Entrust your DEB, EMEBI and Intrastat to the firm that secures your intra-EU flows in 2026

Regulatory framework, DEB, EMEBI and Intrastat

The monthly survey on intra-EU trade in goods (EMEBI) sits within European regulation 2019/2152 on European business statistics, supplemented by implementing regulation 2020/1197. In France, the Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects (DGDDI, French Customs) collects it on behalf of Insee through the DEB portal on douane.gouv.fr. The recapitulative statement of intra-Community supplies (ERTVA), provided by article 289 B of the Code général des impôts (CGI, French Tax Code), reports the supplies exempted under article 262 ter, I and the assimilated transfers.

Intrastat is the common European scheme into which EMEBI, the German Meldung and the Belgian Intervat equivalent all fit. Each Member State has its own filing threshold, its own calendar and its own declarant identifier. A DEB EMEBI Intrastat firm coordinates these obligations for multi-country groups and produces a harmonised response to each administration.

The reference period is the calendar month. Filing takes place on the tenth business day following the reference month for France. The data to transmit includes the combined nomenclature (eight-digit CN code from regulation 2658/87), the partner country, the regime (supply, acquisition, transfer), the fiscal value, the net mass, the supplementary units, the nature of the transaction and, since 2022, the country of origin of the goods and the VAT number of the partner for shipments.

Who is concerned, filing thresholds in 2026

Every French company VAT-registered that ships goods to another Member State or receives them is potentially required to file. The statistical EMEBI relies on a filing threshold of 460,000 euros per calendar year and per flow (arrival, dispatch), selected by Insee. Below that level, a company is only asked to file if it is in the sample. The fiscal ERTVA, by contrast, is due with no threshold from the first exempted intra-EU supply.

Thresholds vary from one Member State to another. Germany applies 500,000 euros on arrival and 500,000 euros on dispatch. Belgium sits at 1,500,000 euros on arrival and 1,000,000 euros on dispatch. Italy and Spain require a filing from the first euro for certain flows. A group operating in seven countries can therefore accumulate seven distinct Intrastat regimes, which explains the value of a single firm centralising the collection.

Groups operating under the commissionaire regime, organising simplified triangular transactions within the meaning of article 141 of the VAT directive, or managing stock under consignment or call-off contracts, remain subject to filing whatever the VAT simplifications in place. An initial diagnostic frames the filing obligation country by country.

Detailed services of a DEB, EMEBI and Intrastat firm

The engagement breaks down into six technical blocks, each producing verifiable deliverables.

• Initial scoping, mapping of flows, review of applicable fiscal regimes (exempt supplies, assimilated transfers, quadripartite flows, intra-EU distance sales), identification of countries of filing.
• Mapping of combined nomenclatures: assignment of an eight-digit CN code to each item in the ERP database, with controls by family, review of usage durations, documentation of choices for traceability in case of audit.
• Monthly data extraction from SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage or NetSuite, automated through parameterised queries, reconciled against the general ledger and the VAT returns.
• Quality controls: consistency of net masses and supplementary units, VIES check of partner VAT numbers, reconciliation between statistical value and fiscal value, detection of unusual allocations.
• Electronic filing through the DEB Customs portal for France, through national portals (Extrastat for Italy, Idev for Belgium, IT.NRW for Germany, AEAT for Spain) or via a standardised XML gateway.
• Monitoring and managing changes: threshold updates, introduction of new variables (non-preferential origin, partner VAT code), migration to new formats (CN8, CPA), migration of portals.

The standard journey includes a scoping meeting, the delivery of a tailored procedures manual, the production of the first filing under supervision, then a recurring monthly run with quarterly review. Deliverables include the XML files submitted, the administrative acknowledgements, a control dashboard, and a memo summarising nomenclature corrections. Coordination with the monthly CA3 return ensures consistency between the supplies declared for VAT and the dispatches declared to the EMEBI.

In a customs audit, the firm prepares the response to the information request, presents the internal control procedures, justifies the classification choices and defends the quality of the data. A recent note from the DGDDI has significantly raised the documentary audit rate on high-value flows and on sensitive sectors (pharmaceutical, luxury, technology).

Typical volumetrics of DEB flows by nomenclature chapter

The chart below shows an indicative breakdown of the monthly DEB lines filed by combined-nomenclature chapter, for a diversified mid-sized manufacturer. This view helps calibrate the CN review effort and prioritise the main work streams.

Criteria to choose your DEB EMEBI Intrastat firm

Four points structure the choice. First, multi-country Intrastat coverage. A credible firm operates directly in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, with a single point of contact and consolidated invoicing. Ask for the list of portals on which the firm actually files directly.

Second, mastery of the combined nomenclature. The eight-digit CN classification commits the company on statistical value, excise liability, customs duty rate if the item crosses the external border. An experienced firm has a nomenclature engineer and works with French Customs on binding tariff information (RTC).

Third, ERP integration. The most efficient engagements rely on direct connectors to the item database, possibly with RPA to avoid manual rework. Industrialisation reduces monthly processing time by 60 to 80 per cent.

Fourth, legal depth on VAT. A good DEB firm is also a VAT firm, capable of connecting its statistical filings with VAT compliance, the OSS and IOSS declarations for e-commerce and the suspensive customs regimes in coordination with excise and EORI specialists.

Comparative analysis and field feedback

Three profiles of players share the market. The large integrated audit firms propose an Intrastat offering embedded in their VAT engagements, with a proprietary platform and worldwide coverage, at a premium fee level. Specialised VAT and customs firms (TEVEA, TMF Group, Ryan, Accordance) combine Intrastat and fiscal representation, and run medium to large groups with excellent responsiveness. Regulatory logistics providers (Asteres, Asia Shipping, ADS) integrate Intrastat into their operational customs offering, which appeals to supply chain leaders.

Field feedback highlights three successes and three recurring pitfalls. On the success side, tight monthly governance, a shared real-time dashboard and a stable engagement lead produce a filing quality well above the average. On the pitfall side, CN classification handed to an intern, multiplication of local subcontractors without a central pilot and the absence of an annual review generate discrepancies that can be spotted by administrations. A full audit costs two to three times the annual run of a serious provider.

Groups that have internalised the DEB often end up returning to an external provider after one or two years: the actual monthly workload, the volatility of country rules and the scarcity of nomenclature skills make internalisation expensive in practice.

Fee ranges observed in 2026

A simple monthly EMEBI filing, on a single flow and fewer than 200 lines, is negotiated between 180 and 350 euros excluding tax per filing. A manufacturer with 500 to 2,000 lines, two flows, one country, lands between 450 and 900 euros excluding tax per month. Multi-country steering (six to ten Intrastat portals) ranges from 2,800 to 6,500 euros excluding tax per month, including quality control and the production of responses to administrations.

One-off assignments (full nomenclature mapping, binding tariff information request, response to a documentary audit, historical correction clean-up) are billed at time spent, from 180 to 350 euros excluding tax per hour. A serious quote details the number of lines included, the cost of adding a country and the terms for processing corrective filings.