Fiscal Representation in Latvia: How Importers Defer Customs Duty and VAT
Every importer knows the moment: your goods have arrived, the declaration is ready, and now the customs duties and import VAT must be paid before the cargo is released.
For a single high-value shipment, that payment can tie up tens of thousands of euros. For a business importing every week, the amounts add up fast and sit frozen until VAT is recovered.
There is a legal and well-established way around this: fiscal representation with duty deferment.
A fiscal representative is a licensed company that acts on behalf of the importer in tax matters. In Latvia, a fiscal representative with a sufficient financial guarantee can pay customs duties and import VAT to the state on behalf of the client, so the goods clear customs immediately.
The client then repays the deferred amount later, on a schedule agreed before the import, together with a commission agreed in advance.
LETT 2000 provides this service with a financial guarantee to Latvian customs of up to 1,000,000 EUR. Very few customs brokers in Latvia hold a guarantee at this level, which is why importers with high-value or high-volume shipments often come to us specifically for it.
Who benefits most? Three groups. First, importers of high-value goods, where a single tax payment would strain cash flow. Second, businesses with frequent regular shipments, where deferring taxes smooths out working capital. Third, foreign companies importing into the EU through Latvia, which would otherwise need to prepay taxes from abroad before their goods can move.
The mechanics are simple from the client side. You tell us the expected shipment value, we agree the commission and the repayment schedule, and from that point your shipments clear customs without upfront tax payments. The customs declarations themselves are handled by the same team, so there is one partner for the whole process.
It is worth stressing what this is not. It is not a way to avoid taxes. The full amount of duty and VAT is paid to the state on time. What changes is who advances the money and when you settle it.
If your imports regularly freeze working capital at the border, this is usually the single most valuable service a customs broker can offer you.
Contact us with your expected shipment value and we will send you a clear offer, including the commission and repayment terms, the same business day.
