Steel construction import guide

Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now purchasing Steel structures from EU countries, mainly from Central and Eastern Europe. Still greater savings are often left out during procurement not EU countrieslike that Western Balkans or the Turkey realize. For many companies, this step seems too complicated, but it turns out Import very easy and inexpensive.

In this article you will find out how the import of steel structures from non-EU countries works and what needs to be taken into account.

Import steel construction from the Balkan region

The Balkan region is one for small and medium-sized companies attractive region around Contract Manufacturing such as welding or the production of steel structures. We mediate regularly job shops from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia or Kosovo to customers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Many suppliers from this region are relatively small companies with simple structures. This allows you to respond individually to the wishes of your customers very cheap prices offer. Compared to suppliers from the EU, they are Costs for one kg of steel construction up to €0,50 lower.

Many of these companies have been economically stable for a long time and have built long-term relationships with their customers abroad. As the European Commission reports, exports to the European Union account for almost three quarters of the region's total trade. Although trade with the region has more than doubled since 2006, it still accounts for less than 1,5% of total EU trade.

What advantages do steel construction suppliers from the Balkan region offer?

• The prices for contract manufacturing or steel construction are usually significantly lower than the prices that can be achieved in the EU.
• Many companies have been working for foreign companies, for example from Germany or Austria, for a long time and have qualified and certified according to their guidelines.
• The communication in English language is usually not a problem. Many companies also employ employees who have worked in German-speaking countries in the past and are therefore familiar with the language, culture and quality standards.

Import steel construction from Turkey

Turkey is one of the largest steel exporters in the world. Turkish steel construction companies This means they have very good access to raw materials and semi-finished steel products. Steel beams currently cost up to €300 per ton less in Turkey than in Germany. Low material costs combined with attractive labor costs strengthen the competitiveness of Turkish steel builders.

Turkish suppliers are particularly popular structural steel construction and has an advantage in series production because the higher transport costs are compensated for by the volume.

What requirements are there for importing? Do I need a license?

Do you need no special license for the import of steel components. Every company can import goods from non-EU countries. However, the prerequisite for this is an EORI number.

The eori number serves to identify economic operators and is issued by customs in Germany and Austria.

Apply for EORI number for Germany:

You can find instructions on how to apply for an EORI number for Germany here. The application is free. It can take 3-4 weeks for the application to be issued.

Apply for EORI number for Austria:

Instructions on how to apply for an EORI number for Austria can be found here here. The application is also free. It can take up to approx. 10 days for the application to be issued.

Do I have to pay customs duty for steel construction from EUR1 countries?

Through a customs agreement with the EU (Stabilization and Association Agreement), products from these countries have a corresponding certificate of origin duty free, however, upon import, the applicable VAT and the shipping company's processing costs in the recipient country must be borne by the recipient himself. The VAT incurred on import must be treated like input tax.

Up to an invoice amount of €6.000, the corresponding reference on the supplier's invoice is sufficient, provided that the supplier is an authorized exporter. The wording must be followed exactly and is as follows:

The exporter (Approved Exporter; Authorization No. ……. [1]) of the goods to which this commercial document relates declares that, unless otherwise stated, these goods are preferential ……. [2]-original goods are.

Or in English:

The exporter of the products covered by this document (customs authorization No … (1)) declares that, except where otherwise clearly indicated, these products are of … (2) preferential origin.

With a value of goods over €6.000, a separate EUR-1 declaration is required. Your supplier or their freight forwarder will apply for this at the responsible customs office. Suppliers are usually familiar with this process.

How does customs clearance work?

In contrast to deliveries from other EU countries, the goods must cross the EU external border. Customs clearance takes place. There are no customs duties, but the formalities still have to be completed.

Your supplier will create an export declaration in their respective country. The import declaration is usually the responsibility of the buyer. Some freight forwarders offer delivery DDP or often called “free delivery”, but this is time-consuming, involves additional costs and in most cases does not make sense.

The import declaration can be carried out by a customs agency. If you do not yet have a customs agency, you can contact your in-house shipping company or specialized service providers such as “The customs agency” (Germany) or “AWOR Customs” (Austria). There are small costs for import registration. At the customs agency this amounts to €40 net per customs tariff number. For welded steel structures and similar components, you usually only have one customs tariff number.

The customs agency will then tell you the customs office that the freight forwarder will provide Presentation the goods should arrive and prepare the documents for customs clearance.

Use Incoterm DAP or DDP?

The Incoterms DAP and DDP regulate the responsibilities of the buyer and seller during delivery. In the case of DDP (Delivery Duty Paid), the buyer does not have to worry about anything else. It sounds good at first, but it comes with a big cost disadvantage. When using DDP, the seller has to pay the import sales tax in the destination country and usually has no way of getting it back. The seller must therefore include the import sales tax in the product price.

However, if the DAP delivery clause is used, the buyer pays the import sales tax and has it credited as input tax.

When does DDP make sense?

For the reasons mentioned above, the DAP delivery clause is generally preferable. However, in some cases it may make sense to use DDP:

• when selling to private customers (because they cannot claim input tax deduction anyway)
• if the value of the goods is low (e.g. sample deliveries)
• For deliveries within a group of companies (e.g. subsidiary abroad)

What is import sales tax and when does it have to be paid?

When goods are imported into the EU, the importer must pay import sales tax. This corresponds to the amount of the normal sales tax and should also be viewed in the same way. As a commercial buyer, you can have this import sales tax refunded as input tax. So there are no additional taxes compared to purchasing in Germany. However, a freight forwarder does not have this option to deduct input tax, which is why the buyer should always make the import declaration.

The import sales tax is usually paid in cash, meaning it is debited from the tax account, where it is then claimed again as input tax.

Which delivery clause should be agreed?

It is recommended for practical reasons (language, fees). Incoterm to choose where the seller carries out the export declaration and the buyer carries out the import declaration. These range, for example, from FCA (buyer organizes transport) to DAP (seller organizes transport).

Popular clauses such as “free delivery” or “ex-works” are not recommended for the following reasons:

• “Free delivery” does not define exactly what obligations the buyer and seller have. Therefore, this clause should not be used in international trade and a clause from the Incoterms 2020 (e.g. DAP) should be agreed instead. “Free delivery” is often interpreted by the buyer as DDP (Delivery Duty Paid – goods are delivered duty paid). Suppliers often understand this as DAP (Delivered at Place – goods are transported by sellers but not cleared). 
• EXW (Ex-Works - Ex Works) is an unfavorable delivery clause for the application described because the buyer not only has to create the export documents, but also has to load the goods onto the truck. In practice, however, loading is carried out by the supplier, as he also has the necessary resources (forklift, crane, lifting equipment, personnel) on site. For these reasons, FCA should always be chosen instead of EXW.

How do you find suitable suppliers from the Balkan region or Turkey?

If you would like to establish supplier relationships with countries in the Balkan region or Turkey, please feel free to contact us by email or telephone. If you have a specific request, please use our Request form. We would be happy to find suitable suppliers for you free of charge and without obligation and support you with the order.