The rules and procedures governing the importation of goods into the EU are extensive and can appear complicated. There are many factors that can determine the information and supporting documentation required by Customs when making an import declaration.

To simplify the process the Import Module was designed to automate the generation of declarations as much as possible. All data on the system is subject to extensive processing to verify it's accuracy and consistency. Each company also has information specific to them stored on a database. This information would generally include data such as the duty rates and tariff details applicable to the goods being imported, trade terms agreed with suppliers, details of the Customs regime goods will be entered to etc. When relevant, this information will be used to pre-populate fields within the system.

The transaction data is held in the Imports Module in a three-tiered hierarchical structure, which reflects the relationship of the data in the transaction and Customs processing and reporting requirements.

The receipt header is the highest level and captures shipment detail. This contains data common to all goods shipped within one consignment, this includes point of entry, method of transport (when crossing the border and inland), container details, country of consignment and transit system audit details.

The second level is the invoice header which is sourced from the commercial invoice. One receipt can comprise of one or more invoices. The value of the receipt must agree with the sum of all the invoices attached to it. The commercial invoice contains information relating to the supplier, the cost of the goods and the currency the cost is expressed in. The cost may include any freight and insurance (or these may appear on a separate invoice). Any additional dutiable charges are captured or applied from standing data here.

The lowest level of the receipt module is the invoice line, this contains information relating to the product (which in turn relates to the tariff and commodity code for the line), the country of origin, the receipt quantity and any additional import documentation that must be reported.