Territorial Scope

EU country / Territories related with EU countries

The tables below provide a list of the EU countries and certain territories where the EU rules regulating customs, VAT and excise apply or not apply.

EU country / Territories related with EU countries	Territory of the EU	Customs rules apply	VAT rules apply	Excise rules apply
Austria	yes	yes	yes	yes
Belgium	yes	yes	yes	yes
Bulgaria	yes	yes	yes	yes
Croatia	yes	yes	yes	yes
Cyprus¹	yes	yes	yes	yes
Czech Republic	yes	yes	yes	yes
Denmark	yes	yes	yes	yes
Denmark / Faroe Islands	no	no	no	no
Denmark / Greenland	no	no	no	no
Estonia	yes	yes	yes	yes
Finland	yes	yes	yes	yes
Finland / The Åland Islands	yes	yes	no	no
France	yes	yes	yes	yes
France / French overseas territories	no	no	no	no
France / Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte, Saint-Martin	yes	yes	no	no
Germany	yes	yes	yes	yes
Germany / The Island of Heligoland	yes	no	no	no
Germany / The territory of Büsingen	yes	no	no	no
Greece	yes	yes	yes	yes
Greece / Mount Athos	yes	yes	no	yes
Hungary	yes	yes	yes	yes
Ireland	yes	yes	yes	yes
Italy	yes	yes	yes	yes
Italy / Livigno	yes	no	no	no
Italy / Campione d'Italia	yes	yes	no	yes
Italy / The Italian waters of Lake Lugano	yes	yes	no	yes
Latvia	yes	yes	yes	yes
Lithuania	yes	yes	yes	yes
Luxembourg	yes	yes	yes	yes
Malta	yes	yes	yes	yes
Netherlands	yes	yes	yes	yes
Netherlands / Netherlands Antilles	no	no	no	no
Poland	yes	yes	yes	yes
Portugal	yes	yes	yes	yes
Portugal / Azores	yes	yes	yes	yes
Portugal / Madeira	yes	yes	yes	yes
Romania	yes	yes	yes	yes
Slovakia	yes	yes	yes	yes
Slovenia	yes	yes	yes	yes
Spain	yes	yes	yes	yes
Spain / Ceuta	yes	no	no	no
Spain / Melilla	yes	no	no	no
Spain / The Canary Islands	yes	yes	no	no
Sweden	yes	yes	yes	yes

Other countries or territories

Other countries or territories	Specific rules	EU Treaties apply	Customs rules apply	VAT rules apply	Excise rules apply
Monaco	Treated as territory of France for customs, VAT and excise purposes	no	yes	yes³	yes³
San-Marino	Treated as territory of Italy for customs and excise purposes	no	yes	no	yes³
UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia	Treated as territory of Cyprus for customs, VAT and excise purposes	no⁴	yes	yes³	yes³
Gibraltar	...	no	no	no	no
Andorra	...	no	no	no	no
Vatican City	...	no	no	no	no
Northern Ireland	Treated as territory of the EU for customs, VAT (for goods only) and excise purposes	no	yes	Partly goods only	yes

EU territories not covered by EU VAT rules

Which VAT applies to goods arriving from EU territories not covered by EU VAT rules?
Goods in free circulation coming from these territories are subject to the import VAT of the EU country they arrive in.
This is because EU countries are obliged to treat goods from these territories the same as goods coming from outside the EU.
(Articles 274-277 VAT Directive)
Which VAT applies to goods leaving to EU territories not covered by EU VAT rules?
Goods leaving to these these territories are subject to the export formalities and for VAT purposes are considered as transported outside the EU territory.
(Article 278-280 VAT Directive)
Which VAT rules apply in the territories not covered by EU rules?
In these territories, national rules apply: EU country may choose not to apply any VAT, to apply different VAT rates under different conditions than in the rest of its territory or to apply the same VAT rates as in the rest of its territory.

Which VAT rules apply in Northern Ireland?

See under tab ‘Withdrawal Agreement’ on the following web page: EU-UK: A new relationship

To assist businesses, the Commission has published detailed guidelines on a wide range of specific topics. In the area of customs, VAT and excise, the relevant guidelines can be found below:

The full list of readiness notices is available here.

Consequences of Brexit | European Commission

¹ As defined in the provisions of the 2003 Act of Accession.
² EU Treaties apply to a limited extent as set out in Article 355(5)(c) TFEU.
³ Rules only apply for transactions to and from these countries or territories.
⁴ EU Treaties apply to a limited extent as set out in Article 355(5)(b) TFEU.