Active and reliable
DGDDI, DGCCRF, ANSM, ANFR
French
End to End IOR
2-4 business days
We navigate the logistics, regulations, and compliance, connecting global businesses to a growing digital economy. We help you import compliantly, reduce risks, and accelerate your time to market.
The default route on this page is for non-Union goods entering metropolitan France. Writing ‘France’ as the destination is not enough. Importer of Record Service is a commercial name, not one legal licence. The route still has to name the importer, customs declarant, registered customs representative (RDE), VAT party, consignee, product-law importer and any French EPR producer. Current import filings use DELTA IE. ICS2 needs an Entry Summary Declaration. French Customs is moving EORI from SIRET to SIREN, but the June 2026 FRANCE SESAME notice still says affected operators remain on EORI SIRET while they wait.
Yes. One Union Solutions provides Importer of Record services directly in France through its own country-specific operating structure and the registrations that apply. The service is for overseas businesses sending B2B equipment into metropolitan France when the buyer, data centre, project site or end user will receive the goods but cannot or will not act as importer. In France, Importer of Record (IOR Service) is a commercial name. It is not a legal licence. A workable route still has to name the importer, customs declarant, registered customs representative (représentant en douane enregistré, or RDE), VAT party, consignee, product-law importer and any French extended-producer-responsibility producer. These parties can be different. The final split depends on the transaction.
We accept a shipment only after we check the exact product, the parties, the end user, the end use, origin, destination territory, customs procedure, value, sanctions status, product rules and supporting evidence. Do not ship until the written review confirms the route.
A France IOR Service review is useful in these cases:
The commercial reason for moving the goods changes the evidence:
The service does not automatically cover consumer parcels, food, medicines, chemicals, weapons, dangerous goods, cultural goods, animals or plants, excise goods, goods subject to trade-remedy measures, or products that need a licence or market authorization. These may need a separate specialist route, or they may sit outside the service. Prohibited, sanctioned, counterfeit, misdeclared, deliberately undervalued or otherwise unlawful transactions are excluded.
The default route on this page is for non-Union goods entering metropolitan France. Writing ‘France’ as the destination is not enough to set the customs and VAT treatment. Monaco, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, French Guiana, Mayotte, Saint-Martin and other French overseas territories can sit in different places inside EU customs, VAT and excise territory. For a quote we need the full delivery postcode and the territory name, not only the country field ‘France’.
Metropolitan France sits in the EU customs territory and the French/EU VAT framework. Use the standard France route review. Monaco is treated with France for specified customs and VAT purposes. Confirm the sale and delivery facts. Do not call it a normal domestic France delivery. Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion use a DROM route. Territory-specific VAT and octroi de mer can apply, so run a DROM-specific tax and customs review. French Guiana and Mayotte use a DROM route with distinct VAT treatment and octroi de mer considerations. Confirm the current local tax rules before a quote. Other French overseas territories may sit outside the EU customs/VAT framework used for metropolitan France. Use a separate country or territory route. Do not reuse this page’s assumptions.
Seven questions set the import structure:
The review turns each rule into a customer decision. Official sources sit with the customs, tax and product statements that matter.
Parties and transaction – Send seller, buyer, owner, consignee, end user, use, Incoterm and payment/sale basis. This shows who can hold the duties and how value and VAT are supported.
Territory – Send the exact French destination and postcode. This shows metropolitan, DROM or other territorial treatment.
EORI and representation – Send the proposed EORI holder, declarant and direct/indirect representation structure. This is needed before customs operations and filing the declaration.
DELTA IE data – Send complete party, goods, procedure, value, origin, transport and document data. Incomplete or inconsistent data can stop declaration acceptance or release.
French VAT – Send the VAT number, representative or tax position as applicable. Import VAT reporting and deductibility are tax questions, not an IOR Service slogan.
Classification – Send the proposed CN/TARIC code supported by technical function and composition. This controls duty, measures, restrictions and documents.
Customs value – Send the invoice plus additions/deductions and alternative-method evidence for non-sale goods. Zero or nominal invoice values do not settle customs value.
Origin – Send non-preferential origin and preference proof where claimed. This controls preference, quotas, trade remedies and other measures.
Product compliance – Send applicable legislation, declaration of conformity, technical-file access, labels, instructions, operator data and registrations. Customs release does not replace market-access compliance.
Pre-arrival security – Send carrier/forwarder responsibility and complete ICS2 ENS data. All EU entry modes need advance security information under current coverage.
For a sound IOR Service review, send these commercial and logistics facts: seller/exporter, purchaser, owner, consignee and end user names and countries, with sensitive identity documents going only through a secure exchange; origin address, port/airport plan, exact French destination, delivery constraints and target ship date; Incoterm and named place, ownership transfer point, sale/loan/lease/repair basis, and who pays duties and taxes; and transport mode, package count, gross/net weight, and whether any item is dangerous, temperature controlled or high security.
Send these product and customs facts: line-level commercial descriptions, manufacturer, model/part number, function, materials, specifications, country of origin and proposed HS/CN code; line-level quantity, unit value, total value, currency, freight, insurance, assists, royalties and related-party information where relevant; serial numbers for reusable, high-value, warranty, repair or temporary-use equipment; and previous declarations, export proof, preference statements/certificates, tariff decisions or prior classification opinions where relevant.
Send these product-regulatory facts: applicable EU legislation analysis, EU declaration of conformity, CE evidence, technical-file contact and label/instruction samples; radio frequencies, wireless protocols, antenna/power details and software/cybersecurity functionality; medical-device status, class, intended purpose, manufacturer/authorized representative/importer chain, UDI/EUDAMED data and certificates; battery chemistry, EEE and packaging quantities, plus existing French EPR registrations and IDU/UINs; and ECCN/dual-use classification where known, sanctions/end-use/end-user screening and any origin-country export licence.
Do not upload technical files, passports, ownership records, licences or controlled data into an unsecured public form. The first step collects quote-readiness facts. Sensitive evidence moves through an approved secure channel after triage.
Map customs, VAT and product duties separately. The importer or customs-debt party is the party linked to the import and the customs debt under the chosen declaration structure. Do not assume the end customer takes that role just because it receives the goods. The declarant files the customs declaration in its own name, or through allowed representation. Do not assume any non-EU seller can be declarant without checking EU establishment and the exceptions.
RDE direct representation means the representative acts in another party’s name and on that party’s behalf. Do not assume the RDE becomes liable for every VAT, product and commercial duty. RDE indirect representation means the representative acts in its own name on another party’s behalf. Do not assume indirect representation fixes every non-resident, VAT or product-law issue.
A product-law importer is the EU-established economic operator that imports a third-country product and may have conformity, document, label and traceability duties. Do not assume the customs IOR Service and the product-law importer are always the same legal role. A French EPR producer is the party treated as placing covered products on the French market for the applicable EPR scheme. Do not assume one EPR identifier covers EEE, batteries and packaging. The consignee or end user receives or uses the equipment. Do not assume a carrier booking or Incoterm makes the consignee the importer.
The final review records the party for each role. If a duty cannot be assigned lawfully and in the contract, the route is not ready.
After the route is accepted, the work follows a shipment-specific sequence. One Union Solutions does not replace the manufacturer’s conformity assessment, invent product documentation, give an unqualified legal/tax opinion, guarantee authority approval, guarantee clearance time, guarantee VAT recovery, or accept undisclosed sanctions, end-use, licence, product-safety or valuation risk. Required local entity and contracting details are shared during qualified onboarding. They are not published on this page.
For a product covered by EU harmonisation legislation, the manufacturer decides the applicable rules, completes conformity assessment, prepares the technical documentation and declaration of conformity, and applies CE marking where required. CE is not required for every product. It is not a customs-origin certificate. An EU-established product-law importer can have its own duties: check conformity assessment and documentation, ensure required labels and instructions, identify itself on the product, packaging or documentation where the legislation requires it, keep traceability and work with authorities. A customs broker or freight forwarder does not become this importer just by filing a declaration. The review must say whether One Union Solutions accepted customs role includes, excludes or needs separate onboarding for any product-law importer duty. Silence is not an allocation of responsibility.
A server shipment can trigger more than a tariff code. Classify each functional unit, accessory, spare, rack, power component and cable. Do not assign one code to a mixed deployment kit without analysis. Document related-party or free-of-charge valuation, software/licence components, assists, warranty replacements and serial numbers. Check the CE legislation that actually applies to power, EMC, radio and other functions. A CE logo alone is not enough evidence. Identify embedded Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, satellite or other radio modules and the related RED documentation. Decide who places EEE, batteries and packaging on the French market, and which French EPR schemes/IDUs apply. Screen high-performance computing, encryption, network-security, origin-country export controls, sanctions, end user and end use. Do not call all IT hardware dual use. Confirm data-centre receiving rules: appointment, loading bay, delivery party, serial inventory, white-glove/inside delivery, and whether the facility disclaims importer/owner status.
For radio equipment, review frequency bands, power, antenna configuration, intended use, EU declaration of conformity, technical documentation, labelling and instructions under the Radio Equipment Directive. ANFR carries out French market surveillance and can require corrective action or restrict non-compliant products. Avoid the generic competitor phrase ‘ANFR type approval’ unless a product-specific rule truly needs a separate authorization. Cybersecurity duties are also changing. ANFR states that it has monitored applicable radio-equipment cybersecurity requirements since 1 August 2025. Its Cyber Resilience Act guidance identifies vulnerability-reporting duties beginning in September 2026 and broader CRA application in December 2027. For connected products, record software, remote-access, security-update and vulnerability-reporting facts as part of forward compliance planning.
For medical devices and in vitro diagnostic devices, confirm the intended purpose, qualification/classification, applicable MDR/IVDR route, CE certificate where required, manufacturer, authorized representative, importer, distributor and device registration. ISO 13485 may support a quality-management system, but it is not a universal customs approval and it does not replace MDR/IVDR evidence. ANSM states that the first four EUDAMED modules became mandatory on 28 May 2026: Actors, UDI/Devices, Notified Bodies & Certificates, and Market Surveillance. Importers are among the economic operators covered by the Actors registration route. Devices first placed on the market from that date, and legacy-device transitions, have specific registration deadlines. Check the exact device and operator record. Do not rely on a generic ‘ANSM approval’ statement.
French extended producer responsibility can apply when a manufacturer, distributor or importer places covered goods on the national market. For technology deployments, the relevant streams may include electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and packaging. The responsible producer can be different from the customs declarant or consignee. ADEME issues a separate unique identifier (identifiant unique, IDU; also translated UIN) for each applicable EPR stream after the producer joins an eco-organisation or sets up an approved individual system. One identifier does not cover every stream. Decide the producer, registrations, quantity reporting, eco-contributions and contractual communications before the first covered placement on the French market.
The customer’s industry does not automatically set the import rule. For an automotive plant, extra questions include machine function, vehicle integration, spare/production equipment, safety and radio features, and you should not say that every IT item needs automotive homologation. For aviation or an airport, extra questions include aircraft installation versus ordinary ground IT, airworthiness relevance, controlled technology and secure delivery, and EASA/aviation evidence applies only where the equipment’s intended function triggers it. For a hospital or laboratory, extra questions include medical intended purpose, sterile/diagnostic status, operator chain and receiving restrictions, and ordinary IT used in a hospital is not automatically a medical device. For broadcasting or media, extra questions include radio transmission function, spectrum use, professional equipment and a temporary-event route, and receiver/IT hardware should be kept separate from radio-transmitting equipment. For an industrial project, extra questions include machinery integration, safety components, spare parts, and pressure/ATEX or chemical function as applicable. Review the product, not only the buyer’s industry code.
Classification, value and origin must be defensible line by line. Use the product’s real characteristics at import: function, composition, configuration and presentation. Marketing names such as server, appliance, telecom kit or medical technology are not enough. Research the Combined Nomenclature/TARIC treatment through RITA and Access2Markets. Then consider a Binding Tariff Information decision where repeat volume, uncertainty, or duty/regulatory exposure makes it worthwhile. The transaction value is the usual starting point when there is a qualifying sale for export to the EU, subject to required additions and deductions. Loans, free replacements, demos, consignment stock, leases and related-party transfers may need another method and a supporting valuation pack. A zero-price commercial invoice is not proof of zero customs value. Keep non-preferential origin separate from preferential origin. Shipping from a country with a trade agreement does not prove originating status. Claim preference only when the product meets the relevant origin rule and the required proof is valid for the shipment. There is no one France equipment duty rate on this page. Duty and trade measures come from the classification, value, origin, date and procedure review.
Reporting import VAT is not the same as guaranteed recovery. For businesses identified for VAT in France, import VAT is generally reported through the French VAT return under the self-assessment mechanism. The French VAT number must be correctly linked to the declaration. Prefill amounts must be reviewed and corrected where needed. Do not promise that import VAT is automatically deductible, recoverable or cash-flow neutral. Deduction depends on the taxable person, ownership and use of the goods, invoice and declaration evidence, the onward transaction, the partial-exemption position and other tax facts. The review identifies the proposed tax route. Qualified tax advice confirms the return treatment. Official BOFiP published an exceptional extension of the punctual fiscal-representation arrangement in February 2026. Do not rely on pages claiming it closed for good on 1 January 2026. Confirm the current scope, eligibility and end date for the exact transaction.
EORI, DELTA IE and ICS2 need current data, not old assumptions. French Customs is moving domestic identification from establishment-level EORI SIRET to company-level EORI SIREN. Its June 2026 FRANCE SESAME notice still says affected operators remain identified with EORI SIRET while they wait for the transition. Check the active identifier and authorizations. Do not force a SIREN-format assumption. DELTA IE is the French online import/export declaration service that is replacing older systems. French Customs continued publishing an import anomaly and control log in July 2026. Readiness therefore includes valid portal relationships, declaration data, fallback instructions and current production behaviour. Knowing the system name is not enough. ICS2 needs advance safety and security information through an Entry Summary Declaration. From 1 June 2026, consignments entering the EU by all transport modes should have a valid ENS through ICS2 or, where available, a qualifying combined NCTS Phase 6 filing. The carrier, house-level filer and importer may hold different data. The pre-alert process must say who provides each element and by when.
Choose the customs procedure before collection. Permanent deployment or sale may use release for free circulation, with classification, value, origin, VAT, product compliance and market-placement roles. Temporary professional use, exhibition or sample may use ATA/e-ATA or temporary admission where eligible, with identification, use, security, time limit, no prohibited alteration and re-export evidence. Repair or processing may use inward/outward processing or another repair route, depending on direction and status, with prior export/import proof, authorization, ownership, serials, repair charge and discharge. Returned Union goods may use returned-goods relief analysis where conditions are met, with the original export declaration, identity, time conditions and evidence that the goods are returning. Stock before release may use customs warehousing where authorized and commercially suitable, with authorization/operator, guarantee, inventory records, onward route and discharge. ATA is not a repair shortcut. French Customs’ ATA guidance excludes goods intended for processing or repair. Choose the correct relief procedure before the goods move.
Stop the shipment if the route still describes IOR Service as a generic French licence, but it does not name the declarant, representative, VAT party or product importer. Stop it if the shipment is booked while the EORI/authorization or French VAT route is still unverified; if the invoice uses ‘computer parts’, ‘samples’, ‘replacement’ or another vague description without line-level function and model data; if a loan, demo, warranty or related-party shipment is given zero customs value without a valuation method; if preferential origin is claimed from the shipping country without a qualifying origin rule and proof; or if the product displays CE, but the applicable legislation, EU declaration of conformity, technical-file holder or importer label is missing.
Stop the shipment if a radio product is described as Wi-Fi/5G/Bluetooth, but no frequency, antenna or RED evidence is available; if a medical device lacks a confirmed economic-operator chain or current EUDAMED evidence; or if the French EPR producer and applicable IDU/UINs are not allocated for EEE, batteries or packaging. Stop it if the team proposes ATA for repair, uses or installs temporary goods permanently, or has no re-export plan; if the destination is a DROM or another overseas territory, but the quote uses metropolitan France VAT/customs assumptions; if the carrier/forwarder does not have complete ICS2 ENS data, or the parties have not assigned filing responsibility; or if the product, party, end user, end use or origin triggers sanctions/licensing concerns that remain unresolved.
Some of your burning questions answered.
Sometimes, but not by assumption. The declarant, customs representation, EORI, French VAT and product-market roles must be reviewed together. The service can support accepted routes without publishing local One Union Solutions entity details.
Yes. One Union Solutions provides the service directly through its country-specific operating structure and applicable registrations, subject to the shipment review and written acceptance.
No. DDP allocates commercial delivery duties between seller and buyer, but it does not create an eligible declarant, EORI, VAT registration, customs representation or product-law importer.
Do not promise zero involvement. Even when another party handles the import route, the consignee/end user may still need to confirm delivery, ownership, end use, technical facts or site instructions.
French Customs is moving from EORI SIRET to EORI SIREN. Its June 2026 notice says affected operators remain on EORI SIRET while they wait for the transition. Check the active EORI and authorizations for the actual filer.
Do not rely on a generic yes/no statement. Official BOFiP published an exceptional extension in February 2026. A tax professional must confirm current scope, eligibility and timing for the transaction.
There is no one rate for all IT equipment. The CN/TARIC code, customs value, origin, trade measures and procedure determine the result. Some lines may be duty free. Others may not be.
France has a standard VAT rate, but product and territorial treatment can vary. More importantly, self-assessment and deductibility depend on the tax party and the transaction. No automatic recovery is promised.
A zero sales price does not establish zero customs value. Non-sale shipments still need a defensible valuation method and evidence.
No. CE is required only when applicable EU product legislation requires it. Where it applies, the mark must be supported by the correct conformity process and documentation.
Avoid that blanket phrase. RED conformity and CE requirements normally drive EU market access, while ANFR carries out French surveillance and enforces spectrum/product rules. A separate authorization depends on the product and use.
ANSM states that the first four EUDAMED modules became mandatory on 28 May 2026. Operator and device registration status should be checked for each medical-device route.
No. Customs and market-placement duties are separate. Decide the French EPR producer, applicable streams and separate ADEME IDU/UINs before covered products are placed on the market.
Not as a shortcut. French Customs’ ATA guidance excludes goods intended for repair or processing. Review an appropriate repair/processing or return procedure.
No fixed time can be promised. Data quality, classification, licensing, system availability, authority controls, inspection, valuation questions, transport handling and product evidence all affect timing.
Not under the ordinary metropolitan-France assumptions. DROM imports can involve territory-specific VAT and octroi de mer, so they need a separate review.
Prepared by: the One Union Solutions Trade Compliance Editorial Team.
Reviewed by: Wahid Azeem, Trade Compliance Manager.
Last full review: 31 August 2026.
Corrections: info@oneunionsolutions.com. Primary sources include French Customs (DGDDI), the French tax administration and BOFiP, the European Commission, EUR-Lex, ADEME, ANFR, ANSM and the French Economy Ministry. Time-sensitive items are rechecked before shipment acceptance and on the maintenance schedule. This page gives general operating information. It is not legal or tax advice. Requirements change, and no shipment is accepted until current facts and evidence have been reviewed.
This is general operating information only. It is not legal or tax advice. Requirements change. Each shipment must be accepted against current facts and evidence before dispatch.
