Customs declarations UK to Italy

EORI number — UK Economic Operator Registration

The EORI is a UK customs identifier required for any movement of goods from UK to EU. Free, issued by HMRC, active within 1-3 working days. As the household making the move, you need a personal EORI (different from a business EORI for a UK company).

Apply through HMRC online (gov.uk/eori). You need your National Insurance number, address details, and reasonable detail on the goods you will move. The EORI stays valid indefinitely.

ToR1 declaration — Transfer of Residence relief

ToR1 is the relief that exempts most household goods from import duty and VAT when part of a permanent residency move. Without it, your move would face import duty and Italian VAT (22%) on the value of the goods — a significant cost.

Eligibility: transferring residence from UK to Italy, goods owned and used for at least 6 months before the move, declared within a year of arrival. Most household furniture, personal effects, fittings qualify; commercial goods and recently-acquired items do not.

The ToR1 is filed with HMRC during move planning. We file it on your behalf as part of the move; you provide the inventory information.

Bilingual customs inventory

A bilingual customs inventory lists every item (or item-categories) in the move with declared values. The list is in English and Italian — Italian because the dogane officer at the alpine entry point may need to verify against the manifest.

For most households this is generated from the surveyor's notes plus your own additions. Values declared are typically second-hand replacement value, not original purchase price.

For high-value items (art, instruments, antique furniture, jewellery), individual itemisation with declared values is essential. These items get separate dogane treatment and may need provenance documentation.

Italian dogane declaration

The dogane declaration is filed at the Italian frontier when the lorry enters Italy. We handle this on your behalf — typically at the Brenner Pass dogane post, the Mont-Blanc tunnel customs, or the Frejus tunnel customs.

In most cases the declaration is processed automatically; the dogane officer checks the manifest against the inventory and the lorry continues. Occasionally a physical inspection is requested. We have built the inventory to make this straightforward; physical inspections rarely cause delays of more than a couple of hours.

Italian dogane is slightly more documentary than French equivalents — bring more paperwork rather than less. Wine in transit specifically needs careful documentation (private cellar movement vs commercial wine import).

Specialist cases — what needs extra paperwork

Vehicles: separate dogane declaration, IVA (VAT) consideration if applicable, revisione alignment, immatricolazione italiana at the Motorizzazione Civile.

Vintage and collector vehicles (30+ years): veicolo storico registration with relaxed requirements; separate paperwork track.

Wine and alcohol: even under ToR, wine may attract excise duty. High-value cellars need declared-value documentation and customs-clean papers.

Art and antiques: provenance documentation, declared values, sometimes export permission from UK side for items above threshold values. Italian heritage law (vincolo di esportazione) may also apply for items potentially of Italian cultural origin returning to Italy — rare but worth flagging.

Firearms (legal in UK and intended for legal Italian use): substantial pre-arrival paperwork through both UK and Italian authorities.