Diplomatic Shipments

The receiving State shall permit entry of and grant exemption from all customs duties, taxes, and related charges other than charges for storage, cartage and similar services, on articles for the official use of the consular post, and articles for the personal use of a consular officer or members of his family forming part of his household, including articles intended for his establishment.^[1]

The personal baggage of the consular officers and members of their families shall be exempt from inspection except where there is a serious reason to believe that the baggage contains articles the import or export of which shall be prohibited by the law or which are subject to quarantine regulations of the receiving State.^[2]

[1] Article 36(1) of Vienna Convention of 1961 and Article 50(1) of Vienna Convention of 1963

[2] Article 36(2) of Vienna Convention of 1961 and Article 50(3) of Vienna Convention of 1963

Upon importation of goods /articles (except for excise goods) intended for the official use of a diplomatic/consular mission, the shipment may be exempted from customs formalities, i.e., an import customs declaration does not have to be lodged.

In order for the goods (articles) intended for the official use of the diplomatic/ consular missions to be exempted from customs formalities the shipment must be identifiable. The shipment shall be considered as identifiable under the following conditions:

• the accompanying documents indicate the consignee to be a diplomatic/consular mission located in Latvia and the consignor to be a diplomatic/consular mission of a third country;
• remarks have been made in the accompanying documents attesting to the diplomatic status of the shipment; 
• the shipment bears special security labels, elements indicating that the shipment is a diplomatic shipment. 

Shipments addressed to the employees of a diplomatic/consular mission shall be exempted from customs payments but not from the obligation for an import customs declaration to be lodged. The standard customs declaration H1 has to be drawn up so that the shipment could be exempted from customs payments.

The goods brought into the customs territory of the Union by employees of Latvian diplomatic/consular service returning from service in a foreign country shall be placed under the customs procedure of release for free circulation by lodging a customs declaration and paying the customs payments provided for in the laws and regulations: import duty, value added tax and excise duty (for excise goods). 

The goods shall be exempted from the customs payments subject to the compliance with the provisions of customs legislation on importation of personal property by natural persons transferring their normal place of residence in a third country to the customs territory of the Union. Information on the provisions governing the exemption of personal property from customs payments upon moving from a third country to a normal place of residence in Latvia is available under the section Customs – For natural persons, subject Resettlement in Latvia from a country outside the EU.

Goods (articles) intended for the official use of a diplomatic/consular mission in another country (incl., another EU Member State), personal effects and belongings moved in transit through the territory of the Republic of Latvia from a third country by using an independent carrier in cases where a person is returning to the place of service or home country, or travelling to take up post in the European Union, shall be placed under a customs procedure by lodging the respective customs declaration. 

Movement of non-Union goods from one point to another within the customs territory of the Union shall take place under external transit procedure.

Upon application of the Union external transit procedure or TIR procedure, the declaration must be accompanied by transport and commercial documents that contain precise information concerning the goods and transportation, and entitling the person (carrier) to handle the goods (for example, transport document (CMR), power of attorney).

The transit cargo must bear visible external marks of a diplomatic cargo and the supporting documents must contain remarks on its status. 

To end the transit procedure, the goods must be presented at the customs office of destination.

Diplomatic/consular bags may be presented to a customs control point by an authorised representative of the sending State.

The diplomatic/consular packages must bear visible external marks of their status and they may contain only official correspondence and documents, or articles intended for official use of the mission.^[1]

The diplomatic courier shall be provided by the diplomatic/consular mission with an official document indicating his status and the number of packages constituting the diplomatic package. He shall be protected by the receiving State in the performance of his functions.^[2]

Diplomatic/consular couriers shall be issued with diplomatic passports containing an entry on their place of work. 

A supporting document shall be drawn up for each diplomatic/consular journey – courier sheet with information on the name, surname, number of the service or diplomatic passport of the courier and/or vehicle driver authorised to transport the diplomatic/consular shipment, addressee and number of packages, as well as seal numbers.

The sending State or the mission may designate ad hoc diplomatic couriers. Such couriers shall be issued with an official document with information on their status and the number of packages constituting the diplomatic/consular bag. The immunities of an ad hoc diplomatic/consular courier shall cease to apply when such a courier has delivered the diplomatic bag in his charge to the consignee.^[3]

The ad hoc diplomatic/consular couriers shall be issued with a diplomatic note of an ad hoc courier authorisation indicating the following – name, surname, number of national, service or diplomatic passport, purpose of the journey, seal numbers, vehicle data.   

[1] Article 27(4) of Vienna Convention of 1961, Article 35(4) of Vienna Convention of 1963

[2] Article 27(5) of Vienna Convention of 1961, Article 35(5) of Vienna Convention of 1963

[3] Article 27(6) of Vienna Convention of 1961, Article 35(6) of Vienna Convention of 1963

Delivery of excise goods from a third country

Where the consignee of the goods is a foreign diplomatic/consular mission or an employee thereof, a standard import declaration must be drawn up to cover the excise goods. The declaration shall include the following data elements:

• d.e. 3/16 (Importer) – name and surname of the employee of the diplomatic/consular mission if the consignee is a natural person, or customs representative if the consignee is the mission^[1];
• d.e. 1/11 (Additional Procedure) – code “10M” and “27Z”;
• d.e. 2/3 (Documents and Other Reference Codes):
  • under code “0470” – Value Added Tax and Excise Duty Exemption Certificate^[2] certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (signature and stamp in Box 6 of the certificate)^[3], a copy of the certificate shall be enclosed with the accompanying documents;
  • under code “0111” – taxpayer or VAT number allocated to the mission.

Delivery of excise goods from a customs warehouse / free zone / temporary storage site

If a foreign diplomatic/consular mission or an employee thereof is purchasing excise goods of a third country in a customs warehouse, free zone or a temporary storage site, a standard import declaration must be drawn up containing the following information: 

• d.e. 3/16 (Importer) – seller of the goods (for example, an economic operator in Latvia) trading goods from the customs warehouse, free zone or a temporary storage site to a diplomatic/consular mission or an employee thereof;
• d.e. 3/27 (Buyer) – name of the diplomatic/consular mission or name and surname of the employee;
• d.e. 1/11 (Additional Procedure) – code “10M” and “27Z”;

d.e. 2/3 (Documents and Other Reference Codes) – under code “0470” – Value Added Tax and Excise Duty Exemption Certificate certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (signature and stamp in Box 6 of the certificate)^[4], a copy of the certificate should be enclosed with the accompanying documents.

[1] An EORI number cannot be issued to missions; therefore, a representative shall be used

[2] A Value Added Tax and Duty Exemption Certificate certified by the Ministry of the Foreign affairs (a sample of the certificate has been provided in Annex II to Regulation No 282/2011) in view of the requirements of Paragraphs 1 and 5 of Section 20 of the law On Excise Duties

[3] Reference in Box 7 of the certificate if the person has been entitled to use the certificate without certification (maximum period of exemption – 36 months) pursuant to a decision by the Ministry of Foreign affairs to use the Value Added Tax and Duty Exemption Certificate without certification

[4] Reference in Box 7 of the certificate if the person has been entitled to use the certificate without certification (maximum period of exemption – 36 months) according to the decision by the Ministry of Foreign affairs to use the Value Added Tax and Duty Exemption Certificate without certification

The process of crossing the State border of the Republic of Latvia is organized in line with the existing legal framework.

The laws and regulations of the Republic of Latvia stipulate that persons holding diplomatic passports, passports of European Commission or United Nation Organisation shall be allowed to cross the external border at border crossing points on a priority basis.^[1]

Diplomatic/consular shipments (bags) transported by an independent carrier or a diplomatic/consular courier without a diplomatic passport shall not be given a priority upon crossing the external border through the border crossing points.

[1] Clause 2 of Paragraph 2 of Section 10 of the law On the State Border of the Republic of Latvia