Intrastat

The submission of Intrastat data is mandatory in all EU Member States, but each country may apply a different statistical threshold (i.e. the level below which units are not required to submit Intrastat declarations). For example, pursuant to the current EU regulation, Member States are required to provide data covering 95% of all dispatches.

Intrastat questionnaires shall be submitted by economic units whose turnover from trade with EU Member States exceeds the statistical threshold set for the reference year. The statistical threshold is set by Statistics Estonia on the basis of the foreign trade data for the previous year.  From 2025, data are to be submitted only for the dispatch trade flow. In 2025, the value of the statistical threshold in Estonia is 350,000 euros for dispatches of goods.

Intrastat data can be submitted electronically in the  eSTAT online environment.

It is also possible to complete the questionnaire by uploading data to eSTAT as a CSV or Excel table. To do this, follow these steps:

• Click on the download icon at the top right corner of the table.
• Download the necessary CSV or Excel template by clicking on the corresponding link.
• Save the file to your computer.
• Add data to the saved file – either manually or by importing the data from an accounting program.
• Upload the table to eSTAT using the relevant upload link. When you click on the link, a dialog box opens. Select the data file you want to submit from your computer and simply click "Upload file".

This ensures faster and simpler data submission. More detailed instructions on how to upload files can be found in eSTAT: click "Loading tables" in the "Help" menu. The same template can be used again: make the necessary changes and then upload the file with the data on the current reference month.

Intrastat questionnaires can be uploaded in eSTAT also as complex files. A complex file may include various entities, periods and economic entity registry codes. The sample file is available for download at https://www.stat.ee/en/intrastat.

In eSTAT, it is also possible to submit the Intrastat questionnaire in Instat.xml format. In order to do so, respondents are required to contact Statistics Estonia in advance.

Intrastat questionnaires are to be submitted separately for each month. The data shall be submitted to Statistics Estonia at the latest by the 14th calendar day following the reference month for all transactions with EU countries conducted in the previous month.

In most EU Member States, the Intrastat reporting deadline is around the 15th day of the month (in 21 Member States). The data on foreign trade in goods must be sent to Eurostat (the statistical office of the EU) by the end of each month. Before that, the collected data must be processed, checked, analysed and prepared for submission to Eurostat, which means that a later submission deadline is not possible, unfortunately.

If you are unable to submit the data by the due date, please notify Statistics Estonia either by e-mail (klienditugi@stat.ee) or phone (+372 625 9300).

Intrastat reporting is based on the actual movement of goods, not on the issue of invoices. Notwithstanding how the submission and payment of invoices is organised, only the actual movement of a commodity is to be noted in the Intrastat questionnaire. If a commodity has not actually left Estonia, this should not be reported.

In general, statistics are produced on all goods moving from one Member State to another (incl. electrical energy), including:

• sold goods (incl. capital assets);
• consignments between the parts of one legal entity;
• the sales of VAT-registered economic units to private persons (within the EU);
• goods dispatched for processing;
• free goods (at estimated market value);
• returned and replaced goods;
• long-term (more than two years) rent, loan, operating lease.

In the Intrastat questionnaire, you must indicate the EU Member State where the commodity is dispatched to from Estonia. In the case of the dispatch of goods, the country of destination must be specified.

After the United Kingdom left the European Union, there was a transition period until 31 December 2020. As of 1 January 2021, the transition period is over, which means that from 1 January 2021 only trade between Northern Ireland and Estonia is recorded in Intrastat. The partner country code is XI. The rest of the trade in goods between Estonia and the UK is subject to customs formalities.

The invoice value is the value of the commodity without taxes (e.g. excise duty, VAT, etc.) and other charges (e.g. tyre recycling fee, etc.).

The value of the commodity is indicated according to the invoice and in whole numbers. In the case of smaller sums, the invoice value can be shown with two decimal places. The invoice value must be shown in euros.

If there is no invoice available or the price of the commodity is not precisely known or the goods were received free of charge (gifts, humanitarian assistance, goods for processing, etc.), the estimated value of the commodity is indicated, e.g. based on the market value of similar goods.

If the invoice shows transport costs for the whole delivery in a single line, you should break down the sum of transport costs between the different goods on the invoice based on their share of weight or share of value, and add the result to the value of each commodity.

If a separate invoice has been issued for transport costs, the costs are regarded as a service and need not be added to the value of goods.

Where an invoice includes services (other than transport) as well as goods, you must separate the value of goods from the value of services. Only the value of the goods should be declared (as an estimate, if necessary).

If Intrastat data on trade in goods have not been submitted yet or if a credit note is issued in order to correct an inaccurate invoice, the value of the commodity  in the Intrastat data for the specific month must be changed on the basis of the credit note. If the data have already been submitted, Statistics Estonia should be informed about the corrections made. If a credit note is issued relating to a bonus or discount granted to a customer, this correction does not have to be reflected in Intrastat later on.

NOTE: If the credit is less than 5,000 euros, you do not need to inform Statistics Estonia about the correction. The correction has to be made in the data of the respective month when the goods were actually dispatched regardless of the fact that the credit note may have been issued several months later.

If the credit note covers the value of all the goods dispatched (financial compensation) and is not related to a specific commodity, you should not make any corrections in Intrastat at all.

The return of commodities and replacement deliveries are to be reported in the Intrastat questionnaire if the transactions occurred in different months. The data on the commodities are to be added to the data for the month in which the goods were returned or replaced. For returns of commodities, the code for the nature of transaction is 21. Use code 22 for replacement deliveries and code 23 for replacement of goods not being returned.

If the goods are dispatched and returned in the same month, the quantity and value of the goods actually dispatched (and not returned) are to be declared in Intrastat.

Further instructions concerning returns and replacement deliveries can be found in the Intrastat manual (p 42, section 4.2.9) on our website.

Free goods which are delivered free of charge or at a symbolic price (gifts, samples, advertising materials, etc.) and are intended for further selling have to be included in Intrastat data. The value of the commodity is fixed by estimation, e.g. using the market value of similar goods. The code for the nature of transaction should be 34.

Free goods, i.e. goods delivered free of charge or at a symbolic price (gifts, samples, advertising materials, etc.), which are not intended for sale but for own use or for distribution free of charge are to be excluded from Intrastat data..

The CN is implemented in all European Union (EU) countries; it is also the basis for the commodity nomenclatures used in some other countries.

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature established the Combined Nomenclature (CN) of the European Union to meet, at one and the same time, the requirements both of the Common Customs Tariff and of the external trade statistics of the Community.

The Combined Nomenclature is updated annually to reflect changes in statistical regulations or trade policies as well as various technical and trade-related developments, and to improve or clarify the contents. The revised Nomenclature is implemented from 1 January each year. Bigger revisions are planned to be made in the same year as changes in the Harmonised System (HS), on which the CN is based. Changes are required in the entire system of classifications to improve overall cohesion and make it easier to switch between classifications.

The current CN version is available on our website.

All trade transactions involving the arrival of goods from or the dispatch of goods to an EU Member State have to be included in Intrastat data. Based on the report on intra-Community supply (form VD) collected by the Tax and Customs Board, it is possible to determine the value of intra-EU exports of goods by country and by purchaser’s VAT identification number (VAT ID). Statistics Estonia must collect and publish statistics on exports and imports of goods based on the movement of goods, not based on invoicing. The Tax and Customs Board does not collect detailed data on foreign trade from economic entities (the VD data provide no information about commodity codes, country of origin, nature of transaction, net weight, and even quantity in case of commodity codes with a supplementary unit).

There are also methodological differences between form VD and Intrastat: for Intrastat purposes, it is not important whether the owner of the goods changes; the main factor is the actual movement of goods between Estonia and another EU Member State. In the Intrastat dispatches questionnaire, respondents must specify the valid VAT ID number and country code for the recipient (not the purchaser) of the goods in the other Member State.

We have offered prefilling based on form VD when requested by a respondent, but these requests have soon been withdrawn, since form VD shows total value by partner country and purchaser’s VAT ID, while the Intrastat questionnaire asks for trade data by commodity. A single recipient may have received different types of goods and thus it is still necessary to break down the prefilled sum (from form VD) by individual commodities.

To request prefilling, please contact our customer support at klienditugi [at] stat.ee (klienditugi[at]stat[dot]ee).

All European Union (EU) Member States have the opportunity to transition to SIMSTAT in the compilation of foreign trade statistics, in accordance with the new regulation on European business statistics. The regulation stipulates that the national statistical authorities of EU Member States shall exchange data on intra-EU dispatches of goods. The VAT ID number is the basis for exchange of data. 

There are various materials available on Statistics Estonia's website:

• Combined Nomenclature classification;
• changes in Combined Nomenclature in 2025;
• main changes in Intrastat 2025;
• Intrastat manual in English, Estonian and Russian;
• guide for classification of goods using the Combined Nomenclature, in English and Estonian;
• file for loading data to eStat (Complex file);
• files for loading data to eStat (ZIP);
• file for loading data to eStat (Instat XML);
• Intrastat web page.