T1 transit document: what it is, how EU customs transit works and T1 vs T2

WEDNESDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2026

Non-EU goods travelling without paying duty and VAT straight away, the difference between T1 and T2, the 12 common transit countries, NCTS, guarantee and time limits, and an example with a container unloaded in Rotterdam.

The T1 transit document is the transit declaration that lets non-EU goods not yet cleared through customs travel from one customs office in the Union to another without paying duty and VAT straight away. The charges are paid only on arrival, at the office of destination, when the goods are declared for import.

For anyone importing from China it is an everyday tool even when they never see it: the container unloaded in Rotterdam or Hamburg that reaches an Italian inland terminal by truck almost always travels under T1. This guide explains what customs transit is, the difference between T1 and T2, where it applies, how it is opened and closed in the electronic system, what the guarantee costs and what happens in a worked example with numbers.

T1 transit document: what it is and what it is for

In the Union Customs Code, Regulation 952/2013, T1 corresponds to the external transit procedure of Article 226. The rule allows non-Union goods to move between two points in the customs territory of the Union without import duty, other charges or commercial policy measures being applied. Only measures that prohibit the goods from entering or leaving still apply.

In practice T1 separates the place where goods enter Europe from the place where they are cleared. Without transit, a company receiving goods in Rotterdam would have to clear them in the Netherlands and pay duty and VAT there. With T1 the goods travel under customs control, sealed where required, to an office close to the importer's warehouse, where the import is completed.

External transit T1 and internal transit T2: the difference

The distinction depends on the customs status of the goods, not on the means of transport:

T1, external transit, covers non-Union goods, that is goods arriving from a third country and not yet released for free circulation. In some special cases it is also used for Union goods, for example agricultural products exported with refunds. T2, internal transit, covers Union goods that have to pass through a country or territory outside the customs territory of the Union and must keep their Union status on arrival.

Article 227 of the Code says exactly this: Union goods can move between two points in the Union across an outside territory without changing their customs status. The classic case is a truck carrying Italian goods to Germany through Switzerland: without T2, the goods would be treated as foreign goods when they re-enter the Union. T2 is also used in trade with Union territories outside the common VAT area, such as the Canary Islands or the Channel Islands.

Where transit applies: the European Union and common transit countries

Union transit covers movements between EU countries, plus Andorra and San Marino. Alongside it there is common transit, governed by a convention with rules identical to those of Union transit, which extends the same system to 12 countries outside the Union:

• EFTA countries: Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland
• Türkiye since 1 December 2012, North Macedonia since 1 July 2015, Serbia since 1 February 2016
• United Kingdom since 1 January 2021 and Ukraine since 1 October 2022
• Georgia since 1 February 2025
• Moldova and Montenegro since 1 November 2025

For companies this means a T1 can start, for example, in an Italian port and end at a Swiss or British customs office. Anyone using a comprehensive guarantee must however check that it is valid for the countries crossed: when Moldova and Montenegro joined the system, national customs authorities asked operators to update their authorisations. For journeys that start or end outside this area, the TIR carnet provided for by the same Article 226 is used.

How customs transit works in NCTS, step by step

Today T1 is no longer a paper form in several copies. All transit declarations are lodged electronically in NCTS (New Computerised Transit System), used by every Union and common transit country. The steps are these:

The holder of the procedure, often the forwarder or carrier acting for the importer, enters the declaration in NCTS with the guarantee reference number and the amount of duty and taxes the goods could generate. The system assigns a unique code, the MRN (Master Reference Number), which identifies the transit at every customs office in Europe. After checks at the office of departure, the transit accompanying document (TAD) is printed and travels with the goods.

NCTS automatically notifies the office of destination and any offices of transit en route. On arrival the goods, with seals intact where applied, and the document are presented to the office of destination, which closes the transit. The next declaration starts from there: import, customs warehousing or another procedure.

The transit guarantee: individual, comprehensive and reductions

Transit suspends charges, so customs requires a guarantee. Article 233 of the Code obliges the holder to provide one covering the duty and other charges that may become due, except where the rules provide otherwise. The guarantor is usually a bank or an insurer and cannot be the same person as the holder of the procedure.

There are two forms. An individual guarantee covers a single operation and can be a guarantor's undertaking or a cash deposit. A comprehensive guarantee covers several operations up to a reference amount and is the solution for regular transit users. Article 158 of Implementing Regulation 2015/2447 provides that, where the operator meets the conditions of Article 84 of Delegated Regulation 2015/2446, the amount can be reduced to 50% or 30% of part of the reference amount, down to 0%, that is a guarantee waiver.

Time limit for presentation and closing the transit

A T1 has a deadline. Article 297 of Regulation 2015/2447 states that the office of departure sets the time limit within which the goods must be presented at destination, taking into account the route, the means of transport, applicable transport rules and information from the holder. The time limit binds the customs authorities of every Member State crossed, which cannot change it.

The holder is responsible for delivering the goods intact, on time and with the required information. So is the carrier or consignee who accepts the goods knowing they are moving under transit. If the transit is not closed, because of an unjustified delay, missing goods or a broken seal, customs can claim duty and VAT as if the goods had been imported, and recovers them from the guarantee if the holder does not pay.

Authorised consignor and consignee: transit without going to the customs office

Regular transit users can apply for two simplifications under Article 233(4). An authorised consignor opens the T1 without presenting the goods at the office of departure, directly from its own warehouse. An authorised consignee receives goods under transit at its own premises or an authorised place and ends the procedure there.

The authorisations require establishment in the Union, regular use of transit, no serious breaches of customs and tax rules, a records system that allows controls and, for the consignor, a comprehensive guarantee or a waiver. For an importer receiving one container a week from northern European ports, the difference is measured in hours of waiting saved at every arrival.

Worked example: a container from China unloaded in Rotterdam

A hypothetical example with rounded figures. A company in Bergamo imports a container of household goods from China, unloaded in Rotterdam. Customs value, including freight and insurance to the EU border: 60,000 euro. Hypothetical duty of 4%: 2,400 euro. Import VAT at 22% calculated on 62,400 euro: 13,728 euro. In total, 16,128 euro of charges.

Without transit, the import would have to be completed in the Netherlands, when the goods are unloaded. With T1 the truck leaves Rotterdam with the goods sealed and a guarantee covering at least the potential 16,128 euro, crosses Germany and Switzerland and presents the goods to a customs office in Lombardy within the set time limit. There the transit is closed and the import declaration is lodged: Italian duty and VAT are paid in Italy.

If the same truck, setting off again with goods already cleared, carried part of the products to a customer in Austria through Switzerland, a T2 would be needed: the goods are now Union goods and must remain so when they re-enter the Union.

T1 transit document in summary: the steps to check

• Status of the goods: T1 for non-EU goods not yet cleared, T2 for Union goods crossing a third country such as Switzerland.
• Area covered: the European Union, Andorra, San Marino and 12 common transit countries, the last two since 1 November 2025.
• Electronic declaration in NCTS with an MRN and an accompanying document that travels with the goods.
• Guarantee equal to potential duty and VAT, 16,128 euro in the example, reducible to 50%, 30% or zero with a comprehensive guarantee.
• Arrival deadline set by the office of departure and binding on every Member State crossed.

The most common mistakes are a guarantee not extended to every country on the route, a time limit too tight for the truck's real journey time, and a transit that reached its destination but was never closed in the system, which weeks later turns into a demand for charges. It is worth asking the forwarder for the MRN of every shipment and for confirmation that it has been closed.

With La Merce, companies importing from China through Rotterdam or Hamburg arrange the T1 up to the customs office closest to their warehouse: we check that the guarantee covers duty and VAT on the whole load and that the transit shows as closed in NCTS before clearance in Italy.

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