International convention and customs procedures of Greece

International Conventions

Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Party to the Kyoto Protocol
Party to the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Party to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
Party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer
Party to the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls For Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies
Party to the International Coffee Agreement

International Economic Cooperation

Greece is a member of the following international economic organisations: IMF, European Union, WTO, European Economic Area, ICC, Black Sea Economic Cooperation Zone (BSEC), OECD, among others. For the full list of economic and other international organisations in which participates Greece click here. International organisation membership of Greece is also outlined here.

Non Tariff Barriers

In accordance with its European Union membership, Greece applies the European Union (EU) rules that are in force in all European Union countries. While the EU has a rather liberal foreign trade policy, there is a certain number of restrictions, especially on farm products, following the implementation of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) including: the application of compensations on import and export of farm products, aimed at favouring the development of agriculture within the EU, implies a certain number of control and regulation systems for the goods entering the EU territory. Greece maintains nationality restrictions on a number of professional and business services, including legal advice. These restrictions do not apply to EU citizens. 

Customs Duties and Taxes on Imports

Operations carried out within the EEA are duty-free.
The Common Customs Tariff of the European Union applies to goods originating outside Europe. Generally the duty is relatively low, ranging from 5.0% to 14% on industrial goods. However, many products have reduced duties or no duties at all by virtue of trade agreements (according to Eurostat, around 70% of the imports that enter the EU do so at zero tariff).
Agricultural products imported from outside the EU are subject to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with custom duties on these items being supplemented with a system of variable levies or other charges.

Customs Classification

The Combined Nomenclature of the European Union integrates the HS nomenclature and supplements it with its own subheadings with an eight-digit code number and its own Legal Notes created for Community purposes. In order to get exhaustive regulations and custom tariffs rates regarding their products, exporters shall refer to the TARIC code and its database, which includes all applicable customs duties and all customs trade policy measures for all goods.

Import Procedures

For goods of a value under EUR 1,000, a verbal declaration at Customs and presenting the invoice, is sufficient. For higher values, you must deposit the following documents at the Customs office:

1. a brief declaration (air or sea transport) to register goods.
2. a common law declaration (SAD, single administrative document), as well as the accompanying documents to allow their clearance.

The SAD form can be obtained from a Chamber of Commerce or an approved printer. A computerised Customs clearance platform (SOFI: International freight computer system) can be accessed in Customs offices or in some Chambers of Commerce.

If deliveries and purchases are made within the European Community, the declaration of exchange of goods (DEB) or Intrastat declaration must be sent to the Customs service.

As part of the 'SAFE' standards advocated by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), the European Union has set up a new system of import controls, the 'Import Control System' (ICS), which aims to secure the flow of goods at the time of their entry into the customs territory of the EU. This control system, part of the Community Programme eCustoms, has been in effect since 1 January 2011. Since then, operators are required to pass an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) - which contains advance cargo information about consignments entering the EU - to the customs of the country of entry, prior to the introduction of goods into the customs territory of the European Union. The EU recently introduced a new import control system called ICS2 to implement the EU customs pre-arrival security and safety programme.

Since 1 July 2009, all companies established outside of the EU are required to have an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number if they wish to lodge a customs declaration or an Entry/Exit Summary declaration.

For more information, please visit the website of the EU Customs Union.

Importing Samples

For the import, export and re-export of commercial samples the ATA (Temporary Admission) carnet can be used. It must be written on the product that it is a free sample and that it may not be sold.
For further information, consult the dedicated page on the portal of the European Commission.

To go further, check out our service Import controls and Export controls.

For Further Information

Greek Law Digest: Customs Information
Greek Customs Authorities
EU Customs and Taxation Union