What is a Customs Invoice? – Help Center

Customs invoices cover the customs charges for shipments that require customs clearance. This article explains when customs invoices are issued and what they include.

Invoice Format: DTYYYYRRRR (e.g. DT2026RRRR)

R's represent a randomised internal identifier assigned by our system.

What Does a Customs Invoice Cover?

Customs invoices cover the customs charges for shipments sent to countries outside the EU where customs clearance is required. Customs charges for shipments imported into Latvia from countries outside of the EU are also included in customs invoices.

A customs invoice may include the following charges:

Basic fees — customs duties or tariffs calculated by the customs authority of the recipient country for importing the shipment
VAT — the VAT applicable in the recipient country
Other fees — any additional duties that may be applied by customs if the item being imported is regulated by the government of the recipient country
Customs processing/brokerage fees — fees charged by the carrier for processing and submitting the necessary customs documentation to ensure the shipment is successfully imported into the destination country
Guarantee fees — a fixed fee that carriers may charge per shipment included in your customs invoice. This fee is charged because carriers pay the customs invoice issued by the customs authority as soon as it is issued
Storage fees — if the product description provided is not sufficiently detailed for customs to clear the shipment, the carrier will request additional information from the recipient. Until that information is provided, the shipment may be held in a customs warehouse, resulting in storage fees. In some cases, the shipment may be returned to you

When Is It Issued?

Swotzy collects customs invoices issued by carriers throughout the week and issues a single consolidated customs invoice to you every Friday.

Example: If a carrier issues a customs invoice on Tuesday and another carrier issues one on Wednesday, Swotzy will consolidate both into one customs invoice issued to you on Friday.

There is no fixed time limit for when carriers may issue customs invoices. Under EU regulatory frameworks, carriers may bill outstanding charges within standard limitation periods of up to 3 years. You may therefore receive a customs invoice for a shipment that was dispatched several months or even years prior.

Shipment Breakdown File

Customs invoices are issued with an accompanying shipment breakdown file. The shipment breakdown file contains details of all shipments covered by the invoice, along with the costs charged by the carrier and the cost reason for each shipment. To learn more, see: What is a Shipment Breakdown File?

Need Assistance?

If you have any questions about your customs invoice, our support team is here to help.