Goods for charitable organisations

State organisations or other charitable organisations and philanthropic organisations may import certain goods from countries outside the EU without paying customs duty or VAT. To import these goods free of customs duty, the charitable or philanthropic organisations must be approved by Swedish Customs.

One condition for importing goods free of customs duty and VAT is that the importation does not have an adverse impact on competition or enables abuse.

What goods are eligible?

The following goods are exempt from customs duty and VAT:

1. Basic necessities to be distributed free of charge to those in need, such as food, medicine and clothes;
2. Any goods to be used for occasional charitable events for the purpose of collecting funds to the benefit of those in need; such goods should be sent free of charge and free of any commercial interest by a person or organisation in a third country:
3. Equipment and stationary materials sent free of charge and free of any commercial interest by a person or organisation in a third country: These goods should be intended exclusively to fulfil the organisation’s needs in their daily activities to meet the aims of their charitable or philanthropic operations.
   

Remember that relief from customs duty and VAT does not apply to alcoholic products, tobacco, coffee, tea or motor vehicles, with the exception of ambulances.

Authorisation for duty relief

Eligible organisations include:

• Charitable organisations;
• Philanthropic organisations.
  

To qualify as a charitable organisation or philanthropic organisation, the organisation must operate on a non-profit basis. The organisation is thus not allowed to engage in any for-profit activities. It is also not allowed to engage in public activities.

State organisations, such as public, regional and municipal authorities are not required to apply for approval. Swedish Customs includes any state, regional or municipal activity that is run as a corporation, while owned by the state, region or municipality, in the definition of state
organisations.

How to apply

For approval to receive certain goods free of customs duties, the accountable manager should submit an application in the form of a written description of the organisation’s activities to Swedish Customs. Any supporting documents, such as organisation charts, annual reports and activity reports, should be attached.

Swedish Customs will only grant duty relief to organisations that provide all necessary guarantees and whose accounts allow us to monitor their activities. Thus, please submit information about the organisation’s accounting practices, as well a declaration stating that you are aware of the conditions for duty relief and that the organisation will comply with those conditions, in your application.

Remember to apply in time; the application must be authorised by the time you clear your goods.

Authorisations are valid for three years.

The accountable manager should also describe the intended use of each imported item in writing. This applies both to private and public organisations.

Limitations on the use of the products after importation

A condition for duty-free status is that the imported goods are to be used for one of the purposes listed in paragraphs 1-3 above. This means that the goods may not be used for any other purpose without losing duty-free status.
If you intend to use the goods for any other purpose or transfer the goods on any other conditions than those stated in paragraphs 1 and 2 above, you must notify Swedish Customs, who will assess whether to impose customs duty and VAT.
Here, and in the following sections, transfer is defined as lending, leasing, selling or gifting the goods.
The exemption from customs relief may remain in some cases, for example if the organisation intends to transfer the goods to an organisation that fulfils the criteria for duty relief and intends to use the goods for the same purposes.
One condition for such transfers is that notification be , given to Swedish Customs, as the transfer must be approved by Swedish Customs for duty and VAT relief to continue to apply to the goods.

Applying to Swedish Customs for authorisation to transfer imported goods without paying customs duty and VAT

As stated above, the transfer must be approved in advance by Swedish Customs.
The organisation must notify Swedish Customs to obtain approval for duty-free transfer. The application should be submitted in writing and signed by accountable manager, and contain the following information:

• Name, corporate identification number and address of the organisation intending to transfer the goods
• A description of of the reason for the application (sale, donation, lending, lease or other)
• Name and corporate identification number of the organisation taking over the goods
• Commodity description
• Quantity of goods
• CN codes of the goods
• Customs ID at the time of importation (where applicable).

Notifying Swedish Customs of other use

A declaration must also be made to Swedish Customs if the goods are not used for their intended purpose or if the organisation wishes to use the goods for purposes other than those mentioned in items 1 and 3 above.

Enter the following codes to apply for duty and VAT relief:

• Data element 99 05 000 000 – Nature of transaction:
  • 1 for purchases
  • 3 for gifts

• Data element 18 09 000 000 – Commodity code 9919 00 0050
  Please note that goods subject to prohibitions or restrictions should be declared using their corresponding commodity codes in chapters 1–97.
• Data Element 14 11 000 000 – Preference: 100
• Data Element 11 10 000 000 – Additional procedure:
  • C20 for goods according to point 1 + F45
  • C49 for goods according to point 2 + F45
  • C50 for goods according to point 3 + F45

• Data element 12 03 000 000 – Supporting documents
  Enter the code for your attached documents:
  • Decision regarding an approved consignee for duty-free import: Code 401G as type and the authorisation number as reference number (for private organisations)
  • Information about the intended use in writing: Code 401U