Guides / Export documents checklist (Poland to UK) · Updated 19 October 2026

Export documents checklist: shipping from Poland to the UK

Searching for the one export document UK and Polish customs will both accept? There isn't a single form – there are several, split across two customs territories, and this checklist sets them out in the order you are likely to need them when shipping goods from Poland to a UK buyer.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Two customs systems, one shipment

A pallet or a truckload leaving a warehouse in Poland for a buyer in Britain crosses two separate customs territories: the EU's on the way out, and the UK's on the way in. Each side runs its own declaration, in its own system, often prepared by a different person. Treat the paperwork as one file with two halves rather than a single form, and most delays at the border disappear before they start.

This is the condensed version: what to assemble before the goods leave Poland, and what still has to happen once they reach the UK. For the fuller detail behind each commercial document, see our guides on export documents: commercial invoice, packing list, origin and proof of export and first business shipment from the UK to Poland, which covers the same pack read from the other direction.

The core documents needed for UK shipments

At minimum, the following need to exist, and agree with each other, before the goods move:

• Commercial invoice – GOV.UK's export guidance says the completed invoice, along with any licences or certificates, must travel with the goods. It is also the document UK customs relies on most when checking the value and description declared.
• Packing list – package count, weights and dimensions, matching the invoice line for line. Customs on both sides use it to locate a specific item in the load without unloading everything.
• Exporter EORI (PL) – your Polish EORI number. The European Commission describes the EORI as mandatory for customs operations anywhere in the EU customs territory, with each operator holding only one valid number, assigned by the customs authority of its country of establishment.
• Importer EORI (GB) – GOV.UK states that an EORI number starting with GB is needed to bring goods into England, Wales or Scotland; without one on file, the UK side of the declaration cannot be completed.
• Export declaration (AES) – in Poland, export declarations are lodged through PUESC using the AES system (Automatyczny System Eksportu), which also confirms the customs status of the goods once the declaration is accepted.
• Commodity code – GOV.UK says you must find the right code to classify the goods you're exporting; the UK side needs a matching code for its own import declaration.

Easy Clearance's own document checklist for exporting from Poland to the UK groups these in a similar order and adds the transport-side paperwork a haulier needs, such as the CMR note and vehicle documents.

Do you need a statement on origin?

If your buyer wants to claim a reduced or nil rate of duty under the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, GOV.UK's guidance on proof of origin explains that this is usually an origin declaration made on a commercial document, such as the invoice or packing list, which the importer must be able to present to HMRC within two years. Below a value threshold set out in the agreement, an exporter can make this declaration without further authorisation; above it, GOV.UK notes you normally need "approved exporter" status to do so, and must include your EORI number on the declaration either way. Importer's knowledge is also accepted under some agreements in place of a declaration from you, but it needs supporting production records on your buyer's side. Do not add a statement on origin out of habit – it is a claim that the goods meet that agreement's rules of origin, not a line copied from the last invoice.

Is the load moving under transit?

Most direct and groupage loads from Poland go straight to UK import clearance on arrival. Some consignments, particularly those consolidated with other cargo or routed through a third country, move under customs transit instead, most often T1. If that applies to your shipment, see our guide to T1 transit between the UK and the EU for what the transit declaration adds to the pack and how it gets discharged at the other end.

Proof the goods actually left

Keep evidence that the goods left Poland and arrived in the UK, separate from the declaration itself. On the Polish side, the accepted AES export declaration is your primary record of exit. HMRC's equivalent requirement for UK exporters, VAT Notice 703, accepts commercial transport documents – an authenticated CMR note, bill of lading or shipment certificate – as evidence of export, and is explicit that vague or contradictory descriptions of the goods, quantities or values across these documents are not acceptable. The same discipline is worth applying in reverse on a Poland-to-UK move: keep your invoice, packing list, declaration reference and a signed CMR copy together for every load, so either tax authority's query can be answered quickly.

What the UK import side still needs

Handing your buyer a complete export pack does not finish the job; the goods still have to clear UK import formalities. GOV.UK confirms that an import declaration is made through the Customs Declaration Service, the system that replaced the older CHIEF system, and that where the lorry moves through a port using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service, a goods movement reference covering every item in the vehicle must be presented before the crossing. Whoever is named as declarant on the UK import declaration – your buyer, or an agent appointed under direct or indirect customs representation – needs the same invoice, packing list, both EORI numbers and any origin evidence you prepared for the export side. A mismatch between the two halves of the file creates delay at both ends, not just one.

A working checklist

• Commercial invoice and packing list, matching line for line
• Exporter EORI (PL) and importer EORI (GB) confirmed and on file
• Commodity code checked against both the EU and UK tariffs
• AES export declaration lodged and accepted
• Statement on origin, only if you can support the claim
• Transit document (T1/T2), if the route needs one
• Transport evidence kept with the file: CMR note, booking confirmation
• GMR created before the vehicle reaches a GVMS port
• UK import declaration lodged by your buyer or their agent

If you are weighing up whether to handle any of this yourselves or hand the whole file to an agent, our do you need a customs broker guide sets out the trade-offs for UK–EU routes.

Related guides

• First business shipment from the UK to Poland: a step-by-step checklist

• Shipping goods from Germany to the UK: customs step by step

• How remote customs clearance works for UK–EU shipments

Sources

• Export goods from the UK: step by step (GOV.UK)
• Get proof of origin for your goods (GOV.UK)
• Get a goods movement reference (GOV.UK)
• EORI number (European Commission)
• Wywóz towarów (eksport) – PUESC

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.