Customs clearance in Madrid

Why a shipment from Madrid to the Canary Islands goes through customs

Because the Canary Islands, being Spain and the European Union, are outside the common VAT territory. The islands are part of the Union's customs territory, so there are no tariffs, but fiscally the shipment crosses a border: it needs an export DUA and, upon arrival, an import DUA with IGIC settlement and, if the item is subject to it, AIEM.

That surprises almost everyone in Madrid, because a shipment to Barcelona or Bilbao doesn't involve any of this. And it has a favorable counterpart: the operation is VAT-exempt at origin, with the DUA filed as proof to the AEAT. The complete mechanics, with regimes and exemptions, can be found in our guide on customs between the Canary Islands and mainland Spain.

Is it cleared in Madrid or at the port of shipment?

Both are possible and the choice is not trivial. Madrid has an inland customs office, so the DUA can be filed here and the cargo can travel to the port afterwards; or it can move to the port and be cleared there, at the moment of shipment.

Clearing in Madrid makes sense when the shipment is complex—goods with varied items, values that need to be documented, multiple suppliers—because it can be resolved calmly before any port clock starts running. Clearing at the port is better when the cargo is consolidated with other shipments and the final packing list isn't closed until the cross-dock. We decide this per shipment and we mention it in the quote; it's not an administrative detail, it's what determines where it can get stuck.

Port of shipment: Valencia or Cádiz

Without a port of its own, cargo from Madrid travels by road to the dock, and there are two reasonable routes with a real difference in timeline:

• Valencia, approximately 350 km away. It's our regular consolidation point and the port with the most frequent services to the islands: 6 days transit time to Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
• Cádiz, approximately 650 km away. More road distance, but it's the main hub for Canary Islands cabotage and offers the shortest transit: 5 days.

For a move, the difference is usually determined by the available departure date, not the distance. For goods with periodic replenishment, Valencia usually wins out, because frequency matters more than one day of transit. In inland origins, moreover, consolidated groupage is key: you pay for the volume you occupy and not a full container, and that cushions the cost of the overland leg.

Barajas: when the shipment can't wait for the ship

Madrid has something the ports don't: Barajas air customs. For small and urgent shipments—documentation, spare parts, samples, medical material—the air route resolves in 24 or 48 hours what would be days by sea, with its own DUA and its own IGIC and AIEM settlement upon arrival.

It's not the route for a move: the price per kilogram has nothing in common and the cargo restrictions are different. But for the shipment that blocks a construction or repair job on the island, it's the difference between solving it this week or next week.

Timelines from Madrid to each island

To the maritime transit, you have to add the overland leg to the port and consolidation, which is where a good part of the total timeline goes in an inland origin:

We collect in Madrid city and in Toledo, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Ávila and Segovia. The overland leg to the port is included in the quote from the beginning, not as an extra that appears later.