Expert import customs clearance across Europe, from one partner. Gaston Schul files your import declarations, manages the duty and import VAT, and gives you one clear view of every shipment.
OUR SERVICES
Your import declarations are filed to one consistent standard, through one operating model. So your import customs clearance works the same way, across Europe.
Acting as your direct or indirect representative, we deal with the customs authorities for you, so your import customs is represented and you are not left chasing customs.
Get your import declarations filed accurately and in a timely manner with the national customs system, so your goods clear into free circulation.
Before anything is filed, your invoices, documents and data are checked and corrected, so errors are caught before they reach customs.
Your customs value, duty and import VAT are worked out correctly and settled on your behalf, so you pay the right amount and nothing is delayed over charges.
For your food, plant and animal-product imports, the extra veterinary and plant-health declarations are handled too, including phytosanitary (PHYTO), CHED and IPAFFS.
Importing alcohol, tobacco or energy products? Your excise is handled alongside the customs entry, with the goods moved under duty suspension or the excise settled on import, and the excise returns filed where they are due.
From the very beginning, Gaston Schul showed a clear improvement in both speed and quality. The communication is straightforward and reliable, and the transition was smooth. It's a partnership we can depend on.
The same process from the data you share to your goods being released.
THE BENEFITS
Your import declarations, duty and VAT, and customs queries are all handled by one partner across every market. That gives you fewer delays, better cash flow, one clear view of your imports, and clarity, control and confidence across all your customs and trade.
Your goods clear faster
In our experience, the holds that catch importers out come from the same handful of things: a commodity code that does not match the invoice, a customs value that cannot be substantiated, or a missing certificate. Your declarations and documents are checked against each of these before filing, so they are caught here, not at the border. That means fewer holds, faster release, and any customs question or inspection handled for you.
Protect your cash flow and reduce costs
Your import VAT can be deferred or postponed where the market allows, the reliefs you qualify for applied, and overpaid duty reclaimed. More working capital stays in your business for longer.
Every import in one place
One record of every import, in one place. Up-to-date status and documents in our digital portal, and consistent, audit-ready declarations across Europe.
OUR FULL-SERVICE APPROACH
Clearance is where we start. Our full-service approach adds the advisory and technology to help you pay less duty, stay compliant, and see every import in one place.
Get your commodity (HS) codes confirmed and reviewed, so you pay the correct duty and avoid penalties.
Reduce your duty with reliefs and special procedures, and reclaim anything you have overpaid.
Defer or postpone your import VAT and trade across European markets under one fiscal setup.
Track every import and connect your systems, for fewer errors and full visibility.
RELATED SERVICES
Your import declarations are one part of a single, coordinated customs operation across Europe.
Sending goods abroad? We file your export declarations, issue origin documents like EUR.1 and A.TR, and handle export-control checks, so your shipments leave in a timely manner.
We open and discharge T1 and T2 movements through NCTS and arrange the guarantee, so your goods keep moving under customs control across borders.
Hold your goods under duty and VAT suspension. We manage the customs side of your bonded or third-party warehouse, so you only pay when goods move into free circulation.
RELATED NEWS
Gaston Schul does more than clear your imports. We connect it all and run it as one. That is what one full-service operating model gives you, across all your customs and trade in Europe: the clarity to see, the control to govern, and the confidence to decide.
GET IN TOUCH
Tell us what you import and where, and an expert will tell you exactly how we'll handle it. No obligation, just a clear answer from someone who knows customs.
Import Declaration FAQs
An import declaration is the formal submission that tells customs what you are bringing into a country, its value and its origin, so the duty and import VAT can be settled and the goods released into free circulation. It is the core of import customs clearance, and we prepare and file it for you, across Europe.
Not legally, but in practice almost everyone uses one. You can file your own declarations, but you need access to each country's customs system, the right authorisations, and up-to-date knowledge of rules that change often. A broker removes that overhead and the risk of delays and penalties when importing goods. That is exactly what we do, across the markets where we clear your goods.
It depends on how complex your declarations are, how often you ship, and how many products and commodity codes you handle. There is no flat rate, but we will give you a clear quote for your flows. Tell us what you import and where, and we will price it properly.
Yes. We clear imports across the EU, Norway, Switzerland and the UK. Our own teams cover 14 markets, with an alliance network reaching further, all under one operating model. So you have one partner, not a different broker in each country: our One partner across Europe approach (links to /en/solutions/one-partner).
Most brokers just file your declarations and leave you to manage the rest. We run the whole operation: declarations, duty and VAT, advisory and technology, under one full-service operating model. And we are genuinely independent: privately owned, with no parent company over us and no outside shareholders, so your data stays yours and what we earn goes back into the service. You are not managing a broker; one independent partner is managing customs for you, with over 180 years of experience doing exactly that.
Yes. We handle high-value goods and complex, multi-country flows, including controlled goods that need veterinary or plant-health declarations. The more complicated your imports, the more a full-service partner is worth having.
Often, yes. We defer or postpone import VAT where the market allows, apply the duty reliefs and special procedures you qualify for, and reclaim duty you have overpaid. We can tell you which of these apply to your goods. If seeing your total customs cost is the bigger question, that is our Cost control and visibility solution (links to /en/solutions/visibility-cost-control).
Yes, as either your direct or indirect customs representative, and the difference matters. Direct representation means we file in your name, and the customs debt stays with you. Indirect means we file in our own name on your behalf, and we take on shared liability for that customs debt alongside you. If your business is not established in the EU, indirect representation is usually the only route open to you, and we confirm which applies before we act.
Usually an EORI number and your commercial paperwork: a commercial invoice, packing list, transport document, the commodity (HS) code and your customs value. Controlled goods may also need a licence or certificate. The EU and UK use an EORI number; Norway and Switzerland use their own identifiers. We will confirm exactly what you need for your shipment.
