The EUDR on export, re-import and re-export: which duties apply and which customs codes go into the declaration

In brief

The Deforestation Regulation is one of the few Union product rules that governs not only the way onto the internal market but also the way out of it. Anyone exporting relevant products needs a due diligence statement before the export declaration is lodged, regardless of where the goods are going.

What matters is three customs procedures, not geography. Release for free circulation triggers the obligations on import, the export procedure under Article 269 of the Union Customs Code triggers them on export. Re-export under Article 270 is not covered, and neither is anything Article 269 excludes, among them outward processing.

Anyone re-importing goods previously exported from the EU becomes a downstream operator, but only if they can demonstrate the earlier placing on the market and the export. Without evidence the goods count as imported for the first time, with full due diligence.

For products placed on the market during the transitional period there is a universal number for the customs declaration: 99EU9999999999.

Between import and export almost nothing differs in the obligations, but a few things differ in the customs mechanics: ten-digit TARIC codes on import, eight-digit CN codes on export, the same document codes in both directions.

Why the EUDR is different from every other product rule

The title of the regulation already says it: it concerns the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products. Article 3 phrases the prohibition symmetrically. Relevant commodities and relevant products may only be placed on the market, made available on the market or exported if they are deforestation-free, have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production, and are covered by a due diligence statement.

That is unusual. Most product rules, from the Toy Safety Directive to the Packaging Regulation, attach to the placing on the Union market and leave exports alone; what never reaches the internal market is not subject to them. The Deforestation Regulation pursues a different aim. It is meant to reduce the Union's contribution to global deforestation, and the legislator counts the trade that Union companies conduct with the rest of the world as part of that. A sawmill selling German timber to Switzerland and a roaster delivering coffee to the United Kingdom are therefore just as much operators as an importer.

In practice this means the export department is not out of scope. It needs the same data as purchasing, and it needs the reference number before it lodges the export declaration.

Three customs terms that decide everything

For its triggers, the regulation does not refer to commercial concepts but to the Customs Code. Anyone who keeps the three procedures apart has understood the greater part of this topic.

Release for free circulation. Article 2(36) refers to Article 201 of the Customs Code. Only with this release do non-Union goods become Union goods, and only then, according to the guidelines, do they count as placed on the market. What is placed under another customs procedure, that is customs warehousing, inward processing, temporary admission or transit, is not placed on the market and is not subject to the regulation.

Export. Article 2(37) refers to Article 269 of the Customs Code, and Article 2(39) defines relevant products leaving the market as those placed under the export procedure. The guidelines add precision: the term refers to Union goods to be taken out of the customs territory, and goods count as leaving the market when they are declared for export in the course of a commercial activity.

What matters most is what Article 269 expressly does not cover, because the guidelines list it. The export procedure does not apply to goods placed under outward processing, to goods taken out of the customs territory after being placed under end-use, to VAT or excise-exempt supplies for aircraft and ships, to goods placed under internal transit, and to goods that only temporarily leave the customs territory under Article 155. For all of these there is no export within the meaning of the Deforestation Regulation and therefore no obligation to submit a due diligence statement before the goods cross the border.

Re-export. Article 270 of the Customs Code concerns non-Union goods that leave the customs territory without ever having acquired the status of Union goods, for example from a customs warehouse or after inward processing. The guidelines are unambiguous: re-export does not fall within the scope of the regulation.

A word on geography, because it is often confused with customs law. Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Norway lie outside the customs territory of the Union. Deliveries there are declared for export and are therefore exports within the meaning of the regulation, however close the trading relationship. The regulation is marked as a text with EEA relevance; whether and when the EEA states adopt it changes nothing about the fact that the export declaration at the Norwegian border triggers the obligation. Conversely, a delivery to Austria or Poland is not an export but a making available on the Union market, for which passing on the reference number under Article 4(7) is enough.

Export from the Union

Who is an operator on export

Under Article 2(15), an operator is anyone who, in the course of a commercial activity, places relevant products on the market or exports them. The exporter of a product not yet covered by a due diligence statement is therefore an operator with full due diligence: information under Article 9, risk assessment under Article 10, risk mitigation under Article 11, statement before export.

The most common case in Germany is the sawmill or timber merchant delivering domestic timber to a third country. For commodities produced in the Union, the operator is whoever distributes them after production. If the timber is first supplied in the course of export, the exporter is the operator. Because Germany is classified as a low-risk country, simplified due diligence under Article 13 applies: the Article 9 information is collected, risk assessment and mitigation are dispensed with, and what is checked is supply chain complexity, the risk of circumvention and the risk of mixing. The due diligence statement still has to be submitted.

Who is a downstream operator on export

The guidelines describe the role explicitly for exports: on export, the role of downstream operator is determined by the export of a product for which a due diligence statement or simplified declaration was previously submitted, or by the export of a product made using such products.

The Commission confirms in its FAQ that the simplifications in Article 4 also apply to exports. A downstream SME operator exporting from the Union market can rely on Article 4(8); it must provide the customs authorities in the export declaration with the reference numbers of the statements it received from the previous operators or traders. It does not submit its own statement. A downstream non-SME operator ascertains under Article 4(9) that due diligence was exercised upstream and submits its own statement referring to the upstream reference numbers. For components not yet covered by a statement, due diligence has to be exercised in full.

The roaster who buys green coffee with a statement in place and delivers roasted coffee to the United Kingdom is therefore a downstream operator on export. As an SME it states the reference numbers received in the export declaration; as a non-SME it submits its own statement with references.

Import and export with no processing in between

A question that comes up constantly in trading companies is answered in FAQ 5.22: anyone who imports relevant products and sells or exports them on the EU market without further manufacturing steps does not have to submit a second due diligence statement before the sale or export. The statement made on import already covers the products supplied on the market.

What remains is the customs obligation. For every import and every export, Article 26(4) requires the reference number of a statement to be provided. On the export of unprocessed goods the same reference number can be used that was already given on import. One statement can carry several customs declarations, and one customs declaration can contain several reference numbers.

Destination unknown or immaterial

Two reliefs in the FAQ are valuable for exporters. First, when submitting a due diligence statement for export, the country of destination does not have to be entered; with several countries of destination, no separate statements are therefore needed. Second, anyone who does not yet know at the time of the statement which part of the goods will be sold in the EU and which exported may declare everything with an export statement and document the split in their own records. The records are to be kept for five years and made available to the authority on request.

What the statement must contain on export

Annex II makes no distinction between import and export, but it demands two things that are easily overlooked precisely on export. For products leaving the market, the operator's EORI number must be stated. And the quantity must be given in kilograms of net mass, plus the supplementary unit of the HS code where applicable. Net mass, according to FAQ 7.22, means the weight of the product without packaging. How the statement is otherwise built is covered in The EUDR due diligence statement: why there is no template, what Annex II requires.

One obligation that exists only on export is in Article 4(5): where an operator obtains new information that a product already exported may not be compliant, it informs the competent authority of the Member State that is the country of production. On placing on the market it would be the authorities of the Member States where the goods were placed on the market.

What export does not require

Just as important is what is not required, because effort arises here that nobody asks for.

The reference number belongs in the customs declaration, not on the delivery note, invoice or bill of lading. FAQ 7.21 makes clear that the regulation contains no requirement to state it on other shipping documents. Anyone who puts it on the invoice anyway does so voluntarily.

The customer in the third country has no obligations under the regulation. It applies to persons who place on the market, make available or export, and the recipient in Zurich or Manchester does none of those things. Whether they want the reference number is a question of their market, not of the regulation.

The country of destination plays no role in due diligence. There is no relief for exports to countries with deforestation laws of their own and no tightening for others.

Registering in the information system before the first export

Anyone importing or exporting relevant products must be registered in the information system under Article 33. The Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union records in its TARIC document that all operators and traders, and their authorised representatives, that import or export goods within the scope of the regulation must be registered, and that no separate document code is needed for the registration because only registered users can submit a due diligence statement at all. Registration is thus the silent precondition for every export declaration with C716.

For a company that has so far only delivered within the EU and is selling to a third country for the first time, this is the first step, and it takes time. Access runs through EU Login, activation by the competent authority, in Germany the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food, takes a while, and without it there is no statement, without a statement no reference number, without a reference number no clearance.

What customs checks on export

Article 26 governs what happens at the external border in both directions, and paragraphs 6 to 10 apply once the electronic interface between customs and the information system under Article 28 is in place.

Customs authorities check, through that interface, the status the competent authorities have assigned to the due diligence statement in the information system. If the status shows that the product must be checked before export, customs suspends release for export. It permits release where the status indicates no check, where the suspension has not been maintained, or where the competent authorities notify that it can be lifted. Where the competent authorities conclude that the product is non-compliant, release for export is not permitted.

Paragraph 10 contains the sentence exporters should know: release for export is not to be considered proof of compliance with Union law and in particular with this regulation. A cleared container is therefore no free pass. The competent authorities can review the statement after export too, and the five-year retention obligation continues to run.

Until the interface is in place, paragraph 5(a) applies: customs and competent authorities exchange information and cooperate, and customs takes this into account when permitting release. In practice that means stating the reference number with the correct document code in the export declaration is the only way to get the transaction through smoothly.

Export by companies without an establishment in the Union

The regulation contains, in Article 7, a rule for operators established in third countries that place relevant products on the market. For export, the question is usually already settled by customs law: the exporter within the meaning of the Customs Code must in principle be a person established in the customs territory. If a Swiss merchant buys timber from a German sawmill and has it delivered straight to Switzerland, the exporter is as a rule the sawmill or a service provider it engages, and hence also the party that submits the due diligence statement and puts the reference number in the export declaration. Whoever lodges the customs declaration must have the number. Contracts that shift EUDR responsibility to the third-country buyer change nothing, because the buyer in the third country has no obligations under the regulation and cannot submit a statement.

Samples, specimens and private export

Two exemptions that come up regularly on export have been expressly regulated since the recast of Annex I in September 2026. Samples and specimens of negligible value and quantity that can only be used to seek orders are excluded under the new note 5 to Annex I, as are products subjected to tests, analyses or trials that are consumed or destroyed in the process. A sample case with veneer pieces needs no statement. And what is not exported in the course of a commercial activity is not subject to the regulation; the code Y142 goes in the customs declaration for that. Where the line between a sample and a small delivery runs is for the authority to decide case by case, and a pallet of sawn timber is not a sample even if it is called one.

Customs codes and mechanics on export

The Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union has created separate measures in TARIC for import and export: measure type 776 for import control, 777 for export control. The document codes are the same in both directions.

C716 shows that a due diligence statement is in place; the reference number is entered in the associated field. C717 indicates that an SME operator is using the simplification under Article 4(8) and referring to an earlier statement. Y129 declares that the goods are not covered by the regulation although the nomenclature code is an ex code from Annex I. Y132 stands for products produced before the date of application, Y133 for products made from material that has completed its life cycle, Y142 for non-commercial activity. Y141, the former code for micro and small enterprises, can no longer be used since 29 June 2025.

One technical difference matters for data maintenance: on import, ten-digit TARIC codes are declared, on export eight-digit CN codes. Anyone who built their Annex I check on ten digits has to map it to eight for export. How the check against Annex I works is covered in EUDR Annex I and CN codes.

The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food summarises German practice: when declaring EUDR-relevant goods, the reference number and the tariff code with document coding must be given, and only when these are complete is the import or export permitted. For downstream exporters the Commission has announced a dedicated certificate code; it had not been published by the time of writing, and until then the rules in EUDR reference number: format, sharing and customs codes apply.

Re-export: what passes the regulation by

Re-export under Article 270 of the Customs Code is the most important case in which the regulation does not bite, and the most frequently misunderstood. It concerns non-Union goods that leave the customs territory without ever having been released for free circulation.

Customs warehouse. Cocoa butter stored in Rotterdam and sold on from there to Egypt without ever having been released for free circulation is not subject to the regulation. The German customs administration confirmed this expressly in its October 2025 webinar: only the transfer from the customs warehouse into free circulation is the EUDR-relevant procedure; where warehoused goods are to be re-exported, it remains a re-export under Article 270.

Transit. Goods moving through the EU under a transit procedure are not placed on the market. According to the customs administration, the T1 transit document does not have to contain any due diligence information.

Inward processing. Non-Union goods imported for processing and then re-exported as processed products pass through neither release for free circulation nor export under Article 269. Both triggers are absent, and the regulation does not apply. As soon as part of the processed products is released for free circulation, however, the full import logic applies to that part.

Free zones. Goods under the free zone procedure count as not released for free circulation and are to be treated accordingly.

A warning belongs here. In the same webinar the customs administration pointed out that the authorities keep an eye on arrangements that funnel goods into special procedures after the date of application in order to avoid the regulation. Anyone using a customs warehouse because their goods really are destined for third countries is on safe ground. Anyone using it to park goods without a due diligence statement in the EU until a loophole is found should expect the release for free circulation to be examined closely.

Re-import: when goods come back

Re-import is the case for which the regulation itself contains no provision but for which the Commission has developed a detailed rule in its FAQ. It matters more in practice than it sounds: returns from the United Kingdom, goods sent back after a rejected delivery, goods that went abroad for processing, and products a third-country merchant makes from EU input material and sells back.

The basic rule

Anyone who re-imports a product previously exported from the EU market and releases it for free circulation is, under FAQ 5.4, a downstream operator. The obligations depend on size.

If the re-importer is an SME, Article 4(8) applies: it does not need to exercise due diligence and states in the customs declaration the reference numbers it received from its suppliers, with document code C717.

If it is not an SME, it ascertains under Article 4(9), on the basis of the existing statements, that due diligence was exercised upstream, submits its own due diligence statement with references before re-import, and states its reference number on release for free circulation.

This also applies where the re-imported product contains relevant products that were previously placed on the EU market. The FAQ gives the example that explains the logic: cocoa beans are exported from the EU to a third country, processed into chocolate there, and the chocolate is released for free circulation in the EU. The re-importer is a downstream operator in respect of the cocoa beans that were already covered by a statement. For components not previously subject to due diligence, for instance palm oil added in the third country, due diligence must be exercised in full and a statement submitted.

The evidence requirement missing from the German FAQ

Here lies the point that decides whether a re-import succeeds or fails, and it appears only in the English fifth edition of the FAQ, not in the German version V1.4.

The re-importer counts as a downstream operator only if it can demonstrate to the competent authorities, on request, that the imported product was in fact previously placed on the EU market and exported from it, and this before the actual release for free circulation takes place. Absent such evidence, the product is deemed imported into the EU for the first time, and the operator must exercise due diligence and submit a full due diligence statement.

As evidence the Commission lists customs declarations, contracts, including between other parties, order documents, shipment documents including CMR consignment notes, bills of lading, delivery notes, air waybills, invoices, and any other credible documentation that can be linked directly to the product in question.

That changes preparation fundamentally. Anyone who regularly expects returns or returned goods has to file export documents so that they can be assigned to specific goods, not to a supply relationship. An invoice that does not show which batch it covers proves nothing.

Outward processing: the special case with two half-truths

Outward processing is the case in which two customs statements meet that are each correct on their own and together produce an unfamiliar result.

First: on placing goods under outward processing there is no export within the meaning of the regulation, because Article 269 of the Customs Code excludes the procedure from the notion of export. Anyone sending beech furniture parts to Serbia for surface treatment submits no due diligence statement on leaving the EU and enters no reference number in an export declaration.

Second: on return, the processed products are released for free circulation, in Germany with procedure code 6121. That is a re-import, and the rule from FAQ 5.4 applies: downstream operator, provided the earlier placing on the market can be demonstrated, with the simplifications under Article 4(8) or (9). Where relevant components are added in the third country, for example veneer from local timber, those are subject to full due diligence.

The consequence is inconvenient but clear: outward processing spares the statement on the way out, not on the way back. And evidence of earlier placing on the market is easy to produce with outward processing, because the authorisation and the declaration for outward processing themselves identify the goods.

Returns and returned goods

A customer in the United Kingdom rejects a delivery of sawn timber and sends it back. In customs terms these are returned goods, for which duty relief can be claimed. For the regulation it is a re-import like any other: release for free circulation, role as downstream operator, evidence of earlier placing on the market via the company's own export declaration, statement of the reference number of the original statement. For a sawmill with a well-kept customs file that is an administrative step. For a company that cannot match export declarations to goods it is full due diligence for timber it felled itself.

Transitional goods: the universal number

For products originally placed on the market during the transitional period, that is between entry into force on 29 June 2023 and the day before the relevant date of application, the Commission has published a conventional reference number that can be used in the customs declaration for export or re-import. It reads 99EU9999999999. It does not replace a due diligence statement for new goods; it identifies goods for which, under Article 38, no statement was due. The competent authorities are informed of its use and can verify.

So anyone exporting timber placed on the market in 2025 in spring 2027, or re-importing a product placed on the market in the transitional period after a return, uses this number and keeps evidence of the date of the original placing on the market ready.

Ten scenarios worked through

1. The sawmill exports German sawn timber to Switzerland. Export under Article 269, the sawmill is an operator. Germany is a low-risk country, so simplified due diligence under Article 13, but a due diligence statement before the export declaration. Reference number with C716 in the export declaration, eight-digit CN code. As a small enterprise no deadline extension, because sawn timber falls under the EUTR annex: 30 December 2026.

2. The roaster buys green coffee in the EU and exports roasted coffee to the United Kingdom. Green coffee with a statement in place, roasted coffee with a different HS code: downstream operator on export. As an SME: reference numbers received, with C717 in the export declaration, no own statement. As a non-SME: ascertainment under Article 4(9), own statement with references, its reference number with C716.

3. The trader imports cocoa butter and exports half of it unchanged to Norway. Due diligence statement on import, no second one before export. The same reference number in both customs declarations, with quantity records showing which part was sold in the EU and which exported.

4. The freight forwarder stores rubber in a Rotterdam customs warehouse and sells it to Egypt. Never released for free circulation, re-export under Article 270. The regulation does not apply. If part is released for free circulation, the full import logic applies to that part.

5. The furniture maker sends beech parts to Serbia for lacquering. Outward processing, no export within the meaning of the regulation, no statement on the way out. On return, release for free circulation with code 6121: re-import, downstream operator, evidence via the authorisation, reference number of the original timber statement. If veneer from local timber is applied in Serbia, full due diligence for the veneer.

6. The UK customer sends a rejected delivery back. Returned goods, duty-free in customs terms, a re-import for the regulation. Evidence via the company's own export declaration, reference number of the original statement, C717 as an SME or an own referring statement as a non-SME.

7. The coffee importer does not yet know at the time of the statement what will stay in the EU. Declare everything with an export statement, keep the actual split in the records, retain for five years.

8. The timber merchant exports stock in March 2027 that was placed on the market in 2025. Transitional goods. Universal number 99EU9999999999 in the export declaration, evidence of the date of the original placing on the market ready.

9. The paper mill buys paper from a Swiss supplier who sources its input material exclusively from the EU. From the paper mill's perspective a re-import, provided the Swiss supplier can demonstrate the earlier EU origin including reference numbers and passes them on. If it cannot, it is a first import with full due diligence. The Bavarian chambers of commerce addressed exactly this scenario in their question collection, and the answer hinges entirely on the evidence.

10. The customer in the third country asks for the reference number on the invoice. No obligation under the regulation; the number belongs in the customs declaration. It is possible voluntarily, and for customers who themselves deliver back into the EU even helpful, because it eases the evidence for the re-import.

The most common mistakes

Leaving out the export department. The regulation applies to exports, and the reference number must be in place before the export declaration. Anyone who only discovers at customs that no statement exists has a container that is not cleared.

Confusing export and re-export. Only export under Article 269 is covered. Warehoused goods leaving the customs territory as non-Union goods need no statement.

Treating outward processing as an export. On the way out there is no export within the meaning of the regulation. On the way back there very much is a re-import.

Approaching a re-import without evidence. Without proof of the earlier placing on the market, a return is a first import with full due diligence, even for your own goods.

Creating a separate statement for each destination market. The country of destination is not requested. One statement covers all destinations as long as the quantity and the one-year limit are respected.

Declaring again after import. Anyone who resells or exports unprocessed goods needs no second statement, only the same reference number in the next customs declaration.

Declaring ten digits on export. Eight-digit CN codes apply on export. The Annex I check has to handle both.

Forgetting transitional goods. Stock from before the date of application gets the universal number, not a statement created after the fact.

How to prepare for export

1. Check export articles against Annex I, with eight-digit CN code, against the September 2026 version.

2. Determine the role per article. Operator where no statement exists; downstream operator where the input materials are covered. Check size, because it decides between paragraphs 8 and 9.

3. Submit the statement with lead time. Before the export declaration, not on the day of loading. Between submission and reference number lies the rejection window.

4. Attach the reference and verification number to the shipment, and give the export department the document code: C716 for your own statement, C717 for the SME reference.

5. File export documents by goods. Export declaration, invoice, consignment note with batch reference, so that a later re-import can be demonstrated.

6. Mark transitional stock. Goods placed on the market before the date of application, with date and evidence, so that the universal number may be used.

7. Keep warehousing and processing cleanly separated. What is never released for free circulation needs no statement; what is released needs it in full.

How Polygon One helps

Polygon One carries purchase orders linked to their due diligence statements and exports them for customs clearance, internal documentation or presentation to authorities. The export contains, per statement, the official reference number from the EU information system, the verification number for customs clearance and the status. That gives the export department what it needs for the export declaration without searching a second system.

Outbound articles can be linked to their inbound input materials; linked statements, including external ones from suppliers, are taken into account for outbound traceability. That is the basis for a downstream operator's referring statement on export and for the evidence at a later re-import. Submission runs through the connection to the information system, and reference and verification numbers come back and stay attached to the order.

What the platform does not do: lodge your customs declaration, decide whether a transaction is an export or a re-export, or sort the evidence for a re-import for you. That stays with you and your customs agent. If you would like to see how orders, statements and customs numbers fit together, book a demo or read on at the EUDR module product page.

Download the customs cheat sheet

Four pages for the export department and the customs agent: the three customs routes with the Article 269 exclusions, the decision tree for re-import, the document codes on import and export, and the ten scenarios from this article as comparison cases.

• Download: EUDR customs cheat sheet for export and re-import (PDF)

Frequently asked questions

Does the EUDR also apply to exports?

Yes. Article 3 prohibits exporting relevant products without a due diligence statement. The reference number must be stated in the export declaration.

Do I need a due diligence statement for exports to Switzerland or the United Kingdom?

Yes. Both lie outside the customs territory of the Union; deliveries there are exports under Article 269 of the Customs Code.

I imported goods and am exporting them unchanged. Do I need a second statement?

No. The statement on import is enough. In the export declaration you state the same reference number.

What is the difference between export and re-export?

Export under Article 269 concerns Union goods and is covered by the regulation. Re-export under Article 270 concerns non-Union goods, for instance from a customs warehouse, and is not covered.

How are returns from third countries treated?

As a re-import. You count as a downstream operator if you can demonstrate the earlier placing on the market and the export. Without evidence it is a first import with full due diligence.

Do I have to submit a statement for outward processing?

Not on moving the goods to the third country, because outward processing is not an export under Article 269. On return there is a re-import, to which the downstream operator rules apply.

What is the number 99EU9999999999?

The conventional reference number published by the Commission for products placed on the market during the transitional period. It is used in the customs declaration on their export or re-import.

Does the reference number have to appear on the export invoice?

No. The regulation requires it in the customs declaration. There is no requirement for other shipping documents.

Do I need a separate statement for each destination country?

No. The country of destination is not requested in an export statement.

Which customs codes apply on export?

The same as on import: C716 for your own statement, C717 for the SME reference, Y129 for ex headings not covered, Y132, Y133 and Y142 for the other exemptions. Declaration uses the eight-digit CN code.

Sources and status: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, Articles 1, 2(15) to (18) and (36) to (39), Articles 3, 4, 13, 26 and 38, and Annex II. Commission guidelines, OJ C/2026/3896, section 1(c). Commission FAQ on the EUDR, questions 5.4, 5.5, 5.6.1, 5.20 to 5.22, 7.20 to 7.22 and 9.2, English fifth edition and German version V1.4. DG TAXUD TARIC document on the EUDR. Federal Office for Agriculture and Food, customs declaration page. German customs administration, webinar "The EUDR and customs" of 16 October 2025. Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Articles 155, 201, 269 and 270. This article describes the legal position as at September 2026 and is not legal or customs advice.

Photos: Bent Van Aeken, Bernd Dittrich, Pickawood, all via Unsplash.