🇫🇷How to import into France
To import into France, most goods clear customs freely, but specific sectors need a permit, product registration or import licence from a named regulator before the shipment lands. A legitimate importer of those goods holds the current document, ask for it and check it at the source.
Importing into France: the basics
- Customs identity: EORI number
- Any business that clears customs anywhere in the EU needs one EORI number, valid across all member states. You apply once, in the country where you are established. European Commission, Taxation and Customs Union
- Import tax at the border
- Standard VAT in France is 20%, charged on goods plus freight plus duty. European Commission, VAT rates Duty depends on the product's HS code, so we do not state a rate: look it up in TARIC, the EU customs tariff database , then put both into the landed-cost calculator.
- Documents that travel with the shipment
- Commercial invoice · Packing list · Transport document (CMR, bill of lading or air waybill) · Customs declaration, filed by you or your broker · Proof of origin, when claiming a preferential duty rate
- Incoterms a small supplier will actually agree to: EXW or FCA
- Small and artisan producers normally sell EXW (you collect at their workshop) or FCA (they hand the goods to your carrier). Expect to arrange freight, insurance and customs clearance yourself, or through a forwarder. DAP and DDP shift carriage and import formalities onto the seller, and a small maker will usually decline them: under DDP the seller must even be able to pay import taxes in your country. Larger exporters more often quote FOB or CIF for sea freight. Compare all Incoterms.
- Worth knowing before the first shipment
- Import VAT is charged at the border on goods plus freight plus duty; a VAT-registered importer normally reclaims or defers it, so it is a cash-flow item rather than a final cost.
- France applies postponed VAT accounting by default: import VAT is declared on your periodic VAT return rather than paid at the border, provided you are VAT-registered in France.
Reviewed 2026-07-21. Factual pointers to public rules, not legal advice; confirm with customs or a broker before shipping.
Sector import rules
These sectors carry their own import requirement in France. For each, a legitimate importer holds the document named below, issued by the named regulator. Ask for it, then verify it at the source.
- cosmeticsRegistration required
product registration from the Agence Nationale de Securite du Medicament et des Produits de Sante (ANSM).
Importer must declare the commercial establishment to ANSM and notify the product via the EU Cosmetic Products Notification Portal.
Official source - pharmaceuticalsImport permit required
prior import authorization from the Agence Nationale de Securite du Medicament et des Produits de Sante (ANSM).
Importer must obtain an Autorisation Prealable d'Importation issued by ANSM before customs entry.
Official source
This is a factual pointer to public rules, not legal advice, and the list is not exhaustive.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a licence to import into France?
- It depends on the product. General goods clear France customs without a sector licence, but regulated sectors (cosmetics, pharmaceuticals) require a specific permit, registration or licence from the regulator named on this page.
- How do I check an importer in France is allowed to bring in my product?
- Ask the buyer for the import permit or product-registration number for the sector, then confirm it with the named regulator. A genuine importer of regulated goods already holds one; a buyer who cannot produce it may not clear customs.
- Is importing a specific product into France ever banned?
- Most sectors are permitted with the right licence or registration. Always confirm the current rule with the named regulator before shipping.
- What do I need to clear customs in France?
- A business importing into France needs a EORI number. Any business that clears customs anywhere in the EU needs one EORI number, valid across all member states. You apply once, in the country where you are established. A normal commercial shipment also travels with: commercial invoice, packing list, transport document (cmr, bill of lading or air waybill), customs declaration, filed by you or your broker, proof of origin, when claiming a preferential duty rate.
- How much tax do I pay importing into France?
- Standard VAT in France is 20%, charged on the goods plus freight plus duty. Customs duty depends on the product's HS code, so there is no single rate: look yours up in TARIC, the EU customs tariff database, then add both to the goods and freight to get the landed cost.
- Which Incoterms will a small supplier agree to?
- Usually EXW or FCA. Small and artisan producers normally sell EXW (you collect at their workshop) or FCA (they hand the goods to your carrier). Expect to arrange freight, insurance and customs clearance yourself, or through a forwarder. DAP and DDP shift carriage and import formalities onto the seller, and a small maker will usually decline them: under DDP the seller must even be able to pay import taxes in your country. Larger exporters more often quote FOB or CIF for sea freight.
France suppliers by sector
Manufacturers and wholesalers based in France, with the open-record facts we hold on each and a link to the free public source behind them.
Importing for the first time? Read the first-time importer sequence (country choice, maker checks, landed cost, a survivable first order).