Customs duty and tax exemption for students
If you are moving to Sweden to study, you may be granted customs duty and tax exemption for certain items if they belong to you at the time of importation and are intended for your own personal use during your time as a student. You must be enrolled at a school or university for full-time studies.
Examples of items which may be subject to customs duty and tax exemption are
- furniture, to the extent needed to furnish a student residence
- personal effects and items needed for your studies, such as computers
- towels, bed linen
- clothes.
The goods may be imported in several separate consignments during the period the studies are in progress, for example during the autumn or spring semester or during the school year (the period before or after the summer vacation).
Duty relief cannot be given to goods that you, for example, buy online from a country outside the EU during your study period here. The rules for low-value consignments can be found on the Low-value consignments page.
Supporting documents
When applying for duty and tax exemption, you must submit written information establishing your circumstances and that they meet the requirements for exemption. There is no form for providing this written information. Instead, you will have to provide information about your studies and the items for which you wish to apply for duty and tax exemption on a separate sheet.
You may also need to submit a letter from your academic institution to prove that you are registered for full-time studies at a school or a university. We may also request a certificate showing that the items are required for your education.
How to apply for duty and tax exemption
You can apply for duty and tax exemption by making an import declaration through the Single Administrative Document (SAD) form.
You can download the Single Administrative Document from the European Commission's website. You find the link to the document in the first line of the page Single administrative document (SAD) – European Commission.
You must complete the following fields and codes in your import declaration:
1. Declaration
In the first subdivision of this box, enter “EU” if you are moving from an EFTA country (Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein or Switzerland). Enter “IM” if you are moving from a country other than an EFTA country.
In the second subdivision, enter “A”.
2. Consignor/Exporter
Enter your full name and address.
5. Items
Enter the total number of items in the declaration. This must match the total you enter in box 33.
8. Consignee
Enter the consignee’s full name and address. Under “No”, you must enter an identity number comprising a country code (ordinarily SE), personal identity number and additional digits. For Swedish private individuals, the additional digits are 00. Thus, a Swedish identity number can here look as follows: SE123456123400.
For consignments with a value over SEK 10,000, you enter the country code and personal identity number. For consignments with a value under SEK 10,000, you can enter zeroes instead of the personal identity number.
Find the correct country code in a list of country codes.
In the menu, select Code Lists, Search codes. Under Code type, select Country codes.
If you do not have a Swedish personal identity number, enter the Country code (not SE) followed by the date of birth (YYYYMMDD) and the additional digits 00. A foreign identity number can look like this: DK1234567800. For shipments under SEK 10,000, you can write zeros instead of identity numbers.
14. Declarant/Representative
If you yourself are the declarant, enter “[1] Consignee”.
15. a) Dispatch/export country code
Enter the letter code for the country of dispatch, e.g. “US” for the USA.
24. Nature of transaction
Enter the code “9”.
30. Location of goods
Enter an authorised location of goods code. An authorised location of goods code comprises three letters and shows the warehouse in which the goods are located. If you do not know the authorised location of goods code, you can ask the warehouse operator.
31. Packages and description of goods
Marks and numbers – Container No(s) – Number and kind
- Enter the number of packages (i.e. the number of packages in your consignment). Distinguish between wrapped goods and unwrapped goods.
- Describe how the goods are marked (i.e. the markings on the packages).
- Enter the type of packages (i.e. how the goods are packaged, e.g. “CT” for carton and “CS” for case).
33. Commodity code
Enter the code “9919 00 00 30”.
Commodities subject to prohibitions or restrictions are to be declared under their respective commodity codes in chapters 1 to 97 of the Harmonised System.
36. Preference
Enter the code “100”.
37. Procedure
In the second subdivision, you enter the code “C06”.
38. Net mass
For the commodities entered in box 31, enter the net mass (weight) expressed in full kilos.
44. Additional information/Documents produced/Certificates and authorisations
Enter the code of each document you attach to the import declaration.
- For a written statement that you are going to undertake studies, enter the code “402U”.
46. Statistical value
Enter the consignment’s statistical value in SEK. This value is the total amount of the commodities’ value plus freight and insurance.
48. Deferred payment
Write “Cash”.
54. Place and date, Signature and name of declarant/representative
Enter place and date. Sign the original copy of the document and also enter your name in block letters.
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