T1 vs EX-A: which document is needed when exporting to Central Asia
The EX-A export declaration and the T1 transit declaration are two different documents with different functions, although both are prepared at EU customs and both travel with the same cargo. The confusion arises because shipments to Central Asia usually need both. Below is what each one does and in which cases one is enough.
EX-A – the export declaration
EX-A is the declaration of export of goods from the European Union. We file it at the customs office of export – for cargo from Lithuania usually in Vilnius, before the truck departs. The declaration receives an MRN number, and once the goods have left via the EU external border, customs confirms the exit. This confirmation is the basis for the seller to apply the 0% VAT rate on the export invoice and the proof that the goods have left EU territory. Without EX-A the seller risks VAT and penalties, so EX-A is prepared for every exported consignment, whatever the destination and route.
T1 – the external transit procedure
T1 is the Union transit procedure that allows goods to move under customs supervision from the office of departure to the office of destination without paying duties and taxes. It is backed by a financial guarantee covering the potential duties should the cargo "disappear" in transit. The procedure is discharged at the office of destination – for exports to Central Asia that is the EU external border post through which the cargo leaves.
When is T1 required? First, for non-Union goods – for example goods brought in from China or Turkey, not released for free circulation in the EU, and only transhipped in Lithuania for the onward journey. Second, when the export procedure is completed at an inland customs office and the goods must travel to the border under customs supervision. Third – our everyday case – shipments to Central Asia via Belarus and Russia: T1 is mandatory, and we prepare it together with the EX-A while still in Vilnius, so that nothing is left unclear at the border.
What happens after the EU border
EX-A and T1 are valid only within the EU. On crossing into Belarus, customs opens its own transit procedure – a Eurasian Economic Union transit declaration with a guarantee valid up to the Uzbek border – or, if the carrier holds a TIR carnet, the TIR transit continues. We wrote about the difference between CMR and TIR separately. In the destination country the consignee or their customs broker files the import declaration and pays duties and VAT at Uzbek rates.
When one is enough
If Union goods are exported and the office of export is the same one through which the goods leave the EU (for example, cargo straight from a border town), EX-A alone may formally suffice. For air and sea cargo EX-A is completed at the airport or port and T1 is usually not needed. But to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan by road we practically always prepare both documents: it is cheap insurance against the cargo being stopped at the border over a formality.
What we need from you
The commercial invoice with HS codes and value of goods, the packing list with weights and number of packages, the buyer's details, the EORI number (if the exporter is an EU company) and certificates where applicable. We prepare the documents within one working day of cargo readiness. Before that we verify the HS codes in the HS code check – a code that falls under the EU sanctions annexes means the goods will not travel via Belarus and the document set will be different.
Service: customs formalities, T1 and certificates · FAQ: frequently asked questions