Before paying for 1688 stock, connect the Luxembourg buyer, validated EORI, VAT records and actual customs filer. Check the POST/CFL hand-off and who handles import VAT.
Hold the first 1688 stock payment if you cannot connect the Luxembourg buyer, intended importer, EORI and import-VAT records to agreed roles. Put the draft invoice beside the company records and resolve the mismatch.
This is a business-resale check using ordinary unbranded adult fabric pouches as a hypothetical example. Policy checked: 2 November 2026.
Write four roles against this purchase
Use this purchase’s quotation or draft invoice.
| Role | What to record |
|---|---|
| Business buying the stock | Legal name/address; invoice recipient |
| Intended importer | Entity and validated EORI; explain any different buyer/importer arrangement |
| Customs filer | Representative, agreed authority and file contact |
| Import-VAT recordkeeper | VAT details, accountant/contact and who forwards import records |
An employee may receive the parcel and a buying service may handle China payment. Record these roles when names differ.
Correct the buyer on the supplier paperwork; check the Chinese seller/payee with the supplier-verification guide. Never borrow another business’s EORI to fill a field.
Check the LU number, then check whose number it is
Luxembourg Customs states that an EORI for a Luxembourg-established operator is based on LU plus the eight-digit VAT number. The same format does not prove that it is usable for customs. Follow the validation link on the official EORI page before requesting a new registration.
Keep the result and date with this order, and reconcile it with the intended importer’s business records. Luxembourg does not publish the operator’s name and address by default, so an absent public name is not by itself proof that the number is invalid. An EORI validation also does not establish your VAT deduction entitlement.
If validation fails, send the intended importer’s details and dated result to the chosen declarant and ask whether the Luxembourg application/amendment form is needed. Resolve this before customs activities begin: an application sent is not a validated EORI. A business established elsewhere in the EU obtains its EORI in that state.
Decide who receives the file
For a postal route ending with POST Luxembourg, business status changes the hand-off. POST says that all postal shipments to business customers subject to VAT are cleared by CFL multimodal, regardless of their value. It asks businesses to provide their VAT number when ordering. Confirm this route and the required company details with the operator before the supplier dispatches; do not assume a small business order will follow the private-customer parcel process. See POST’s business-customer instructions.
Keep two separate items for this postal option: the EORI validation result and POST/CFL’s instructions for using the company’s VAT details. One does not replace the other. If company information is missing, correct it rather than switching the order to a private name to fit a parcel quote.
For this POST branch, ask POST/CFL who opens the business clearance file, which company contact receives any questions, and how the import records reach your accountant. Put the business VAT number into the order as POST requests. If another courier or freight service is selected, obtain its declarant’s instructions instead; CFL is not the clearing party for every carrier.
Luxembourg’s NIS page, updated in October 2026, identifies NIS within LUCCS as the online import system and lists EORI and LuxTrust as prerequisites for using it. This does not mean every buyer must personally log in: the official import procedure permits a customs representative to handle the declaration. Agree the mandate and representation arrangement, rather than buying system access without deciding who files.
Give the accountant the import-VAT question before the invoice
Ask: “Will this company account for this import under its Luxembourg VAT number, and which import records must reach you?” The official procedure distinguishes importers without a Luxembourg VAT number, for whom VAT is due at import, from holders of a Luxembourg VAT number benefiting from payment deferral. The latter must still report the import in their next VAT declaration. Deferral is not an exemption, and deduction depends on the business’s circumstances and supporting records.
The VAT authority lists a 17% standard rate; 14%, 8% and 3% apply only to designated supplies. Confirm the pouch’s classification and treatment. Duty depends on classification, origin and relevant measures; the supplier’s HS suggestion is not binding.
VAT uses customs value plus duties and other includible charges, according to the official guidance. Freight/insurance can affect valuation. Separate the broker’s fee from government duty and VAT.
The €150 relief changed on 1 July 2026. The €3 temporary duty and, from 1 November, €2 Union handling fee have specific distance-sale scopes. Ask the declarant how the current rules apply to this VAT-business purchase; do not relabel resale stock as personal purchases.
The company check does not approve the product
For the pouch, obtain material, construction, use, manufacturer and label details. Review GPSR importer duties and any applicable textile composition-labelling rules; product-specific exemptions matter. An EORI is not product approval. Children’s, protective or electronic versions need separate assessment.
Also identify who first places the packaged goods on Luxembourg’s market and check the relevant packaging responsibilities with that party. The Environment Administration’s packaging guide explains this local responsibility. Do not approve copied branding without rights evidence: Luxembourg Customs can detain suspected counterfeit goods.
End with one payment instruction
Ready to pay: buyer/importer roles, validated EORI, VAT owner and clearing-party hand-off are recorded, with purchase-critical product questions resolved. Send the corrected instruction.
Hold payment for an unexplained number, “all taxes included” without an importer/records, or an unaccepted customs/VAT hand-off. Resolve that gap first.
YDA Express can assist with agreed China purchasing/payment communication, receiving records, available photos and transport preparation. It does not automatically become your Luxembourg importer, customs representative or tax adviser. Record the scope in the quotation checklist.
At receipt, compare goods and records with the instruction. Before dispatch, recheck current product rules, taxes, company details and carrier conditions. Payment readiness is not customs release.
The title illustration is an AI-generated concept, not an actual company record or customs approval.
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