Guide
How to import furniture from Bali to the EU
Published 10 October 2026. Facts, rates and dates checked against the cited sources on 10 October 2026.
To import furniture from Bali to the EU, you agree the design, price and Incoterm with the maker, ship the goods by sea in a full or shared container, and clear EU customs with a commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and, for wooden pieces, a FLEGT licence. Wooden furniture from Indonesia pays 0% EU customs duty, so your main import cost is VAT at your own country's rate, from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary.
What are the steps to import furniture from Bali?
- Brief and quote. You send sizes, wood, finish and quantities. The workshop or importer prices the job and gives a production time.
- Agree the Incoterm. The Incoterm in the contract decides who books the freight, who insures the goods and who clears EU customs. The Incoterms section below compares the four you will meet.
- Production and inspection. The workshop builds the pieces. Have them inspected in Bali before packing: a fault found in Europe means a local repair or a return voyage.
- Packing and export papers. The exporter crates the goods, uses treated wooden packaging and prepares the export documents, including the FLEGT licence for wooden furniture.
- Sea freight. The container sails from an Indonesian port to a European hub such as Rotterdam or Hamburg.
- Import clearance. The importer, or a customs broker acting for them, lodges the import declaration and pays duty and import VAT. The European Commission requires businesses to give customs their EORI number for customs operations, so the importer needs one.
- Delivery. A haulier brings the container or crates from the port to your address.
Which documents do you need to import furniture from Indonesia?
- Commercial invoice: seller, buyer, a description and customs code for each item, the value and the Incoterm. Customs work out duty and VAT from it.
- Packing list: the number of crates, what each one holds, and their weights and dimensions.
- Bill of lading: the shipping line's receipt for the goods, which you or your agent present to collect them at the port.
- Proof of origin: you need it to claim the 0% preferential rate on rattan furniture, which otherwise pays 5.6% duty.
- FLEGT licence: the EU tariff database makes a FLEGT import licence a condition for releasing wooden furniture from Indonesia into free circulation (TARIC, code 9403 60 10). Under the EU and Indonesia partnership agreement, that licence is the Indonesian V-Legal document for the shipment. Our guide to legal teak and EU timber rules covers it in detail.
- ISPM 15 marks on wooden packaging: solid wood crates, pallets and dunnage need an approved treatment and the IPPC mark. Heat treatment means at least 56 °C for 30 continuous minutes through the whole piece of wood, core included. Packaging made only of plywood, particle board, oriented strand board or wood 6 mm thick or less is exempt (IPPC, ISPM 15). Ask the exporter for the treatment or fumigation certificate that matches the mark.
Should you ship FCL or LCL?
FCL (full container load) means you book a whole container. The workshop loads it in Indonesia, the seal stays on until the container reaches you, and no other cargo shares the space. Choose it for a villa, hotel or restaurant fit-out, or any order that fills most of a container.
LCL (less than container load) means a consolidator groups your crates with other shippers' goods, and you pay for the volume you use. It suits a dining table and a set of chairs. Your crates get handled at a consolidation warehouse at each end, so strong crating matters more.
How long does shipping from Bali to Europe take?
Plan on 38 to 45 days at sea. Route data from Fluent Cargo shows the quickest container service from Surabaya to Rotterdam at 38 days and 6 hours with one transshipment, and the quickest to Hamburg at 44 days and 3 hours, with sailings every two to four weeks (checked 10 October 2026). Production time comes before the voyage. Customs clearance and inland delivery come after it.
How much customs duty do you pay on furniture from Bali?
Most wooden furniture pays no EU customs duty. We checked these rates in the EU TARIC database for goods originating in Indonesia, with 10 October 2026 as the reference date:
| Product | Code | Duty |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden dining and living room furniture | 9403 60 10 | 0% |
| Wooden bedroom furniture | 9403 50 00 | 0% |
| Upholstered seats with wooden frames | 9401 61 00 | 0% |
| Hand-made rattan furniture | 9403 83 00 10 | 5.6%, or 0% under GSP |
| Rattan seats | 9401 53 00 | 5.6%, or 0% under GSP |
The 0% rate on rattan comes from the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), which TARIC lists for Indonesian goods. Customs grant it against valid proof of preferential origin, so ask the exporter for that proof before the goods sail. The code on the invoice sets the rate, so agree the classification with your customs broker before shipping.
How much import VAT will you pay?
Customs charge import VAT on the customs value of the goods, plus the duty, plus transport, insurance and other incidental costs up to the first place of destination in your country (VAT Directive 2006/112/EC, Articles 85 and 86). The rate is your country's VAT rate. Standard rates from the EU's Your Europe table, last checked by the Commission on 13 July 2026:
- Luxembourg: 17%, the lowest in the EU
- Germany: 19%
- France: 20%
- Netherlands and Lithuania: 21%
- Hungary: 27%, the highest in the EU
A VAT-registered business can deduct import VAT on goods it uses for taxed sales (Article 168(e) of the same Directive). For a private buyer, import VAT is part of the cost.
FOB, CIF, DAP or DDP: who handles what?
The Incoterms 2020 rules from the International Chamber of Commerce set out who pays for each leg and when the risk passes from seller to buyer. The EU's Access2Markets portal lists all eleven. These four cover the usual choices for a furniture order:
| Rule | The seller handles | You handle |
|---|---|---|
| FOB, Free On Board (Indonesian port) | Export clearance and loading onto the ship | Sea freight, insurance, EU import clearance, duty, VAT and delivery. The risk passes to you once the goods are on board. |
| CIF, Cost, Insurance and Freight (EU port) | The FOB tasks plus sea freight and minimum insurance to the EU port | Import clearance, duty, VAT and delivery. The risk still passes to you once the goods are on board in Indonesia. |
| DAP, Delivered at Place (your address) | Everything up to your door, ready for unloading | Import clearance, duty, VAT and unloading |
| DDP, Delivered Duty Paid (your address) | Everything, including import duty and VAT | Unloading |
FOB and CIF apply to sea and inland waterway transport. Under CIF, check the insured amount: the seller has to buy minimum cover, so arrange extra cover for hand-finished pieces.
How does Feels Like Bali handle an import?
Feels Like Bali works with Bali workshops on custom furniture and takes care of sourcing and production oversight for you. For custom tables, we design the table with you, source the Balinese materials and complete the final production and finishing in Europe. Every order gets a quality inspection before it leaves Bali, and we coordinate the packaging, export documents and shipping to Europe.
We quote each project on request. Ask us for the supplier documents for your order.
Frequently asked questions
Is there customs duty on wooden furniture from Indonesia?
No. The EU TARIC database lists a 0% duty for wooden dining and living room furniture (9403 60 10) and wooden bedroom furniture (9403 50 00) from Indonesia, checked on 10 October 2026. You still pay import VAT.
Is rattan furniture from Bali duty-free?
Not by default. TARIC lists 5.6% duty for hand-made rattan furniture (9403 83 00 10) and rattan seats (9401 53 00). Goods of Indonesian origin can enter at 0% under the GSP scheme with valid proof of preferential origin.
How long does sea freight from Indonesia to Rotterdam take?
The quickest listed container service from Surabaya to Rotterdam takes 38 days and 6 hours with one transshipment, according to Fluent Cargo route data checked on 10 October 2026. Hamburg takes 44 days and 3 hours.
Do I need a FLEGT licence to import teak furniture from Indonesia?
Yes. TARIC makes a FLEGT import licence a condition for releasing Indonesian wooden furniture into free circulation. The Indonesian exporter obtains it, and it is known as the V-Legal document.
Do wooden shipping crates need treatment?
Yes. Solid wood crates, pallets and dunnage must meet ISPM 15: an approved treatment such as heat treatment at 56 °C for 30 continuous minutes, plus the IPPC mark. Plywood and wood 6 mm thick or less are exempt.
What VAT rate applies to furniture imported into the EU?
Your country's VAT rate, charged on the customs value plus duty and transport costs to the first destination. Standard rates run from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary.
Planning a project?
Tell us what you need, the sizes and the delivery country. We reply with a quote.