EU Import Duties on Golf Clothing: How to Calculate Your Landed Cost

Short answer: knitted apparel sits in HS chapter 61 — 6105 for men's knitted shirts, 6106 for women's. Your total import charge is duty (on the customs value) plus import VAT (on the customs value plus duty), and both depend on the HS code and the country of origin. Confirm the current rate in the EU's TARIC database before you price anything.

Updated: 2026-09-19 · Technical review for Business

1. Which HS heading applies to your garment

The classification decides the rate, so get it right before anything else. For custom golf apparel the headings you will meet most often are:

• 6105 — men's or boys' shirts, knitted or crocheted
• 6106 — women's or girls' blouses and shirts, knitted or crocheted
• 6110 — jerseys, pullovers, sweatshirts and similar, knitted (this is where quarter-zips and hoodies usually land)
• 6103 / 6104 — trousers, shorts and skorts, knitted

Two traps. First, a garment is classified by its construction, not by what you call it — a "performance polo" is still a knitted shirt. Second, decoration method does not change the heading: an embroidered polo and a printed polo are the same commodity. What can change the treatment is the fabric (for example whether it is treated as a synthetic or a cotton garment).

2. Duty and VAT are not the same charge

This is the single most common costing error we see in enquiries. They have different bases and different recovery rules.

• Customs duty is calculated on the customs value — normally the price paid for the goods, adjusted to include international freight and insurance to the EU border (CIF). Duty is a real cost: it is not recoverable.
• Import VAT is calculated on the customs value plus the duty. For a VAT-registered business this is normally recoverable as input VAT, so it is a cash-flow item rather than a cost.

That distinction is why two importers can quote very different "landed costs" for the same shipment: one is reporting duty only, the other is folding VAT in as if it were a permanent cost.

3. Where to look up the rate

Do not rely on a rate you were told two seasons ago. Check TARIC, the EU's integrated tariff database, which publishes the duty rate together with any anti-dumping, preferential or safeguard measures that apply to a given origin. Search by the full ten-digit code and by origin country — the origin field is not optional, because the same garment can be treated differently depending on where it was made.

Then ask the separate question that most buyers forget: is there a preferential rate available? The EU has trade agreements with a number of garment-producing countries. If your goods qualify under one of them and you hold a valid proof of origin, the duty can be reduced or eliminated. Qualifying is not automatic — the origin rules for apparel turn on where the fabric was knitted or woven, not just where the garment was sewn.

4. Anti-dumping is the part that catches people out

Standard duty rates are only one input. Certain apparel categories from certain origins carry additional duties, and those are not visible in a generic "import duty for polo shirts" search. They appear in TARIC against the specific commodity code and origin. If your supplier cannot tell you the exact ten-digit code and the origin, you cannot know your real cost.

5. How to build the calculation

Work in this order, and keep each step visible in your spreadsheet:

• Goods value at the agreed Incoterm
• Add international freight and insurance to get the customs value (CIF)
• Apply the duty rate for the commodity code and origin
• Add duty to the customs value, then apply import VAT
• Add inland freight, duty deferment or broker fees, and any inspection costs

Because rates and measures change, treat any worked example — including ours — as illustrative only and re-run it against TARIC for your shipment date.

6. What to ask your factory before you book freight

• The full ten-digit commodity code they use on previous exports
• The declared origin, and which factory actually knitted the fabric
• A commercial invoice that matches the PO exactly, with the Incoterm stated
• Whether they can supply the proof of origin needed for a preferential claim
• Packing list with carton dimensions and gross weight, so freight can be quoted accurately

Getting these five items before production finishes is the difference between a customs entry that clears in a day and one that sits in a bond while an officer asks questions about origin.

7. FAQ

Does the decoration method change the duty? No. Embroidery, sublimation and heat transfer all leave the garment in the same heading. The fabric composition and the garment's construction decide the classification.

Is duty charged on the freight? Usually yes. Most apparel is valued CIF for duty purposes, so international freight and insurance to the EU border form part of the customs value.

Can my factory quote me a landed cost? A factory can quote a delivered price under a DDP Incoterm, but it is estimating, not declaring. The importer of record remains legally responsible for the classification and the duty. Always reconcile.

What is the minimum order for a custom programme? At Mega Elephant, 50 pcs per colorway with standard embroidery or sublimation. Sample lead time is 7–10 days; bulk production runs 30–35 days after sample approval.

Sources

• TARIC — EU integrated tariff (European Commission)
• EU Combined Nomenclature, chapter 61
• Union Customs Code (Regulation (EU) No 952/2013)
• EU trade agreements and preferential origin rules