Supporting documents for import
Supporting documents are any documents used to support statements in your customs declaration. If you declare goods imported from a country outside the EU, you are required to provide supporting documents on request from Swedish Customs.
If you use a standard customs declaration, you must have the supporting documents when you submit the customs declaration to Swedish Customs.
If you use a simplified declaration or submit the customs declaration by registering it in the declarant's accounts, you must have and be able to present the supporting documents required for release when you submit the simplified declaration or when you register the customs declaration details in the accounts. You must have other supporting documents when the supplementary declaration is submitted to Swedish Customs.
If you or your agent submits your customs declaration to Swedish Customs electronically, you are not required to submit any supporting documents. However, you are required to provide them upon request from Swedish Customs.
Examples of supporting documents for imports include
- invoices
- customs valuation declarations
- any original proof of origin, for example EUR certificates or invoice declarations
- other documents which may be required when applying the provisions for entering into free circulation, for example permits and proofs of export
- certificates or permits for specific shipments with regard to import and entry restrictions
- transport documents
- packing lists
- shipping invoices.
Invoices should contain information about
- the name and address of the vendor
- the name and address of the purchaser
- date of issue
- invoice number
- number and type of packages, gross weight and labelling informatio
- product designation
- quantity
- price for each type of goods
- any discounts and class of discounts
- terms of delivery
- terms of payment.
Pro forma invoice
For deliveries where you need to generate a specific supporting document to provide information about the shipment, you can create a pro forma invoice. A pro forma invoice can be used, for example, for shipments that have not been sold, or where you need to separately declare details and values for customs purposes.
The main difference between a pro forma invoice and a standard invoice is that the pro forma invoice is not a document for payment.
A pro forma invoice can be used, for example, for:
- substitute and warranty goods
- samples, free samples, promotional items
- gifts
- returns
- goods imported or exported for processing or repair
- partial and subsequent deliveries, where the details of the shipment need to be declared on a separate supporting document
- tools you need to perform a task
- goods for exhibitions and trade fairs.
Examples of details a pro forma invoice may contain:
- the heading ‘Pro Forma Invoice’
- the name and address of the consignor
- the name and address of the consignee
- the date of issue of the pro forma invoice
- the number and type of packages, gross weight, net weight and labelling information
- the commodity code
- the product designation
- the quantity of goods
- the value for customs purposes of each type of goods (may not be SEK 0)
- the terms of delivery
- the text ‘No charge. Value for customs purposes only.’
- the purpose of the import or export.
Retain your supporting documents for five years
As an importer or exporter you are obliged to retain any supporting documents. You need to be able to demonstrate your documents upon request from Swedish Customs. It has to be possible to reconstruct any statement in a customs declaration ex post facto.
You must retain any supporting documents together with the corresponding customs declaration for five years, counting from the year after the year when the goods were released. If there are legal requirements in any act or regulation to retain certain information for longer, the longer period applies.
Store your supporting documents correctly
It pays off to have good procedures for storing supporting documents. Remember that Swedish Customs may audit your company in a post clearance examination and that you may be required to submit original documents or other supporting documents ex post facto.
Store your supporting documents in the simplest and most transparent manner possible. Store any supporting documents in the form in which they were received: You are required to be able to print any documents which you store digitally upon request from a customs auditor.
Authorised economic actors
Authorised economic actors or companies with corresponding authorisation from Swedish Customs should follow such instructions for storing supporting documents as are provided in the authorisation.