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. In the calculation of the thresholds, the turnovers of dispatches and arrivals are examined separately. Data are to be submitted only for the flow the turnover of which has exceeded the statistical threshold. In 2024, the value of the statistical threshold in Estonia is 350,000 euros for dispatches of goods and 700,000 euros for arrivals 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, economic entity registry codes and trade flows (dispatches, arrivals). 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 movement of goods, not on the issue or receipt 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 entered or left an EU Member State, this should not be reported.

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

• purchased or sold goods (incl. capital assets);
• consignments between the parts of one legal entity;
• the purchases of VAT-registered economic units from private persons and sales to them (within the EU);
• goods dispatched for processing;
• goods arriving from 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) or where the commodity has directly arrived from (to Estonia). In the case of the dispatch of goods, the country of destination must be specified; in the case of the arrival of goods, the country of consignment is to be shown.

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 or received 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 received or 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 economic unit is required to submit data on the arrival of goods only, there is no need to report the return of goods. If the economic unit is required to submit data on the dispatch of goods only, it is not necessary to report the arrival of returned goods.

NOTE: If one and the same commodity has been delivered and returned in the same reference month, these transactions do not need to be reported in Intrastat.

If the economic unit is required to submit data on only one trade flow (dispatches) and 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).

SIMSTAT (SIngle Market STATistics) is the special data system for collecting and exchanging statistics on the trade in goods between the Member States of the European Union (EU). Its overall objective is to simplify Intrastat, the intra-EU trade data collection system on the basis of the principle that data already collected and available within the European statistical system (ESS) should not be collected more than once.

In 2024, the value of the statistical threshold for arrivals of goods is 700,000 euros (it was 400,000 euros in 2023). With the large increase in the statistical threshold for arrivals, we have started the transition to SIMSTAT and want to reduce the administrative burden of respondents. We use the dispatches data of other Member States to estimate the arrivals data of enterprises below the statistical threshold. Compared with 2023, nearly 1,400 enterprises will be exempted from the obligation to submit Intrastat arrivals data.

As from June 2024, no new economic units exceeding the statistical threshold of 2024 will be included in the sample of the Intrastat arrivals questionnaire. These data will be obtained from the data transmitted by other EU Member States.

At the beginning of 2025, Statistics Estonia hopes to further reduce the administrative burden on enterprises when submitting data on the arrival of goods. The intention is to start using data transmitted by EU Member States (SIMSTAT) for producing foreign trade statistics on imports and to move from two questionnaires to a single one – the questionnaire on dispatches of goods. Data on arrivals of goods should be obtained from the data transmitted by other Member States.

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. The regulation does not require Member States to stop collecting arrivals data, but this is recommended. Statistics Estonia has decided that the arrivals questionnaire will be phased out if the transition period is successful and the dispatches data received from other countries are deemed adequate for statistics production.

Statistikaameti kodulehel on mitmeid abimaterjale:

• klassifikaator „Kombineeritud nomenklatuur“;
• seletav kombineeritud nomenklatuur 2024;
• muudatused Intrastati küsimustikus 2024;
• Intrastati käsiraamat eesti, vene ja inglise keeles;
• juhend kaupade klassifitseerimine kohta kombineeritud nomenklatuuris eesti ja inglise keeles;
• andmete eSTATi laadimise fail (kompleksfail);
• andmete eSTATi laadimise fail (ZIP);
• andmete eSTATi laadimise fail (Instat.XML);
• kaupade väliskaubanduse infotunni salvestis;
• Intrastati veebileht.