When you export Union goods, the customs declaration isn't one generic form. The type depends on where the goods are going, and the wrong pick gets the declaration rejected or the shipment delayed. The codes you'll see are EX-A, EU-A and CO-A, all under the EX1 definitive-export umbrella, and they map cleanly to three kinds of destination. Nexport Logistics files the right declaration type for every destination in the Nexportal platform.
EX1: the definitive-export family
An export declaration produces the Export Accompanying Document (EAD) with an MRN. Once customs confirms the exit, that confirmation of exit is your proof the goods left the EU, and the basis for zero-rating VAT. The old SAD jargon EX1/EX2/EX3 mixes two things: the declaration type (EX / EU / CO, below) and the procedure code: 10 for definitive export, 23 for temporary export, 31 for re-export. The destination decides which declaration type applies.
Who is the exporter (your Incoterm doesn't decide this)
Before the type codes: customs law decides who the exporter is, not the sales contract. Under the Union Customs Code the exporter on the declaration must be established in the EU (Delegated Regulation, art. 1(19)): the party with the power to decide that the goods leave the customs territory, or failing that, an EU-established party to the contract. A buyer outside the EU cannot fill that box, which is why "it's EXW, the buyer handles the export declaration" doesn't hold up; see Incoterms. The declaration is filed by the exporter or by a customs representative with a power of attorney, direct or indirect representation.
EX-A: export outside the common-transit area
EX-A is the standard one: export of Union goods to a third country that is not a common-transit (CTC) party. That covers the United States, China and most of the world, including European countries outside the CTC. It's by far the most common export declaration.
EU-A: to the common-transit countries (EFTA, UK, Turkey and more)
EU-A is for destinations in the Common Transit Convention (CTC):
- EFTA: Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein;
- Turkey;
- the United Kingdom (post-Brexit);
- North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine and Georgia (the newer CTC parties).
These are the common-transit / EFTA partners, so the dispatch uses the EU-A type rather than EX-A.
CO-A: to the EU's special fiscal territories
CO-A is the one most people don't know about: goods going to EU territories that sit inside the customs union but outside the EU tax (VAT) area, the special fiscal territories such as the Canary Islands and Guadeloupe. The goods stay Union goods but leave the VAT area, often crossing international waters, so a CO-A declaration travels with a T2LF: the proof of Union status for special-fiscal-territory movements. CO-A and T2LF go together.
What the wrong code costs you
The type isn't cosmetic. It drives the customs treatment, the VAT result and which supporting document (like the T2LF) has to accompany the goods. The wrong code means a rejected declaration, a held shipment or a VAT problem after the fact. Filing happens in the EU export systems (AES / DMS); see customs IT systems.
How Nexport Logistics handles it
We read the declaration type off the destination: EX-A for third countries, EU-A for EFTA, the UK and Turkey, and CO-A plus T2LF for the special fiscal territories. Filed correctly, your export clears and your VAT stays right. It all runs alongside your Customs entry and B/L in Nexportal.
Exporting from the EU? Email info@nexportlogistics.nl and we'll file the right declaration.
Official sources: Douane — Exporteur uitgelegd · Douane — gemeenschappelijk douanevervoer (CTC countries) · Douane — Canarische eilanden (CO + T2LF); declaration type is the SAD/UCC D.E. 1/1 code, filed via the EU export systems (AES/DMS). Related: Dual Use · T2l Union Status · Customs · Customs It Systems