Short & Sweet no. 9
Part 1: Using Temporary Admission
– The Supporting Document

• Temporary Admission is supposed to be paperless, so why is documentation needed?
• What is the Supporting Document, and how do you use it?
• What is the Supporting Document’s period of validity?
• Will the Supporting Document protect against non-compliance?

Here, we take a closer look at the Supporting Document (SD): how it can be used when flying within the EU, what it does, and what its actual value and validity are in practice.

The customs aspect of flying within the EU

Any aircraft flying into the EU will fly under customs control using either Temporary Admisison (TA) or full importation. There are no other options. If the aircraft is not already fully imported, the aircraft will automatically be considered as flying under TA even though the owner or operator has not themselves taken any action to activate this procedure or realized that their aircraft is flying under TA. The TA procedure is thus always required for non-EU imported aircraft, even for flights with only one stop within the EU. Here, non-compliance with TA will most likely activate a direct payment of the VAT (ranging from 17-27%) and customs duty (ranging from 2.7-7.7%) for the owner or operator. The TA procedure can only be used by EU outsiders where the aircraft is owned (including any UBOs), operated, registered, and based outside the EU, leaving EU insiders only one option: full importation. EU outsiders can, of course, choose to use full importation instead of TA if they find it beneficial. However, both options can be used commercially, corporately, or privately if applied correctly.

How does Temporary Admission work?

The use of TA designed to be a paperless process with a voluntary option to document entries and exits using a SD, meaning that a qualifying aircraft can enter the EU without any customs contact or paper declarations. It is the EU Commission’s opinion that the bare act of crossing the outer EU border counts as a customs declaration.

Why is documentation needed if Temporary Admission is supposed to be paperless?

The TA procedure is designed to allow qualifying aircraft to enter and exit the EU without direct customs contact, as the mere act of crossing the EU border is considered a customs declaration. However, this paperless concept often leads to a misunderstanding: that no documentation is needed to prove compliance. In practice, only the entry and exit are paperless. Operators must still continuously live up to the preconditions of TA, handle the limitations correctly, and be able to document these at any time, even when making only one stop in the EU. Correct documentation proving TA compliance is a make-or-break issue during customs ramp checks. The SD does not confirm compliance, but if used correctly, it can support the overall compliance documentation strategy. To learn more, please view our explainer video about the topic.

What is the Supporting Document?

The SD is a one-page PDF form issued by the EU Commission, containing a duplicate page. It serves as a voluntary tool to acknowledge an aircraft’s entry into and exit from the EU. The top section is completed by the operator or crew, and local EU customs endorse the bot upon arrival and departure.

How is the Supporting Document used upon arrival in the EU?

Essentially, the crew can use the SD themselves when arriving at the first airport within the EU. We will be glad to prepare the SD with the specific aircraft data so the crew can ask local customs to endorse it upon entry.

What does the Supporting Document endorse?

The SD only acknowledges that the aircraft has arrived within or exited the EU – nothing more. Customs cannot endorse a future entry, and it is a common (but incorrect) assumption that the SD can be pre-stamped for upcoming entries. It cannot.

Is the SD always valid for six months?

No. The SD is valid only as long as the aircraft remains in the EU – and for a maximum of six months from its entry. If the aircraft leaves the EU, the SD is no longer valid, regardless of whether the six months have passed or not. A new SD must be issued upon each new entry.

Will the Supporting Document protect against non-compliance?

No. The SD cannot endorse TA compliance even though the SD is processed correctly by an EU customs agency. The operator is still obliged to comply with the TA procedure continuously when flying within the EU. The SD does not grant free circulation or allow the aircraft to fly freely for six months, as is sometimes wrongly assumed. No operator should fly to the EU unprepared and unable to explain and document their eligibility to use TA. The SD does not replace this obligation.

Is the use of the Supporting Document beneficial?

Yes. Having the SD ready onboard or actively using it shows that the operator understands the basics of TA, which is helpful if approached by customs. Yet, it must never be seen as the only relevant documentation under TA.