plain-language description of the goods, price, currency, Incoterms and country of origin per line. Without VAT, with a reference to export
Packing list
Number of packages, net and gross weight, dimensions
Statement on origin or EUR.1
Gives your customer a lower or zero duty rate in the destination country when a free trade agreement exists
Transport document
CMR for road, AWB for air, B/L for sea, with the booking reference
Technical specifications
Product sheets and bills of material, often decisive for the right commodity code
Permits and licences
Export controls for dual-use items, sanctions, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and cultural goods
Don’t forget the EORI number. Every company that exports needs one. If you don’t have one, we handle the EORI application for you, usually ready in under an hour.
The proof of export is your VAT evidence
Sales to a country outside the EU are free of Swedish VAT, but only if you can show that the goods left the EU. The Swedish Tax Agency accepts, among other things, transport documents from an independent carrier and confirmation from the customs office where the goods left the EU. The safest evidence is the exited export declaration, the proof of export. Without it, the Swedish Tax Agency can demand Swedish VAT afterwards on a sale you have already invoiced without VAT.
How we deliver the proof: when Swedish Customs has confirmed the exit, you receive the proof of export as a PDF together with the declaration, and it is also uploaded to our customer portal, where it is stored so that you and your accountant can find it at the next VAT return or audit. Read more about VAT on imports and exports (in Swedish).
0%
VAT on the export
When the exit can be proven
20%
of the invoice in Swedish VAT afterwards
If the proof is missing at a Tax Agency audit
MRN
The reference that follows the goods
From declaration to confirmed exit
Six mistakes that cost money at export
Most stops at export are not caused by the rules but by the order of events: a declaration lodged too late, a presentation that is forgotten or an invoice missing a line.
The declaration is lodged after departure
The goods have already crossed the border when the declaration is sent. That requires a retrospective application, and the VAT exemption hangs loose until it is approved.
The exit is never notified
The declaration exists but the goods are never presented at the customs office of exit or an approved location. No exit is confirmed, no proof of export is created.
Wrong commodity code
The wrong code means wrong statistics, wrong export controls and problems for your customer at import. A post-clearance demand on the customer’s side often lands with you as the supplier.
Statement on origin missing or wrong
The customer pays full duty on goods entitled to zero, or gets a demand afterwards if the statement was incorrect. Resold goods from Asia do not have EU origin.
DDP without a set-up
You take on the import responsibility in the customer’s country without being registered there. VAT and duty get stuck with you instead of with the customer.
Invoice with VAT or with missing details
VAT on an export invoice, or an invoice without country of origin and delivery terms. Customs asks for more information and the goods stand still.
What does an export declaration cost?
Sweden charges no duty on exports. The cost is the broker’s fee, at EasyTull a fixed price per declaration given in advance with no lock-in, and any duty in the destination country, which the right proof of origin often removes. The expensive item is mistakes: Swedish VAT afterwards, stops at your customer’s customs and a declaration that has to be invalidated.
0 SEK
duty charged by Sweden at export
2 hours
from complete documents to lodged declaration
10 min
to a reply, or the declaration is on us
Goods moving on through several countries? Read about transit (in Swedish). Want a lower duty rate for your customer? Read about proof of origin at export (in Swedish).
Can I do the export declaration myself? What it takes
An EORI number and access to the e-services of Swedish Customs: the authorised signatory appoints an access administrator
The correct eight-digit commodity code for every line item, and evidence for the choice
Knowledge of export controls, sanctions and permit requirements for your particular goods
The rules of origin and the right certificate, if your customer is to get a lower duty rate
A procedure for presentation at an approved location or customs office of exit, for every shipment
A check that the exit is confirmed, and that the proof is kept for at least seven years as accounting records
Time when the truck is standing and waiting, including evenings and weekends
A procedure for correcting, amending or invalidating a declaration
The forwarder can lodge the declaration, but the responsibility for the details is the exporter’s
What usually goes wrong when you do it yourself: the truck stands at the border without a valid declaration, the exit is never notified so the VAT evidence never appears, and rules that change without notice (Digitoll in Norway, ICS2, new sanctions lists) are discovered only when the goods have been stopped. A broker costs a fixed fee per declaration. A stop costs per day, and missing VAT evidence costs 20 per cent.
Or let us take the whole chain.
Send the invoice, we do the rest: commodity code, origin, declaration, presentation at the border and the proof of export ready for your bookkeeping. The same contact every time.
It is the exporter’s paperwork that decides the customer’s duty
At export it is rarely the Swedish side that costs money. The cost arises with your customer, in the form of duty that could have been zero, and it is decided by what you send along.
Read more about proof of origin at export and EUR.1 certificates (in Swedish).
Several hundred thousand SEK
lower duty for the customer, without lowering the price
A Swedish exporter delivered to Norway with the full Norwegian duty rate on every shipment, even though the goods had EU origin. We set up the origin handling with EUR.1 certificates and supplier’s declarations as the basis. The customer in Norway now imports duty-free, and the exporter became the cheapest supplier without touching the price. Read more about exporting to Norway.
SEK 120,000
a year in duty decided by one invoice line
A worked example from our UK guide: if you sell goods of EU origin for SEK 3 million a year and your customer faces 4 per cent duty, a missing statement on origin on the invoice costs the customer SEK 120,000 a year. Above 6,000 euros, REX registration is also required. Read more about exporting to the UK.
Truck booked and no declaration ready? Call us.
Send the invoice and we prepare the export declaration within 2 hours and follow the exit until the proof exists. Reply within 10 minutes, or the declaration is on us. Every day 07:00 to 23:00.
Export declarations to different countries: what decides things on the other side of the border
The Swedish declaration is the same, but your customer’s import differs by country: Digitoll and the Norwegian import for Norway, the statement on origin and REX for the United Kingdom, no transit needed for Switzerland, additional duties in the USA and pre-border registrations in China.
Our country guides (in Swedish) go through each country with documents, duty rates and real customer cases. Norway is Sweden’s largest export market outside the EU, and there we handle both the Swedish export and the Norwegian import in the same case.
NO
Exporting to Norway
Digitoll from 15 September 2026, one partner on both sides
GB
Exporting to the United Kingdom
Statement on origin, REX and Northern Ireland
CH
Exporting to Switzerland
No transit needed, industrial duties gone since 2024
US
Exporting to the USA
Additional duties and a commercial invoice in English
CN
Exporting to China
GACC, CCC and the requirements that start before the border
Why exporters choose us
Reply within 10 minutes
Always. Whether it is a quote or a truck standing at Svinesund. Otherwise the declaration is on us.
Declaration within 2 hours
After complete documents. We follow the exit and deliver the proof when Swedish Customs has confirmed it.
A partner on both sides of the border
For Norway we handle both the Swedish export and the Norwegian import, so no errors arise in the gaps.
The proof of export in the customer portal
Every proof is stored in the portal so you and your accountant can find it at the VAT return and at an audit.
The right origin, lower duty for your customer
We assess the origin and word the statement correctly, so your customer avoids duty and you become the cheapest supplier.
Fixed price, no lock-in
One price per declaration, given in advance. No hidden fees, no contracts.
Send the invoice, and a customs specialist replies within 10 minutes
Attach the commercial invoice and the transport booking and we come back with what is required, what it costs and when the declaration will be ready. Calling works just as well.
The same customs specialist every time
Ready within 2 hours
Fixed price, no lock-in
Your details are only used to reply to you. Read our privacy policy.
Questions and answers about export declarations
Can’t find the answer? We reply within 10 minutes.
Ask your questionWhat is an export declaration?
A digital notification to Swedish Customs, lodged before goods are shipped from Sweden to a country outside the EU. It states what is being exported, by whom, to whom and under which commodity code. Once the exit is confirmed, the declaration becomes your proof that the goods left the EU.
Is there a paper form for export declarations?
No. According to Swedish Customs, an export declaration must always be made digitally, in the Swedish Customs system or through a broker with access to it. Paper forms are only used in fallback procedures when the systems are down.
When must the export declaration be lodged?
Before the goods depart. The declaration is lodged digitally, the goods are presented at the customs office of exit or an approved location, and the exit is confirmed when they have left the EU. If the goods are shipped without a declaration, you must apply retrospectively, and the VAT exemption is uncertain until it is approved.
What is a proof of export?
The exited export declaration, that is, Swedish Customs’ confirmation that the goods have left the EU. It is the evidence the Swedish Tax Agency wants to see for you to sell without Swedish VAT. We deliver the proof as a PDF and file it in the customer portal.
Are exports from Sweden VAT-free?
Yes, sales to countries outside the EU are exempt from Swedish VAT, but only if you can prove that the goods left the EU. If you cannot, the Swedish Tax Agency can demand Swedish VAT afterwards. In the destination country, the buyer pays its import VAT.
What is an MRN?
The Movement Reference Number, the reference the declaration receives when Swedish Customs has accepted it. The number follows the goods to the border and is used by the carrier at exit, for example against Digitoll in Norway or at the Swiss border.
Is an export declaration needed for Norway?
Yes, Norway is outside the EU customs union. Every shipment requires an export declaration in Sweden and an import declaration in Norway, and from 15 September 2026 shipments must be pre-notified in Digitoll before they reach the border. We do both declarations in the same case.
What does an export declaration cost?
Sweden charges no duty on exports. The cost is the broker’s fee, at EasyTull a fixed price per declaration given in advance with no lock-in, plus any duty in the destination country, which the right proof of origin often removes.
Can I do the export declaration myself?
You can, with an EORI number, access to the Swedish Customs system and knowledge of commodity codes, export controls and rules of origin. You must also make sure the exit is notified and confirmed. Most companies let a customs broker do it. The forwarder can lodge it, but the responsibility for the details is the exporter’s.
Can an export declaration be amended or invalidated?
Yes. If you discover an error, you can apply to Swedish Customs to amend the declaration, and in some cases it must instead be invalidated and lodged again. We handle the amendment and make sure the VAT evidence ends up correct.
Ready to export without stops at the border?
Send the invoice and we prepare the export declaration, follow the exit and deliver the VAT evidence. Ready within 2 hours after complete documents.
Ready within 2 hours
Your own customs specialist
Fixed price per declaration
Call +46 31 755 77 76 or email info@easytull.com. Reply within 10 minutes, or the declaration is on us.
More from EasyTull: Import declarations · Customs broker · Customer portal · EORI number · HS code search · Pro forma invoice · EORI check
