Goods - Hungary

Updated 12/2010

Legal requirements

Hungarian companies have taken full part in the EU's internal market since accession in 2004, and thus benefit from the free movement of goods. Hungarian legislation has also successfully removed the legal obstacles to the free movement of goods.

Act on the application of mutual recognition

Restrictions

Consumer interests require the State to use legal regulation to ensure respect for economic competition and that the requirements relating to products for commercial distribution are fulfilled.

Act Prohibiting Dishonest Commercial Practices in Respect of Consumers
Consumer Protection Act
Act on the Prohibition of Unfair and Restrictive Market Practices [404 KB]
Advertising of consumer goods
Prices and labelling
Decree on the Security of Goods and Services
Instances of mandatory guarantee

Food sector

The Act on the Food Chain and its Official Supervision defines the rules necessary for the supply of safe food to people and official supervision of the food chain. The Act covers all players in the food chain.

Act on the Food Chain and its Official Supervision
Decree on the Designation of Foods
Food safety [2 MB]
The HACCP system

The Central Agricultural Office is a central office directed by the Minister of Rural Development, and performs tasks relating to food safety.

Central Agricultural Office
Downloadable forms from Food and Fodder Directorate of the Central Agricultural Office

The Hungarian Food Safety Office provides experts and the general public with up-to-date information reflecting the latest scientific results in the field of food safety.

Hungarian Food Safety Office [2 MB]

Non-food sector

The general rules laid down in the Act on Pursuing Commercial Activities also refer to the sale of non-food products.

Commerce Act
Instances of mandatory guarantee

Hungary is obliged to harmonise technical draft legislation relating to industrial products with the European Union, so that any legislation that restricts the free movement of goods can be filtered out. This harmonisation task is performed by the Notification Centre.

Notification Centre

The Hungarian Trade Licensing Office acts as the authorisation, registration, monitoring and supervisory authority in relation to commercial businesses. As the national authority for the EU, the Hungarian Trade Licensing Office acts as the authority for implementing in Hungary the European Union's Common Trade Policy.

Hungarian Trade Licensing Office

Excise duties

Excise goods: petroleum oil, alcoholic products, beer, wine, champagne and sparkling wine, intermediate alcoholic products, tobacco products.

Act on Excise Duties and the Regulation of Excise Goods
Scope of the Excise Act and monitoring of excise
Origin of liability for excise duty
Excise procedure
Suspension of excise duty
Tax-free consumption of excise goods and tax rebates

Trade licensing requirements

The Act on Commerce regulates the principles and conditions for the pursuit of commercial activity, by retaining the freedom to pursue a commercial activity and emphasising the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Decree on the System for Running a Business, and on Certain Conditions for Pursuing a Commercial Activity Without Trade
Decree on Markets, Commercial Markets, and Shopping Centres
Reporting commercial activities, and the business operating licence procedure

Applications for operating licences must be submitted to the notary for the competent local government of the town where the business is registered. In general, the pursuit of commercial activities must also be reported to him.

Appealing against trade barriers

The notification procedures are handled in Hungary by the Notification Centre of the Ministry of National Economy.

The notification procedures provide additional security for the free movement of goods in the internal market. These include notification on the physical barriers to the trading of goods and certain market monitoring measures.

Ministry for National Economy
Form for reporting the drafts of technical regulations
Form for all other messages related to notified technical regulations

Administrative procedures

Permits and licences

For products manufactured and distributed in Hungary, as a rule, no authorisation procedure is required. Preliminary authorisation may be necessary in other cases.

Trade in certain goods and their transportation on the territory of the Republic of Hungary may be restricted. These restrictions may include the requirement of a licence to import, export or transit goods, or suspension or prohibition for a definite or indefinite period.

Decree on the Trade of Goods, Services and Rights Representing Material Value Across National or Customs Borders[157 KB]
Commercial licensing forms
CE mark

International VAT number

Under the Taxation Rules Act, taxpayers that trade within the European Union must have a Community tax number. The State tax authority generates and records Community tax numbers.

Act on Taxation Rules
Tax and Financial Control Administration
General rules for tax registration
Specific rules for tax registration
Tax registration for foreigners
Confirmation of Community tax numbers of taxpayers from other Member States
Information on the validity of Community tax numbers

Invoice requirements

Unless otherwise provided for, taxpayers are obliged to issue an invoice to the buyer or customer for the sale of goods or provision of services.

Value-Added Tax Act
Requirements for issuing an invoice
Provisions relating to invoices and rules on invoicing

Submitting statistics

Trade within the internal market of the European Union is recorded using the Intrastat statistical monitoring system. Intrastat data providers are Hungarian companies that import products from EU Member States or export products to them.

Intrastat
Information on Intrastat - Central Statistical Office
Intrastat - Central Statistical Office

Suspending tariffs or obtaining new tariff quotas

Companies may initiate a reduction in import duties for materials and components imported for use in their products, in the event that the goods in question were not manufactured, or not in sufficient quantity, in the European Union. In Hungary, applications for suspension of Customs duty or tariff quotas must be submitted to the Ministry of National Economy (MNE).

Autonomous suspensions of Customs duty or tariff quotas - MNE [61 KB]
Tariff quota query
Application for renewed suspension of Customs duty or amending existing ones
Guide to completing the application for a suspension of Customs duty or tariff quota

Shipping certain goods

There are separate regulations relating to the transportation of dangerous goods. The ADR is the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road.

The authorisation of vehicles built to transport dangerous goods falls is the jurisdiction of the National Transport Authority.

Hazardous waste may only be transported and collected with an operating licence from the National Inspectorate for Environment, Nature and Water.

Decree on the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road
List of hazardous waste
List of those providing advice on the safety of transporting hazardous goods [2 MB]
National Inspectorate for Environment, Nature and Water
National Transport Authority
Guide to submitting an application to collect and transport non-hazardous waste

International transport document

The shipping of a product to another Member State may be verified by means of the shipping documents or in another credible manner. The seller is responsible for being able to prove credibly, for example by means of an international carriage note (CMR), that the product has been received in another Member State.

Electronic international carriage note

For goods transported by groupage, it is necessary to draw up a manifest if there is a carriage note. If the goods are transported by the seller himself, he must have an international licence for the carriage of goods by road in addition to the CMR note.

Road schedules and shipping documents
Professional conditions and authorisation procedures for domestic and international shipping by road

If the seller transports the goods in his own car (company car), he must have proof from the buyer that he took delivery of the goods from the seller in the destination country, in addition to the car log book or waybill.

A Community licence valid in EU Member States may be requested from the National Transport Authority.

Hungary applies the rules relating to the international shipping of goods with a TIR carnet. In addition to the TIR Agreement, the Transit Agreement is also becoming increasingly important in the field of shipping. Under the Transit Agreement, transported goods are exempt from the obligation to provide a Customs guarantee.

Act Publishing the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets
Act Publishing the European Agreement Concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport (AETR)

Litigation

In Hungary, it is possible to settle disputes by means of well-known types of alternative settlement, arbitration or mediation.

Court of arbitration

Proceedings at a court of arbitration (arbitration) may be concluded in a contract if at least one of the parties is a person engaged professionally in a commercial activity, and the legal dispute relates to such activity, or if the parties are free to order the subject of the proceedings. A Permanent Court of Arbitration organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry may also act as the court of arbitration in international cases.

Act on Courts of Arbitration
Permanent Court of Arbitration organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Mediation procedure

In a mediation procedure (mediation), the parties may, by mutual agreement, have civil disputes arising in relation to personal and property rights in which their right of ownership is not restricted by law.

Act on Mediation

The list of mediators is published on the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice website.

List of mediators

Conciliation

The procedures of the conciliation panel are primarily for settling consumer disputes. This panel essentially performs three activities, namely conciliation, mediation and arbitration, within one organisation.

Conciliation panels

If the procedures above are unsuccessful, court proceedings may be initiated in order to settle the conflict.

Act on Civil Court Proceedings

Programmes

KA-VOSZ Zrt was created in collaboration with the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Association of Entrepreneurs. This company instigated the creation of the Széchenyi Card, a low-interest loan for Hungarian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

KA-VOSZ Zrt.

Check also the legislation on this topic in:

Goods - Hungary