Ceramic Tiles and Stone to Spain: Anti-Dumping Checks
Увядзенне
Every year, shippers who move tiles and stone out of China rediscover the same uncomfortable lesson: the ocean freight rate is rarely the most expensive part of the problem. A container of porcelain tiles that looked profitable at the factory gate can turn into a loss on the quay in Valencia if an антыдэмпінгавая duty applies and nobody checked it before the cargo was booked. Spain is a particularly sensitive destination, because it hosts one of the most competitive ceramic tile industries in the world, clustered around Castellón, and its manufacturers and their trade association watch imported product closely.
This guide is written for freight forwarders, importers and exporters who handle ceramic tiles, stone slabs and related products moving from China to Spain. It explains which trade defence measures are in force in 2026, how they are applied at the Spanish border, which classification and documentation points decide whether duty is payable, and how to build the checks into your booking process instead of leaving them to a customs broker on the day the vessel arrives. Stone behaves very differently from ceramics in this respect, and mixing the two up is one of the most common and costly mistakes in the trade.
One point of scope before we start. Spain is an EU member state, so there is no separate Spanish anti-dumping regime. The duties are set by the European Commission, apply across the whole Union, and are collected by Іспанскія звычаі when goods are released for free circulation. Rates, product definitions and named exporters change from time to time, so treat the figures below as a map and confirm them against the EU TARIC database and the Official Journal before every shipment.
What Is Actually in Force in 2026
Ceramic tiles originating in China have been subject to EU anti-dumping duties since 2011, when the original measures were imposed under Regulation 917/2011. They were renewed after a first expiry review in 2017 and again after a second one, concluded by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/493 of 12 February 2024. Trade press reporting on that decision describes the measures as extended for five years, until February 2029, with the existing стаўкі пошлін падтрымліваецца.
The structure of the duty matters as much as the headline number. Under the 2024 regulation, producers that were sampled in the investigation received individual rates ranging from 13.9% to 36.5%, while a country-wide rate of 69.7% applies to companies that did not cooperate. Other cooperating producers that were not sampled appear in an annex of the regulation and receive a separate weighted-average rate. In plain terms, the duty you pay depends less on what the tile is and more on who made it.
The policy has done what it was designed to do. According to the Commission, Chinese exports of ceramic tiles to the EU fell from more than 60 million square metres before 2011 to roughly 2 million square metres in 2022. Anyone shipping tiles from China to Spain today is therefore operating in a niche where customs officers see few comparable consignments, and where any irregularity stands out.
China is not the only origin to watch. In February 2023 the Commission imposed five-year duties on ceramic tiles from India and Türkiye, with rates between 6.7% and 8.7% for Indian producers and between 4.8% and 20.9% for Turkish producers. The General Court has since upheld those measures, and in January 2026 the Commission amended the Indian regulation to reflect company name changes, including confirming a 7.3% rate for a producer that had changed its name. That last detail is a useful reminder that even a harmless corporate rebranding has to be reflected in the legal text before the lower rate follows the company.
A separate case involves ceramic tableware and kitchenware from China. After a partial interim review requested by the European industry, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/274 on 5 February 2026, setting a single country-wide duty of 79% with effect from 7 February 2026 and removing company-specific rates. A correction clarifying the product definition followed in May 2026. These are not tiles, but they sit in the same chapter of the tariff, and mixed containers of tile and tableware are common enough that the distinction needs to be on your radar.
Table 1. Main EU anti-dumping measures relevant to ceramic shipments (status as understood in 2026)
| прадукт | Паходжанне | Прававая аснова | Duty range | Стан |
| Керамічная плітка | Кітай | Reg. (EU) 2024/493 | 13.9% to 36.5% individual; 69.7% country-wide | In force; reported extended to Feb 2029 |
| Керамічная плітка | Індыя | Reg. (EU) 2023/265, amended 2026/191 | 6.7% да 8.7% | In force; five years from Feb 2023 |
| Керамічная плітка | Türkiye | Reg. (EU) 2023/265 | 4.8% да 20.9% | In force; five years from Feb 2023 |
| Керамічны сталовы і кухонны посуд | Кітай | Reg. (EU) 2025/1981, amended 2026/274 | 79% country-wide | In force from 7 Feb 2026; scope clarified May 2026 |
| Natural stone (granite, marble, slate) | Кітай | None identified in our review | не ўжываецца | Confirm in TARIC before each booking |
Why Spain Is the Destination Where Checks Matter
Because the measures are EU-wide, a container that clears in Valencia carries exactly the same duty exposure as one that clears in Rotterdam or Genoa. What differs is the commercial context. Spain’s ceramic tile sector reported a 2025 turnover of 4,834 million euros, up about 1%, and its association ASCER has argued publicly this year that everything entering the European market should compete under comparable environmental, social and technical rules. Industry bodies with that mindset are the ones that file complaints, request reviews and flag suspicious volumes to the authorities.
For the importer, the practical consequences are straightforward. Goods are declared to Spanish customs through the single administrative document, the declarant needs an EORI number, and the declaration must carry the correct TARIC additional code whenever an individual anti-dumping rate is claimed. A wrong code, a missing code or a producer name that does not match the regulation can convert a 20% duty into a 69.7% duty at the stroke of a keyboard, and the importer is the party that pays.
Special customs procedures can change the timing of the duty but not the underlying rule. Goods placed in a customs warehouse or under transit are not yet in free circulation, so the duty is not due until they are released, and goods that are genuinely re-exported outside the Union may avoid it altogether. These routes are legitimate and useful for distributors who stock for several markets, but they have to be authorised in advance and documented properly, and the Spanish authority will expect the same producer and origin evidence as for a straight import. Parts of Spanish territory outside the EU customs territory, such as the Canary Islands, follow different indirect tax rules, so confirm the final delivery point before quoting.
Tiles Versus Stone: Where Anti-Dumping Applies and Where It Does Not
Керамічная і керамогранитная плітка
The EU measure covers ceramic tiles as a product category, which includes glazed and unglazed porcelain, stoneware and many decorative formats. The legal text defines the product by description and by customs codes, and it contains carve-outs, for example for certain mosaics and specialty items, so the regulation itself has to be read, not just the heading in a tariff book.
The word stone in a sales catalogue is a trap. Stone-look porcelain, marble-effect large-format slabs and terrazzo-look tiles are all ceramic products. If the body is fired clay and the surface is a printed or glazed decoration, customs will treat the goods as ceramic tiles regardless of what the marketing sheet calls them. Large-format porcelain panels of the kind sold as sintered slabs raise the same question, and whether they fall inside the measure depends on the product definition and the exact tariff classification. These are the cases where we recommend a written classification opinion before any deposit is paid.
Do not forget the non-tariff side. Ceramic tiles are construction products, and importers in Spain are expected to hold the declaration of performance and CE marking documentation that goes with the harmonised standard for ceramic tiles, EN 14411. Customs does not always ask for it at the quay, but market surveillance authorities and Spanish distributors will.
Натуральны камень
Natural stone such as granite, marble, travertine, limestone and slate is treated differently. In the sources we reviewed for this article, there is no EU-wide anti-dumping measure on natural stone slabs or tiles from China, and the main cost items are the ordinary customs duty, import VAT, freight and handling. That is good news for exporters, but it does not remove the need for care, because the exemption only holds if the goods really are natural stone.
The classic problem is misdeclaration, where a ceramic or engineered product is described as natural stone to avoid a duty. Customs laboratories can and do test samples, and post-clearance audits can reach back years. If the goods are genuinely natural stone, make that visible in the paperwork: quarry or block origin, material name in Latin-alphabet commercial terms, and test reports that match the product.
Engineered stone, quartz and sintered surfaces
Engineered quartz and similar surfaces sit in a grey zone between the two categories, and their commercial profile has been changing quickly. We did not identify an EU anti-dumping measure on these products from China in the material reviewed here, but trade defence cases can open with very little warning. Once the Commission publishes an initiation notice in the Official Journal, provisional duties can follow within about seven months, and the whole investigation is normally completed within fourteen. If you are shipping engineered surfaces, put the Official Journal and the Commission’s trade defence pages on a weekly watch list.
Table 2. Quick classification reference for China-to-Spain shipments
| прадукт | Typical tariff area | Антыдэмпінгавыя ўздзеянні | Першая праверка |
| Glazed or unglazed porcelain and stoneware tiles | Загаловак 6907 | Yes, EU duty on Chinese tiles | Producer name against the regulation annex |
| Mosaics and decorative tiles | Headings 6907 and 6908 | Depends on product definition | Read scope and exclusions |
| Large-format porcelain slabs | Usually heading 6907 | Likely if classed as ceramic tile | Written classification opinion |
| Marble, granite and slate slabs or tiles | Headings 2515, 2516, 6802 | None identified in our review | Confirm in TARIC; verify material |
| Engineered quartz surfaces | Heading 6810 and related | None identified; monitor | Watch Official Journal for new cases |
| Керамічны посуд | Headings 6911 and 6912 | Yes, 79% country-wide | Separate regulation, separate rate |
Classification and Product Description Checks
Classification is the first gate. The first six digits of the harmonised system are shared worldwide, the EU adds two more digits to form the Combined Nomenclature, and TARIC adds further digits and additional codes that carry the anti-dumping information. A Chinese factory that quotes only a six-digit code on its documents is leaving the last, most important digits to someone else’s judgement. We always ask for the full ten-digit TARIC code to be agreed between the importer, the broker and the exporter before the booking is confirmed.
Descriptions matter as much as the numbers. A commercial invoice that says stone floor tiles tells a customs risk engine almost nothing, and it invites a physical inspection. A description that reads glazed porcelain floor tile, 600 by 600 millimetres, rectified, matt surface, with the producer’s full legal name, supports a clean declaration and speeds up release. The packing list should describe the same goods in the same words, with quantities, pallet counts and gross and net weights that reconcile with the invoice and the накладной.
Samples and mixed loads deserve special attention. A container of mostly natural stone with a few pallets of ceramic tile will be assessed line by line, and each line carries its own duty regime. Where it is commercially possible, we prefer to keep ceramic tile and stone in separate containers, which simplifies both the declaration and any later audit.
Exporter Identity: Why the Factory Name Decides Your Duty Rate
Individual anti-dumping rates attach to named producers, and the EU assigns them a TARIC additional code. When the importer declares the goods, that code tells customs which rate to apply. EU anti-dumping regulations typically make the application of an individual rate conditional on presenting a valid commercial invoice that carries a prescribed declaration signed by an official of the entity issuing it. If that condition is not met, the residual or country-wide rate applies instead, and for Chinese tiles the gap between the lowest individual rate and the country-wide rate is more than 55 percentage points.
Trading companies create most of the trouble. In a typical Chinese sourcing chain the factory produces, a trading company or export agent invoices, and the forwarder books. If the goods were made by a listed producer but invoiced by an unlisted trader, the importer has to be able to show that the invoice conditions in the regulation are satisfied and that the producer is who it says it is. Our advice is to obtain the factory’s business licence, a production record or work order for the specific order, and a signed confirmation that the goods were manufactured by that entity, and to file them with the shipment.
Name changes are another weak point. The January 2026 amendments for Indian producers show that the Commission does confirm rates after a company changes its name, but only after the company has notified it and the legal text has been amended. Chinese factories that restructure, merge or rebrand can find themselves without their individual rate for months. Always compare the exact English name on the invoice with the name in the regulation, character by character.
There is one route for factories that did not exist when the original investigation took place. The EU allows a new exporting producer to request an individual rate if it can prove that it did not export the product during the original investigation period, that it is not related to listed exporters, and that it has since exported to the Union or has an irrevocable contractual obligation to do so. A 2025 implementing regulation applying this mechanism to a Chinese tile producer shows that the route is real. For a buyer working with a young factory, asking whether it has applied, and whether the Commission has granted the request, is a reasonable due-diligence question.
Table 3. Invoice and producer scenarios and their likely duty outcome
| сцэнар | Likely outcome at Spanish customs | Action before shipping |
| Listed producer issues the invoice for its own goods | Individual rate applies if invoice conditions are met | Check TARIC additional code and declaration wording |
| Unlisted trader invoices goods made by a listed producer | Rate may be challenged unless conditions are met | Obtain producer proof and agree invoice wording |
| Producer is not named in the regulation | Residual or country-wide rate, up to 69.7% | Re-price or source from a listed factory |
| Listed producer changed its name without notifying the Commission | Individual rate at risk | Confirm status with the broker or the Commission |
Origin Rules and the Circumvention Question
Where the goods are made, not where they sail from
Non-preferential origin follows the place of the last substantial transformation. For ceramic tiles that is generally where the body is pressed and fired and the surface is finished, and simple operations such as repacking, relabelling or cutting to size do not change origin. A Chinese certificate of origin can support the declaration, but it is not conclusive, and customs can look behind it.
This is why the port of loading is a poor proxy for origin. A container loaded in Port Klang, Haiphong or Tema may still hold goods of Chinese origin in the eyes of EU customs if the manufacturing operations were insufficient to confer another origin.
Transshipment, relabelling and third-country plants
The EU has a long record of extending duties to circumvention routes, and the Commission has noted that over a fifth of its measures in force address circumvention practices. For ceramic tiles the debate is live. Italian and European industry representatives have been examining a wave of Chinese-owned tile factories in West Africa, in particular in Ghana, which they see as a way around the EU duties, and Chinese producers are building capacity in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt and other African markets. Domestic Chinese tile output fell sharply in 2025, to about 4.86 billion square metres according to the national association, even as overseas production grew, so the pressure to find new routes into Europe is real.
For a forwarder, the red flags are practical. A new factory in a third country with no production history, tile prices that undercut what the local energy and raw material costs could justify, shipments whose documents have a different origin from the loading port and the shipper’s address, and requests to change the origin on the paperwork after the cargo has been booked are all signals worth stopping for. We decline bookings where the origin story does not hold together, because a forwarder who handles the cargo is part of the evidential chain.
The financial exposure also lasts longer than most people assume. Under the Union Customs Code, customs authorities can generally recover underpaid duty for up to three years after the customs debt arose. A shipment that clears quietly today can generate a bill, interest and penalties long after the goods have been laid in a Spanish bathroom.
Doing the Landed-Cost Math
Anti-dumping duty in the EU is calculated as a percentage of the net, free-at-Union-frontier price before duty, which in practice means the customs value, normally the CIF value at the border. Because the duty is ad valorem, it scales with your invoice and it stacks on top of the ordinary customs duty. Import VAT in Spain is then charged at the standard 21% on the CIF value plus all duties, so the anti-dumping duty also increases the VAT base.
The table below illustrates the effect on a single container with a CIF value of 20,000 euros at three different duty levels drawn from the Chinese tile measure. It excludes the ordinary customs duty, port charges, inland haulage and the broker’s fee, so it understates the full landed cost, but it shows how sharply the producer’s status changes the outcome.
Table 4. Illustrative anti-dumping cost on a 20,000 euro CIF container (excludes ordinary duty and local charges)
| пункт | Rate 13.9% | Rate 36.5% | Rate 69.7% |
| CIF value (EUR) | 20,000.00 | 20,000.00 | 20,000.00 |
| Anti-dumping duty (EUR) | 2,780.00 | 7,300.00 | 13,940.00 |
| VAT base: CIF plus duty (EUR) | 22,780.00 | 27,300.00 | 33,940.00 |
| Import VAT at 21% (EUR) | 4,783.80 | 5,733.00 | 7,127.40 |
| Cash due at customs (EUR) | 7,563.80 | 13,033.00 | 21,067.40 |
| Total cost including goods (EUR) | 27,563.80 | 33,033.00 | 41,067.40 |
Import VAT is normally recoverable for a VAT-registered business, but it still has to be funded at release, and a cash call of more than 21,000 euros on a 20,000 euro container is the kind of surprise that ends relationships between importers and their suppliers. The anti-dumping duty itself is a real cost with no recovery. If you are quoting delivered prices, build the applicable rate into the quote and state in writing which producer the price assumes.
A Documentation Pack That Survives an Audit
Most anti-dumping problems are paperwork problems that were visible weeks before the ship sailed. A complete documentation pack is the cheapest insurance in the business, and it is worth assembling for every consignment, not only the ones that look risky. The aim is to be able to answer, within a day, who made the goods, where, when, from what, and how they reached Spain.
Table 5. Core documents for ceramic and stone shipments to Spain
| Дакумент | Мэта | Тыповая няўдача |
| Камерцыйная накладная | Names producer, goods, value and price terms | Producer missing; generic description |
| Упаковачны спіс | Reconciles pallets, quantities and weights | Weights differ from bill of lading |
| Сертыфікат паходжання | Supports declared origin | Issued for a different exporter |
| Заводскія доказы | Business licence, work order, production record | Not requested until customs asks |
| Product compliance papers | Declaration of performance, CE data, test reports (EN 14411 for tiles) | Missing or in the wrong language |
| Коносамент | Contract of carriage and consignee details | Consignee or notify party mismatch |
| Spanish customs declaration | Выпуск у вольнае абарачэнне | Wrong TARIC additional code |
Keep the originals and scanned copies together and store them for at least as long as the three-year recovery window, ideally longer. Digital storage is cheap and an audit request arriving two years after the sale is not rare. We also recommend that the importer’s broker sees the draft invoice and packing list before the cargo is loaded, since correcting a producer name on a draft costs nothing, while correcting it after the vessel has sailed means an amended invoice, a possible amended bill of lading and a delay.
Ocean Freight Practicalities for Tiles and Stone
Tiles and stone are heavy cargo, and the weight limit is reached long before the container is full. A 20-foot container of porcelain tile typically hits its payload ceiling at roughly 25 to 28 tonnes, depending on the container and the carrier’s rules, so the question is not how many boxes fit but how many tonnes the container, the trucks at both ends and the road regulations allow. Overloading brings fines, rejected pickups and, in the worst case, damaged boxes when a container is lifted out of a stack.
Packing quality drives claims. Tiles should be on sturdy pallets, strapped and wrapped, with corner protection and, for stone slabs, A-frames or wooden crates with the slabs secured against movement. Wooden pallets and crates need ISPM 15 treatment marks to enter the EU without a phytosanitary problem. Fragile stone, in particular polished marble, should be loaded and braced by someone who has done it before, because a single loose bundle can ruin a whole container.
For the Spanish side, Valencia is the natural gateway for the tile cluster in Castellón and for much of the Mediterranean coast, Barcelona serves the north-east, and Algeciras offers strong transshipment connections. Door-to-port transit from South China to a Spanish Mediterranean port commonly runs somewhere between four and six weeks, depending on the service, the routing and port congestion, and schedules have moved a lot in recent years because of disruption on key routes. Plan the customs documentation to be finished before the vessel is halfway, so that the importer is not scrambling when the cargo arrives.
Table 6. FCL and LCL for tiles and stone
| Facteur | FCL | LCL |
| Лепш за ўсё падыходзіць для | Commercial volumes and regular production orders | Samples, showroom orders, small stone lots |
| Кіраванне рызыкамі | Lower, loaded once and sealed at origin | Вышэй, груз кансалідуецца і раскансалідуецца |
| Customs file | One consignee, one declaration | Separate declaration per consignee; mixed goods in a shared box |
| Кошт за тону | Usually lower once the container is well loaded | Higher per cubic metre and per tonne |
A Pre-Booking Anti-Dumping Checklist
The simplest way to avoid duty surprises is to run the same checks in the same order on every file. The table below sets out the timing we recommend, from the first quotation to the arrival at the Spanish port. None of these steps is exotic, but together they close most of the gaps that lead to disputes.
Table 7. Anti-dumping checks by stage
| Этап | праверыць | уладальнік |
| Цытата | Confirm product type, material, full TARIC code and current duty exposure | Імпарцёр і экспедытар |
| Выбар пастаўшчыка | Verify that the factory is named in the regulation and compare to the invoicing entity | Importer and broker |
| Перад браніраваннем | Agree invoice wording, producer proof, origin evidence and packing method | Exporter and forwarder |
| Перад адплыццём | Review draft invoice, packing list and bill of lading for consistency | Экспедытар і брокер |
| Па прыбыцці | File declaration with the correct additional code and keep the full document pack | Broker and importer |
One last practical suggestion: write the anti-dumping assumptions into the purchase contract. State which producer the price is based on, who bears the duty if the rate turns out to be higher than assumed, and what happens if customs reclassifies the goods. Contracts that stay silent on this point tend to produce disputes at the worst possible moment.
When Spanish Customs Asks Questions
Even a well-prepared shipment can be selected for review. The usual triggers are a high-risk tariff code, a producer name that cannot be matched against the regulation, a price that looks low for the product, or a change in the pattern of imports by the same declarant. The authority may request additional documents, take samples for laboratory analysis or ask for clarification of the origin. Responding quickly and completely is the best way to shorten the delay.
If the discussion is about which duty rate applies, the importer can often obtain release of the goods by lodging a guarantee for the disputed amount, so that the cargo is not held while the question is resolved. That keeps the commercial relationship with the customer alive, but it also ties up cash and leaves the dispute open, so it is a way to manage a problem, not to avoid one.
Meanwhile the clock is running at the terminal. Free time for storage and for container detention is limited, and the charges that follow can reach hundreds of euros a day for a heavy container, depending on the carrier and terminal. Agree in advance who pays for delays caused by documentation errors, and keep the forwarder, the broker and the importer on a single shared channel, because a customs query answered three days late is far more expensive than one answered in three hours.
How Topway Shipping Supports Tile and Stone Shipments to Spain
Дастаўка Topway, headquartered in Shenzhen, has been a provider of cross-border e-commerce logistics solutions since 2010. Our founding team has more than 15 years of experience in international logistics and customs clearance, with a strong focus on China to U.S. transportation, and that background in documentation-heavy trade lanes shapes how we approach every new destination, Spain included.
Our services span the whole logistics chain, including first-leg transportation, overseas warehousing, customs clearance and last-mile delivery. We also provide flexible full-container-load and less-than-container-load ocean freight from China to major ports worldwide, which means we can book an FCL of production tile for a Castellón distributor and a small LCL of stone samples for a showroom, and keep the paperwork consistent across both.
For tile and stone cargo, we work with the exporter and with your licensed customs broker before the booking is confirmed. We ask for the producer name, the full tariff code and the invoice wording, we flag any mismatch with the anti-dumping regulation while the problem is still cheap to fix, and we advise on packing and container loading so that heavy cargo arrives intact. We are not a substitute for a customs broker or a lawyer, and we say so, but a forwarder who asks the right questions early can save an importer thousands of euros.
Developments to Watch
The Chinese tile measure runs to February 2029, and the Indian and Turkish measures run to 2028, so a new expiry review request is likely within the next two years. Producers and importers should expect the debate about whether duties are working to continue, in particular as Chinese capacity moves offshore and as Indian exporters redirect volumes that were previously heading to the United States.
Energy costs are another pressure point. Spanish industry commentary in 2026 describes a year shaped by American tariffs and higher gas prices linked to instability in the Middle East, and a sector under cost pressure is more likely to push for tighter enforcement against imports. The February 2026 outcome on tableware, which followed a request from the European industry, shows that such requests can succeed and that duties can go up as well as down.
Finally, watch the investigation notices. A new case on engineered stone, a circumvention probe linked to African production or an inquiry into other ceramic items would change the rules quickly, and the Official Journal is where those notices appear first.
Conclusion
Anti-dumping checks for ceramic tiles and stone to Spain come down to a handful of disciplines. Know whether your product is a ceramic tile or genuine natural stone. Match the producer named on the invoice to the producer named in the regulation. Describe the goods precisely and use the full TARIC code. Be honest about origin, and keep the evidence that proves it. Run the landed-cost numbers before you sign, not after the cargo arrives.
The cost of ignoring those steps can be a duty bill that wipes out the margin on the container, followed by an audit that reaches back three years. The cost of doing them properly is a few hours of preparation and a forwarder who is willing to ask awkward questions. If you are planning tile or stone shipments from China to Spain, contact Topway Shipping at the start of the file so that classification, documentation and container planning are lined up before the goods leave the factory.
Пытанні і адказы
Q: Does Spain have its own anti-dumping duties on Chinese tiles?
A: No. Anti-dumping duties are set by the European Commission and apply across the EU. Spanish customs collect them when goods are released for free circulation.
Q: Is natural stone from China subject to EU anti-dumping duty?
A: In the sources reviewed for this article, no EU-wide anti-dumping measure on natural stone slabs or tiles from China was identified. Always confirm in TARIC before booking, and make sure the goods are genuinely natural stone and not a ceramic imitation.
Q: Does stone-look porcelain count as stone?
A: No. Porcelain with a stone or marble finish is a ceramic tile for customs purposes and can fall under the ceramic tile measure.
Q: Why does the factory name matter so much?
A: Individual duty rates attach to named producers. If the producer is not listed, or the invoice conditions are not met, the country-wide rate of 69.7% may apply.
Q: How long can customs recover unpaid duty?
A: Under the Union Customs Code, authorities can generally recover underpaid duty for up to three years after the customs debt arose, so keep your documents for at least that long.