In order to declare its customs operations, a company must have an Economic Operators Registration and Identification number (EORI).
This obligation applies to companies established in the European Union (EU) but also to companies established outside of the EU who have customs operations in the EU.
The EORI number is assigned by the Customs and Excise Administration of Luxembourg via a procedure described on the Guichet.lu website. It is recognized by the customs authorities of the EU. It enables unique identification of the company for all of its customs operations in the EU.
The EORI number is mandatory for making customs declarations.
In Luxembourg, the EORI number is identical to the VAT number (LU + 8 digits). Luxembourg operators who have any doubt on the existence of their EORI number can check it on the website of the European Commission. They must indicate their Luxembourg VAT number there to obtain confirmation of the existence of their EORI number.
The existence of a unique EORI number does not exempt a foreign company from the obligation to register for VAT to declare its imports or exports.
For example: a French company imports goods to Luxembourg to sell them to its German customer. The company must provide its customs representative in Luxembourg with its EORI number delivered by the French Customs Agency, and also the Luxembourg VAT number under which the import and sale will be declared.