Embassies, Consular posts and international organisations

When you import goods from a non-EU country you may under certain circumstances be exempt from customs duty, VAT and other taxes if the goods are intended for an embassy, a consular post or an international organisation.

A.

Duty and tax relief applies to goods imported on behalf of

1. a foreign diplomatic mission, a career consular post or an honorary consulate
2. a member of either the diplomatic staff or the administrative or technical staff of a diplomatic mission
3. a career consular officer or a consular employee of a foreign state, or
4. a member of the family and household of a person mentioned above.

Relief will be granted provided that the applicant is entitled to exemption from customs duties in accordance with the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic (1961) and Consular (1963) Relations or equivalent agreements.

In this context, all rules applicable to a career consular officer also apply to an employee who according to an agreement with a foreign state is to be treated as a career consular officer.

Members of the administrative and technical staff of a mission and consular employees, together with their family members, will only be granted relief for goods imported within a year of their first installation at the mission or the consular post, as notified to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Application

You apply for duty and tax relief in the import declaration. You should also complete the form ‘Application for duty-free import’ and enclose it with the declaration. Use the form number Tv 740.22 if the goods are intended for a diplomatic mission, members of the mission or their families. If the goods are intended for a consular post, members of the consular post or their families, instead use the form number Tv 740.32.

The completed form should be sent in duplicate to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Ministry will endorse the information regarding what category the recipient of the goods is referable to and return one of the copies to the diplomatic mission or the consular post. This copy of the application should be presented to Swedish Customs when the goods are declared for free circulation.

Application for duty-free import for an honorary consulate should be made by the head of the consulate and submitted directly to Swedish Customs.

No application is required for diplomatic or consular bags mentioned in the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations.

B.

Duty and tax relief also applies to goods imported on behalf of an international organisation or a person connected to such an organisation, provided that the organisation or the person

1. is listed in the Swedish Act (1976:661) on Privileges and Immunities in Certain Cases or in regulations issued under this act, and
2. is entitled to duty relief in accordance with a statute or an agreement in force in relation to Sweden.  

You apply for duty and tax relief in the import declaration. Enclose with the declaration a written statement where the organisation confirms that the conditions for duty relief are fulfilled. There is no specific form to complete to provide this statement.

Conditions for transfer of ownership

Motor vehicles and other means of transport

What is said about vehicles in this section applies to motor vehicles as well as boats and aircraft.

The ownership of a vehicle that was imported free of duty must not be transferred earlier than 2 years after the customs clearance. If it is transferred earlier than that date, customs duty and tax must be paid by the person who was granted duty relief. The calculation of the duty amount will be based on the value of the vehicle at the time of transfer.

However, there are a few circumstances when duty and tax will not be due. These circumstances are as follows:

(a) The owner of the vehicle is deceased.
(b) The owner has been relocated outside of Sweden after having owned the vehicle for at least 6 months during the stay here. If this is the case, the transfer of ownership must be made in close connection to and no earlier than 3 months before the planned time of the relocation.
(c) The vehicle is sold or transferred to a person who is eligible for customs relief in accordance with these provisions. If this is the case, the rules for transfer shall apply as if the person who takes over the ownership had been granted relief in the first place.

If it becomes necessary to transfer the ownership of a vehicle before 2 years have passed since the time of importation, the person who was granted relief shall notify the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. If the Ministry finds that the vehicle may be liable to customs duty, the notification will be forwarded to Swedish Customs.

If the circumstances correspond to paragraph (c) above, the notification of transfer shall be accompanied by a written statement where the person who takes over the ownership undertakes to pay the customs duties for the vehicle if the ownership is transferred again less than 2 years after the importation. The documents should be sent to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs who will forward them to Swedish Customs.

Equivalent rules for ownership transfer apply if an international organisation or a person connected to such an organisation has been granted duty relief for a vehicle. However, in this case the notification should be submitted directly to Swedish Customs.

Other goods

If goods intended for the official use of the mission or the consular post, or for the personal use of members of the mission or the consular post or their families, are sold or otherwise transferred within 1 year after they were entered for customs clearance, the person who were granted relief has to pay duty and tax for the goods. The transfer should be notified to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. If the Ministry finds that the goods may be liable to customs duty, the notification will be forwarded to Swedish Customs. The calculation of the duty amount will be based on the value of the goods at the time of transfer.

How to apply for relief

You apply for duty and tax relief in the customs import declaration.

Codes to use in the import declaration to apply for duty and tax relief

Box 24, Nature of transaction: 9
Box 36, Preference: 100
Box 37, Second subdivision, Procedure: 10T in case (A) and 11T in case (B)
Box 44, Documents produced/Certificates and authorisations: Enter a code for the documents you enclose with the import declaration. See below.

Documents to enclose with the import declaration

Case (A): Application for duty-free import. Code 401A.
Case (B): Written statement that the circumstances meet the conditions for duty relief. Code 402U.

What law applies?

The Act on Exemption from Customs Duty (1994:1547), section 4
The Ordinance of Exemption of Customs Duty (1994:1605), sections 3 to 5
The Provisions on Exemption from Customs Duty (TFS 1994:57), chapter 3, sections 1 to 7
The Act on the Privileges and Immunities in Certain Cases (1976:661)
The Act of Exemption from Taxation upon Import (SFS 1994:1551), chapter 2, section 2

Forms