The EX-1 declaration. The document you receive isn't the proof you need.
The forwarder sends an email with a PDF and a long code, and the shipment shows as gone. That PDF proves the goods were released, which is one step short of what you need.
The EX-1 is the export declaration, and the exporter lodges it. It's the formal step that places goods leaving the EU under the export procedure, at the customs office responsible for where you're established or where the goods are packed and loaded. In practice a forwarder submits it on your behalf, and the responsibility stays yours.
The DAE travels with the goods; the exit message closes the file. The Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency states that the exit completed message is the proof that the goods have left the EU customs territory.
The goods must leave within 90 days of the release date. If they leave but the system doesn't record the exit, there's an enquiry procedure to start. Nobody warns you that you need it: you can work out your own deadline on this page, in the section on the ninety days.
This piece is part of the guide to export operations for small food producers and covers the customs step, in other words what happens once the shipping documents are ready.
The template, to download
It isn't the form itself, which the forwarder submits electronically and which varies with the channel used. It's a three-part list of what the declaration contains: the twelve details you supply, the three that come back to you (MRN, DAE, release date), and the line nobody watches on your behalf, the exit completed message.
| File | Contents | Link |
|---|---|---|
| The EX-1 fieldsPDF, one page | Nineteen fields in three sections: what you give, what you get back, and what you have to keep an eye on yourself. |
The files are free. There's no form in the way, we don't ask for an email address, and we don't get notified when anyone downloads them. The description of the goods, the customs code, the weights and the value must match the invoice and packing list: it's the first thing the PDF reminds you of, because it's the first reason for a check.
What it's actually called
The Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency calls it the export declaration. EX-1 is the name used by forwarders and buyers, and it means the same thing: the formal step that places goods under the export procedure.
The Agency defines the procedure in a single line: placing goods under the export procedure is mandatory whenever they are to leave the customs territory. Mandatory, then, not a formality you can choose to skip.
There's no such thing as a shipment outside the EU without a customs declaration. There are only shipments where someone else made it for you.
Who lodges it, and at which office
The exporter lodges it. The Agency says the exporter must present the goods and the declaration to the customs office of export, which is the one responsible for where the exporter is established, or where the goods are packed or loaded.
Almost no small producer submits it themselves. A forwarder or customs representative fills it in on the business's behalf, which is a sensible division of labour. The point to hold on to is a different one: responsibility for what is declared stays with the exporter, even when someone else does the typing.
MRN and DAE, two things that travel together
The MRN is a number, the DAE is a document, and people mix them up all the time. When the declaration is accepted, the office of export assigns the Movement Reference Number and, at release, hands over the export accompanying document, which carries that number and travels with the goods.
The difference matters because it changes what's worth keeping. The PDF ends up in a folder that nobody reopens. The MRN is the key to checking the status of the movement, and the Agency's website has a tracking service that shows the status of the export movement when you enter that number.
Proof of exit comes later, and it comes quietly
This is the part that costs you. The sequence involves two offices and two separate moments: the office of export accepts the declaration, carries out the risk analysis and releases the goods; the office of exit checks that the goods match what was declared, supervises their physical exit and sends the results back.
Only at the end of that chain is the loop closed. The Agency leaves no room for doubt: the exit completed message is the proof that the goods have left the EU customs territory.
The document you hold at release is therefore a snapshot from halfway along the route. Something can happen between release and exit completed, and when it does, no email arrives. The tax treatment of the transaction should be checked with your accountant on the basis of the proof you actually obtain, not the PDF you received on the day of departure.
The ninety days
Ninety days from release. The Agency, citing Article 335 of the Implementing Regulation, states that goods released for export must leave the EU customs territory within that period.
From there, two paths open up, and you have to follow them yourself because nobody will do it for you. If the goods have left but the system hasn't recorded the message, you start the enquiry procedure with the office of export. If the goods haven't left, their non-exit must be reported so that the declaration can be cancelled.
Just one date: the date of release for export. The forwarder or representative who lodged the declaration knows it, and the status of the movement can be followed with the MRN.
The deadline appears here as soon as you enter the date.
The goods must leave by , ninety calendar days after release.
days to go. Before the deadline, check that the movement shows as closed with the exit completed message: you can see the status with the MRN in the Agency's tracking service.
The deadline is today. If the movement doesn't show as closed with the exit completed message, get in touch straight away with the forwarder or representative who lodged the declaration.
The deadline passed days ago. If the goods have left but the exit isn't showing, start the enquiry procedure with the customs office of export. If the goods haven't left, report the non-exit to the office of export so the declaration can be cancelled.
The calculation runs in your browser, using today's date on your computer. For a deadline that's close, get confirmation from the forwarder or representative who lodged the declaration.
Who does what, and what's left to you
| Step | Who does it | What's left to you |
|---|---|---|
| The declarationthe EX-1 | The exporter, electronically, almost always through a forwarder acting on their behalf. |
Responsibility for what's written in it, including the description of the goods and their value. |
| Acceptance and releasethe MRN is issued | The office of export: it accepts the declaration, analyses the risk, assigns the MRN and hands over the DAE. |
The MRN. It's the key to checking everything else, so keep it where you can find it. |
| Physical exitat the border | The office of exit: it checks the goods match, supervises the exit and sends back the results. |
Nothing to do, but a date to keep an eye on: the ninety days started running earlier. |
| Exit completedthe proof | The customs system, once the exit results reach the office of export. |
Your proof of export. If it doesn't arrive, it's up to you to notice and start the enquiry. |
The right-hand column is the reason this page exists. Three rows out of four ask nothing of you, and only one needs your attention: the last one, which has no deadline written anywhere and sends no message when it goes wrong.
When shipments multiply
With three shipments a year you can track this from memory. With thirty, memory stops being a method: the MRNs are spread across thirty different emails, and checking which ones show as exited means reopening them one by one, so nobody does it until a problem turns up.
It's the same pattern as the certificate of origin and health certificates: a line to check that nobody has been given responsibility for. When those lines run into dozens, the place to see them together stops being a spreadsheet and becomes a deadline tracker that warns you in advance, with the rule set out in Ethics: the system flags, and a person does the checking.
This page reports what the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency publishes on its own pages, opened and read on 13 September 2026. It doesn't set out the step-by-step procedure for submitting a declaration, because that varies with the electronic channel used and the representative lodging it.
The VAT treatment of the transaction isn't covered here. It depends on the proof you actually obtain, and it's something to discuss with your accountant.
Questions and answers
What is the EX-1 declaration?
It's the customs declaration that places goods under the export procedure so they can leave the customs territory of the European Union. The Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency states that placing goods under the export procedure is mandatory for goods that are to leave that territory.
On the Agency's pages the document is called the export declaration. EX-1 is the name used by forwarders and buyers, and it means the same thing. It's lodged electronically with the customs office of export.
Who lodges the declaration, the seller or the buyer?
The exporter, which normally means the seller established in the European Union. The Agency says the exporter must present the goods and the declaration to the office responsible for where they're established, or where the goods are packed or loaded.
In practice almost no small producer submits it themselves: a freight forwarder or customs representative fills it in on the business's behalf. But responsibility for what is declared stays with the exporter, even when someone else does the typing.
What proves the goods have left the European Union?
The exit completed message, not the document that travelled with the goods. The Customs Agency is clear that the exit completed message is the proof that the goods have left the EU customs territory.
The DAE, handed over at release, shows that the declaration was accepted and the goods released, which is an earlier step. Between the two, something can go wrong without anyone telling you, and the tax treatment should be checked with your accountant on the basis of the proof you actually obtain.
How long do the goods have to leave after release?
Ninety days. The Agency, citing Article 335 of the Implementing Regulation, states that goods released for export must leave the EU customs territory within 90 days of the date of release.
If the goods have left but the system hasn't recorded the exit message, the operator can start an enquiry procedure with the customs office of export. If the goods haven't left, their non-exit must be reported to the office so that the declaration can be cancelled.
What's the difference between the MRN and the DAE?
The MRN is a number, the DAE is a document. The Movement Reference Number is assigned by the office of export when the declaration is accepted and is used to follow the movement; the export accompanying document is the sheet that travels with the goods and carries that number.
The Agency's website has a tracking service that shows the status of the export movement when you enter the MRN. Keeping the MRN somewhere you can find it matters more than filing the PDF, because that number is how you check whether the exit shows as completed.
Notes on sources
- Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency, export, customs procedures, for the definition of the procedure, the competent office, the roles of the office of export and the office of exit, the MRN, the DAE, the ninety-day deadline with its reference to Article 335 of the Implementing Regulation, and the statement on the exit completed message. Both statements are faithful paraphrases of the Agency's Italian text.
- Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency, export declarations, for the B1 message that replaces ET/ET1 in the switch to the new export system. That page gives no date of application, so we don't publish one here.
- Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency, tracking export or transit movements, for the existence of the service that shows the status of a movement from its MRN.
- The Agency's pages were opened and read on 13 September 2026. This page doesn't give the step-by-step electronic procedure, because it depends on the channel used and the representative lodging the declaration.
A shipment is done when the system says it has left, not when the truck pulls out.
With three shipments a year you can keep track from memory. With thirty, the MRNs sit in thirty emails and nobody reopens them until there's a problem. At Itria we start from the outside and build tailored digital systems for exporters. For you, that means more enquiries, fewer losses and less manual work. Drop us a line about what's slowing you down. We'll make the first move: we'll look at what a buyer sees when they search for you, and tell you what we found. Even if we never end up working together.