Estoniae-MTA
Steel importers must prove melt-and-pour country from October
From 1 October 2026 every steel import needs declared melt-and-pour country and heat number with verifiable evidence; without it the goods cannot clear customs.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 11 September 2026
Estonia's Tax and Customs Board (Maksu- ja Tolliamet, MTA) has added a new section to its customs-duty guidance (Tollimaks): from 1 October 2026, importers of steel must declare and prove the country of melting and pouring (sulatamise ja valamise riik) of the imported steelEmta. At the moment of import they must present evidence stating the melt-and-pour country and the heat number (sulatusnumber, so-called kuumusnumber / heat number) of the imported steel
Emta.
The melt-and-pour country is declared with one of the additional document codes Y376–Y387.Emta It means the original place where raw steel or iron is first produced in liquid form in a steel- or iron-making furnace and then cast into its first solid form after melting, including remelting of scrap. The relevant evidence is defined in Article 1 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963
Emta and is declared with one of the additional document codes C131–C139.
Emta
The primary evidence is a Mill Test Certificate that includes both the melt-and-pour country and the heat number.Europa Where the Mill Test Certificate lacks either piece of information, customs authorities may accept complementary evidence containing the missing information:
Europa invoices, delivery notes, quality certificates and clauses in implemented purchase orders or contracts, long-term supplier declarations, cost-accounting and production documents, exporting-country customs documents, commercial correspondence or production descriptions
Europa. Where no Mill Test Certificate can be provided at all, the same list of documents may serve as standalone evidence, provided it carries both the melt-and-pour country and the heat number.
Europa
In the Impulss declaration system, the evidence is uploaded in the 'Additional documents and write-off' (Lisadokumendid ja mahakandmine) block next to the corresponding additional-document codeEmta, in data element 1203011100 'Document file' (Dokumendifail).
Emta The declaration must use the TARIC document codes.
Europa Where the melt-and-pour country is evidenced by documents other than a Mill Test Certificate containing both items, customs authorities carry out documentary checks on the information and evidence submitted, which may delay access to the relevant tariff rate.
Europa
The sanction is stated plainly: if no evidence of the melt-and-pour country and the related heat number is presented, the goods cannot be released for free circulationEmta. Failure to declare the country with appropriate verifiable evidence leads to rejection of the import.
Europa
Detailed declaration information, including the document codes with descriptions, is in the Estonian Customs Tariff (Eesti Tollitariifistik, ETT), which sets out the requirements of integrated measure 764 'Import control' (Impordi kontroll). The standalone-evidence option applies from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027Europa; the Commission keeps the evidence list under review and may adjust it at any time. The new duty sits within the broader overhaul of EU steel import rules that took effect on 1 July 2026, when the safeguard measures in place since 2018 expired on 30 June 2026 and a stricter quota system with a 50% out-of-quota duty under Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 took effect on 1 July 2026.
Legal basis: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963 of 28 August 2026 on determining the type of evidence to be provided by importers to prove the country of 'melt and pour', adopted under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) 2026/1384.Europa
For every steel consignment arriving on or after 1 October 2026, obtain a Mill Test Certificate stating the melt-and-pour country and heat number — or equivalent documents carrying both — and declare them in Impulss with document codes Y376–Y387 and C131–C139.