Tariff quotas

Tariff quotas refer to total or partial waiver of the normal duties granted for a limited period to a limited quantity of imported goods. When a quota has been exhausted, the goods concerned can still be imported by paying the normal duties.

Tariff quotas can be based on various agreements, such as WTO agreements, the EU GSP, accession treaties and free trade arrangements. Tariff quotas can also be granted unilaterally by the EU.

WCO tariff quotas are applied partly to imports from all countries, and partly to imports from countries referred to in the agreement terms. Other agreement-based tariff quotas are applied only to imports from countries party to the agreement.

Autonomous tariff quotas are applied upon import from all non-EU countries to certain goods that are not sufficiently available for companies manufacturing and producing goods in the EU. Companies can apply for tariff quotas for goods they need in their production at the same way as they can apply for tariff suspensions.

Management of tariff quotas

Some tariff quotas are managed by the Commission's Directorate-General responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). The use of these quotas requires the presentation of a quota import licence. Quota import licences are applied for from the Food Authority. When the quota import licence has been issued, the customer already knows about the right to import the goods under the quota when completing the customs declaration. The order number for import licence quotas begins with 094.

Most tariff quotas are managed by the Commission's Directorate-General responsible for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD). The use of these quotas does not require import licences. Instead, the quantities under quotas are allocated in the chronological order of the date of acceptance of the relevant customs declarations (FCFS, first come first served). Whether one benefits from the quota becomes clear only after the allocation of the quantities. When the quota is about to be exhausted, the remaining balance on the last allocation day is divided among all the requests processed that day.

How can I benefit from a tariff quota?

In the customs declaration, make a request to benefit from the quota. The request can be made the first time when the goods are released for free circulation. You can claim the quota benefit in a standard, simplified or supplementary customs declaration. However, you cannot make the request in a simplified or supplementary declaration if you are submitting the supplementary declaration as a recapitulative declaration for a period. 

If you have made the quota request in a simplified customs declaration, you cannot make a claim for another quota in the supplementary customs declaration (the quota number must not change). 

You can also request that a secondary preferential treatment be applied in the customs declaration by providing the additional information code FIPRE, the requested preferential treatment code and the number of the preference document.

As for FCFS quotas, what is decisive is the date of acceptance of the customs declaration and whether any balance remains of the quota. You will find the details of the quota in the commodity code service Fintaric and in the Commission’s DDS database.

Customs sends quota requests for FCFS quotas to the Commission on every working day. The Commission allocates quotas based on the date of receipt of the declaration concerning release for free circulation.

Points to consider

In exceptional situations, the fallback procedure is used, and using the SAD form requires obtaining prior approval from Customs. 

1. Enter the preference code, i.e. customs treatment code, in box 36 of the customs declaration. The preference code when applying a quota: 

  • 120 – Non-preferential tariff quotas
  • 220 – GSP tariff quotas
  • 320 – Preferential tariff quotas
  • 420 – Customs union quota

2. Make the request for the entire import consignment and present the required documentation. You will find the order number of the tariff quota and the applicable duty rate in the commodity code service Fintaric.

3. Enter the quota order number in box 39 of the customs declaration and provide the certificates required for applying the quota in box 44.

You can claim quota benefits managed through tariff quotas in a standard, simplified or supplementary customs declaration. 

In the Customs Clearance Service and in message exchange, the customs clearance decision is generated in accordance with the quota benefit before it is known what the quantity that falls within the available quota volume will be. If the matter involves a queue quota or a critical quota about to be exhausted, Customs reserves a guarantee amount corresponding to the difference between the quota benefit duty and the general custom duty.

If all the goods do not fall within the quota:

Customs will make an amendment decision on its own initiative within about a week if you have not applied for a secondary preferential treatment in the declaration

Customs will automatically apply the secondary preferential treatment if there are goods in the declaration that have not fallen within the original quota 

You can make a claim for another tariff quota using an amendment request once you have received the amendment decision made by Customs 

You should make the request for the entire goods item and provide the required documentation. You will find the order number of the tariff quota and the applicable duty rate in the commodity code service Fintaric.

Provide these details in the Customs Clearance Service or with the message:

  • order number of the quota
  • quota quantity and quantity unit under “Tax bases”, if needed 
  • preference 
    • 120 – Non-preferential tariff quotas
    • 220 – GSP tariff quotas
    • 320 – Preferential tariff quotas
    • 420 – Customs union quota
  • country or country group of preferential origin
  • If using the preferential quota requires that you submit a document of origin, this document must be provided in the customs declaration.
  • When the quota is almost exhausted and all the goods may not fall within it, you can provide the code FIPRE for secondary preferential treatment. You can declare secondary preferential treatment if the requirements for applying another preferential treatment are met. For instance, if you have a certificate of origin required for another quota, you can request secondary preferential treatment with the code FIPRE. Customs automatically applies secondary tariff treatment if the original quota has been exhausted, and preferential treatment based on the original quota cannot be granted. If a secondary preferential treatment has not been declared, then a third-country customs duty (preferential treatment 100) will be levied on the goods without an allocated tariff quota.
    • Example: With your declaration, you have applied for WTO customs quota applied to third countries as preferential treatment (preferential treatment 120), but the quota is almost exhausted. You can apply for secondary preferential treatment based on the Vietnam free trade agreement. Enter the preference based on the Vietnam free trade agreement (preferential treatment code 300) using the FIPRE code with the explanation ‘300’. Attach the certificate of origin needed for the secondary preferential treatment to the customs declaration.

If the goods did not fall within the original tariff quota and you haven’t entered a secondary preferential treatment for the goods in the customs declaration, you can still apply for secondary tariff quota or preferential treatment for the goods retrospectively with an amendment application. The requirements for secondary preferential treatment must be met, i.e. you have, for example, a certificate of origin required for another preferential treatment. When you have received the decision on subsequent recovery, submit a request for amendment to apply the secondary preferential treatment. Send the amendment request to Customs electronically or hand it in to the registry office. If you are not applying for secondary preferential treatment, then a third-country customs duty (preferential treatment 100) will be levied on goods on the initiative of the customs authority. Read more on how to submit an amendment request (claim for a revised decision) on the page Appeals.

Tariff quotas managed in accordance with the chronological order of dates of acceptance of customs declarations for release for free circulation: