Chi spedisce regolarmente extra-UE sa che senza codice EORI la merce non si muove. Capire cos’è il codice EORI, come ottenerlo in Italia, come funziona la validità del codice EORI nel tempo e come automatizzare la verifica del codice EORI dentro ai flussi d’ordine è ormai una parte strutturale del lavoro di chi gestisce operations e-commerce. Senza questo numero, o con un EORI errato, il rischio e bloccare intere spedizioni in dogana, creare ritardi difficili da spiegare ai clienti e generare ticket in serie.
What the EORI code is, who needs it, and when it is mandatory
The EORI code is a unique EU-wide number, assigned by the customs authority of a Member State, that identifies the economic operator in all customs procedures within the Union. With a single standard format for everyone, the dialogue between companies and customs becomes faster and more traceable, because every declaration and every control are linked to the same identifier.
It must be requested by any economic operator established in the customs territory of the Union who carries out import or export operations with third countries. Operators not established in the EU can also obtain an EORI if they interact directly with European customs. In e-commerce, this means companies that ship outside the EU to end customers, but also companies that import stock from third countries and then resell it within the Union.
On a practical level, the EORI must be included in customs declarations, in import/export documentation and in electronic data-exchange systems. Without an EORI code, or with a number that is not registered, the goods risk being held until clarification, with costs and delays falling on the merchant and, ultimately, on the end customer’s experience.
In Italy, the format is relatively simple: “IT” followed by the VAT number for companies and VAT holders, or by the tax code for other entities, according to the rules of the Customs Agency.
EORI code validity: duration, registry updates and business changes
Once obtained, the validity of the EORI code is not tied to an automatic annual expiration: the EORI remains valid as long as the operator stays active and its data are correct in the customs registers. The code is registered at the national level and then made available in a central database of the European Commission, which is updated whenever the registrant’s information changes.
Every significant corporate change must be reflected in the EORI registration with the Member State that issued the code. For Italian companies, this means going through the Customs Agency and promptly updating their registry information so that the EORI remains aligned with reality.
Come ottenere il codice EORI in Italia
Moving on to how to obtain the EORI code in Italy, the process is fairly straightforward. The competent authority is the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), which through the EOS project (EORI + AEO) provides forms, operational instructions and the relevant regulations.
For Italian economic operators, a formal application must be submitted to the territorially competent customs office, using the institutional EORI code application form available on the ADM website.
The issuance is free of charge and, once registered at the national level, the EORI code becomes operational for all of the company’s customs operations within the EU. Some sources note that, for Italian businesses, the code may become “active” at the moment of the first actual customs operation, so it is good practice to request it and test its registration before going live with campaigns that involve extra-EU shipments.
EORI code verification: checks in the EU database and good archiving practices
Once obtained, the verification of the EORI code is equally crucial, especially when working with foreign partners, suppliers or B2B customers. The European Commission provides an official EORI validation service.
Dal punto di vista organizzativo conviene trattare il codice come un dato critico di compliance: archiviarlo in modo strutturato insieme a prove di richiesta e conferma, e prevedere controlli periodici sulla sua validità, soprattutto se la struttura societaria cambia o l’azienda apre nuove sedi.
Integrare l’EORI nelle pratiche doganali e nei dati d’ordine
Il punto centrale è evitare che il codice EORI venga digitato a mano all’ultimo momento su documenti o portali doganali: deve essere parte integrante dei dati d’ordine. Nella pratica, l’EORI aziendale dovrebbe essere presente nei master data di ERP, gestionale e piattaforma logistica, e riportato automaticamente su fatture commerciali, dichiarazioni CN22/CN23 dove necessario, DAE e ogni flusso elettronico inviato al corriere per operazioni extra-UE. Quando si spedisce a clienti B2B con un proprio EORI, il sistema dovrebbe consentire di memorizzare il loro codice e associarlo agli ordini pertinenti.
In the same way you work with HS codes or customs values, it is advisable to treat the EORI as a structural attribute of the order flow. This approach prevents downstream blocks, when the goods are already in the warehouse or even in transit. In a context of multi-courier shipments, integration becomes even more important. Each carrier has its own way of collecting customs data, different APIs, different forms, and mandatory fields that are not always consistent. If the EORI and other key data are managed at the platform level, rather than in each individual portal, the company can guarantee consistency across all couriers, preventing a data-entry error in one system from blocking only a portion of the shipments.
Come Hubrise e SEND2U aiutano a scalare le spedizioni internazionali
Il ruolo di Hubrise e in particolare di SEND2U è scalare le spedizioni internazionali riducendo errori e ticket legati a dogana e tracking: la chiave è far sì che il codice EORI sia un dato governato dal motore che orchestra ordini e spedizioni. SEND2U legge i dati d’ordine provenienti dai vari canali, li incrocia con le regole di spedizione e li traduce in istruzioni per i corrieri; gli esiti doganali e gli eventuali blocchi vengono riflessi nel tracking consolidato. Collegare il codice EORI a un motore come SEND2U significa automatizzare non solo la scelta del vettore, ma anche i controlli di coerenza sui dati doganali prima della generazione etichette, trasformando un requisito doganale in un vantaggio operativo.
Per chi vende cross-border, la gestione del codice EORI si integra nel più ampio servizio di logistica e-commerce internazionale di Hubrise, che coordina dogana, spedizioni e tracking in un unico flusso