Importing a modular home from the Baltics to Ireland

1It's EU trade, not a customs import

The single biggest misconception I hear from Irish buyers: "won't I get hammered on import duty and customs?" No, you won't — and here's why.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are all EU member states, exactly like Ireland. A house moving from Riga to Roscommon never leaves the EU single market. That means no customs duty, no import-VAT clearance at a port, no customs broker, no commodity codes. It is not an "import" in the post-Brexit, buying-from-Britain sense at all. It's an intra-EU acquisition — closer, legally, to buying from a supplier in another Irish county than to shipping a container from China.

2Who actually pays the VAT

No duty doesn't mean no tax. VAT is where Baltic-home deals get messy, and where I see people overpay — or accidentally get taxed twice.

There's no single answer, because it depends on how the deal is structured. The three situations I see most:

• You're a private buyer, house supplied and installed in Ireland. When a supplier delivers and assembles the home on your Irish site, the "place of supply" for VAT can be Ireland — which means Irish VAT at 23% applies, and a larger supplier may need to register for and charge Irish VAT. Good suppliers know this; many smaller ones don't, so it has to be nailed down in the contract.
• You're a private buyer, plain ex-works goods sale. If you're simply buying a unit at the factory and arranging your own transport, the supplier typically charges their domestic VAT (Estonian, Latvian or Lithuanian) at their local rate. Rates differ from Ireland's — worth knowing before you compare a "plus VAT" Baltic price against a "VAT-inclusive" Irish one.
• You're VAT-registered in Ireland (a business or investor). This is an intra-community acquisition: you self-account for Irish VAT under the reverse charge and, where the home is a business asset, may be able to reclaim it. You'll need to give the supplier your Irish VAT number so they can zero-rate their side.

3Delivery terms — the EXW trap

Two letters on a quote can swing the real cost by several thousand euro. They're called Incoterms, and most Baltic factories quote the cheaper-looking one.

EXW (ex-works) — the price is the house sitting at the factory gate. Transport, permits, ferries, unloading and crane are all your problem. It looks the cheapest because it is the least.

FCA / FOB — the supplier gets it to a port or onto a truck, but you still own the sea and land legs.

DAP (delivered at place) — it's delivered to your Irish site. Far less hassle, and the number you see is much closer to the number you'll pay.

Neither is "wrong" — but comparing an EXW Baltic price to a DAP or turnkey Irish price is comparing apples to a whole orchard. On the compare table I separate factory price from the transport overlay so you're looking at like for like.

4The route into Ireland

Geography decides a chunk of your delivery bill, and the Baltics aren't all the same distance from Dublin.

• Lithuania → Ireland is the sweet spot: Klaipeda to Dublin runs on direct ro-ro ferries, so a unit can travel without endless transhipment. Cheapest and usually fastest.
• Latvia and Estonia generally route via Sweden, Germany or Rotterdam before the final hop to Ireland — figure on roughly an extra week and around €1,500 over the Lithuanian route.
• Abnormal loads. Anything over about 3m wide (many one-piece homes are) needs wide-load permits and sometimes an escort on the Irish side. A good haulier prices this in; a cheap quote that ignores it will catch you later.
• Last mile. The truck still has to physically reach your site. Irish boreens, low bridges, tight farm entrances and soft ground stop more deliveries than the sea ever does. Get the haulier to check the route before you sign.

5Protecting your deposit

The hardest part of buying abroad isn't logistics — it's wiring a five-figure deposit to a factory you've never visited. This is exactly the bit I built ourhouse.ie to de-risk.

The standard Baltic payment pattern is staged against manufacturing milestones — usually something like 10% on signing, 40–50% at production start, the balance before shipping, and a final slice on delivery and sign-off. That last slice is your snag-list leverage; don't let it shrink to nothing.

Things that genuinely lower your risk:

• A real company you can check — registered entity, VAT number, a verifiable trading history. Every provider page on ourhouse.ie carries an evidence grade for this reason.
• Escrow or a bank guarantee for the larger stages, if the supplier will agree to it. Some will.
• A small first deposit. If a factory wants 50% up front before they've cut a board, push back or walk.
• Written milestones with photos at each stage before the next payment is released.

6Standards, certs and building regs

An EU-built house should arrive with EU paperwork — but Irish building regulations still apply once it's on your land.

• CE marking — EU-manufactured building products and kits should carry it. Ask for the Declaration of Performance.
• Insulation & energy — if the home is a dwelling, it has to meet Irish building regs and you'll want a BER. Baltic factories build for cold climates, so insulation is usually a strength, not a weakness — but get the U-values in writing and confirm they meet current Irish requirements.
• Structural & fire — Part B (fire) and Part A (structure) of the Irish regs apply to a habitable build regardless of where it was made. A reputable supplier can provide the certs; budget for an Irish engineer to sign off if needed.
• Planning is separate from all of this — the regs are about the building; planning is about permission to put it there. See the planning guide and the 45m² exemption.