Liquid fuel activity licence in Estonia

Importing, exporting or selling liquid fuel in Estonia, or storing other people's fuel as a business, requires an activity licence from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board⁶⁸. The applicant must meet the capital or insurance requirements of the Liquid Fuel Act and, for fuel sale, have a security accepted by the Board¹³¹⁸.

Information as of 11 November 2026. Every numbered statement of this page was checked in the official text named below and re-checked by a second reviewer on 2026-11-11. The page is general information, not legal advice; the authority decides on every application.

What the activity is

The Liquid Fuel Act (vedelkütuse seadus) defines liquid fuel as a liquid combustible usable as an energy source in heat engines and similar devices, including liquefied gas and biogas used in motor vehicles¹. "Handling" of fuel under the act means the sale or offering for sale of fuel released for consumption, its transport, providing a storage service and storing it, and the import, export and production of fuel².

Four of these activities need a licence⁶:

Fuel import – placing fuel under the customs procedure of release for free circulation under the Union Customs Code³.
Fuel export – placing fuel under the export customs procedure³.
Fuel sale – outside a filling station, payment must be cashless, and only one legal person may sell fuel at one filling station⁴.
Fuel storage service – holding and storing, in the course of one's business, fuel that belongs to another person⁵.

The act does not regulate technical and safety requirements for equipment, buildings and measuring instruments⁷.

The legal act and the authority

Act: Liquid Fuel Act, chapter 4 "Licence requirement" (§§ 13–19²), together with the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act (majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus), which sets the general licence procedure⁶²⁵.
Authority: the Tax and Customs Board (Maksu- ja Tolliamet, MTA) resolves the licence application⁸.
Register: the licence is entered in the Register of Economic Activities (majandustegevuse register), whose controller is the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA)⁹. Buying fuel from an unlicensed seller is prohibited, and a buyer (except at a filling station) must check the seller's licence there¹⁰. A seller that imports fuel, releases it for consumption or ends its tax warehousing needs a separate entry in the register for that¹¹.

Who must apply

Any undertaking that carries out one of the four activities in Estonia⁶. The act names these cases where no licence is required¹²:

sale in an excise warehouse (except fuel released for consumption), tax warehouse, customs warehouse or free zone;
sale that comes with a motor vehicle use contract;
import into an excise or tax warehouse;
release for consumption of excise-exempt fuel, and of fuel for ships and aircraft used outside Estonia (also its export);
sale in enforcement proceedings.

Requirements for the applicant

The licence is granted if the applicant meets § 3 of the act, has a security meeting §§ 4¹–4⁴, and has no unexpired punishment for operating without a required licence¹³.

Technical means and staff. A fuel handler must have the technical means and staff needed to comply with the act¹⁴.

Capital or insurance.

Sale: only a company (äriühing) may sell fuel. Its share capital must be at least EUR 31,950, or it must have a valid liability insurance contract with a minimum sum insured of EUR 31,950 covering damage to third parties. The capital or insurance requirement does not apply to a company that sells only liquefied gas¹⁵.
Import: a company with share capital of at least EUR 639,115 (not required for liquefied gas)¹⁶.
Storage service: a valid liability insurance contract with a minimum sum insured of EUR 31,950; a company that both provides a storage service and imports fuel needs share capital of at least EUR 639,115¹⁷.

Security (tagatis) for fuel sale. The seller provides the Tax and Customs Board with the security named in § 44² (2) of the Value Added Tax Act; it counts as provided once the Board has accepted it¹⁸. The amounts in force¹⁹:

EUR 1,000,000 for a seller that imports fuel, releases it for consumption or ends its tax warehousing; the Board may set a higher amount if there is a justified suspicion that the seller will not meet its VAT obligation;
for a seller of fuel already released for consumption: the quantity of fuel it intends to sell in two consecutive calendar months × the average sale price × the VAT rate, and not less than EUR 5,000.

The security is not required for the sale of aviation fuel, liquefied gas and biogas¹⁸. For a seller of fuel already released for consumption, the security caps monthly sales, and selling more needs an additional security; a seller that imports fuel, releases it for consumption or ends its tax warehousing has no such monthly cap²⁰. A new security is filed at least ten working days before the current one expires²¹. A seller of fuel already released for consumption may apply for a reduced security (coefficient 0.1, at least EUR 5,000) after at least six months of operating under the licence, if neither the seller nor its management or control body members have tax arrears; the Board considers, among other things, the business reputation of the seller, its management and control body members and its business partners²².

Place of business and tanks. Fuel may be sold or stored for others only at the place of business entered in the register, and a storage service may not be provided at a filling station²³. Fuel may be stored only in a stationary tank registered under the act; the owner of a stationary tank of 10 m³ or more registers its data in the information system under the Equipment Safety Act²⁴.

Management, AML/CFT (anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing), IT. Whether further requirements, such as a fit-and-proper test or AML/CFT rules, apply is specified for the client's case.

Fuel handling database. The fuel handling database (kütuse käitlemise andmekogu) is a sub-register of the register of taxable persons kept by the Board²⁶. A fuel sale licence holder enters in it, among other things, transfers of fuel (except filling station sales), transport, handovers to a storage keeper, own use and losses, before dispatch or handover²⁷. A carrier may not start transport before the transport is entered in the database²⁸. The data are not public²⁹. A storage service provider keeps stock records of fuel held for others³⁰.

Documents filed with the application

The application is filed with the general data required by the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act: the company's name and registry code, contact details, the activity and its classification code, and the signatory and the basis of their right of representation²⁵. A company still being founded files its founding document instead of a registry code³¹. The Liquid Fuel Act adds³²:

the exact activities applied for (import, export, sale, storage service);
for fuel sale: whether the seller falls under § 4² (1) or (2) (security type), the addresses of the points of sale, and a business or other plan that includes the maximum monthly fuel sales turnover;
for storage service: the capacity of the tanks used;
when applying for the right to release fuel for consumption, to end tax warehousing, or for an import licence: a plan with evidence of how the company will meet the biofuel share obligation of § 2¹ of the act.

State fee and processing time

State fee. The applicant pays the state fee in the amount set by the State Fees Act (riigilõivuseadus)³³. Whether a state fee applies to this application, and its amount, is specified for the client's situation.

Time limits in the law. The authority sends a first reply, with the time limit of the procedure, within three working days³⁵. The general time limit is 30 days, counted from the filing of all required data³⁶. Under the Liquid Fuel Act, the Board sets the security within ten working days after receiving the application and its documents; the licence time limit is suspended while an application to reduce the security is being resolved³⁷. The authority may ask for additional data³⁸, may suspend the time limit for up to 30 days to remedy a shortcoming, and may extend it once by up to 30 days in a complex case³⁶. These are the law's time limits, not a promise of when the Board will decide, and the decision on the licence belongs to the Board.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

LexorCorp Global OÜ (registry code 12233761) prepares the activity licence application documentation: the requirements of the Liquid Fuel Act for the client's activity, from its official text, and the application, which it files with the authority, following up the authority's questions in writing. The timeline is agreed with the client. Fees, the security, insurance and share capital are the client's own costs.

LexorCorp does not give legal or tax advice, does not audit, and does not provide the security or the insurance. It cannot promise that the licence will be granted, a date, or any decision of the Tax and Customs Board.

The price depends on the activities applied for and is given on request: use "Request a price" next to the fuel activity in the guide Licensed activities in Estonia.

Sources

Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 2 (1) p 1 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 2 (1) p 3 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 2 (1) p 4–5 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 4 (4), (6) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 2 (1) p 6 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (this point amended RT I, 30.06.2026, 1)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 13 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 1 (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 19 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus MSÜS § 8 (2), (4); § 53 (1) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 19¹ (1)–(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 13 (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 13 (2) p 1–6 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 14 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 3 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 3 (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 3 (4) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 3 (5), (5²) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 4¹ (1), (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 4² (1)–(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 4⁵ (1), (2), (4) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 4³ — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 4⁴ (2¹)–(2³) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 3 (6) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 3 (10); § 19³ (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus MSÜS § 19 (2) p 1; § 15 (1) p 1–4, 7 — text in force from 01.09.2025
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 5¹ (1¹) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 5¹ (2); § 3 (8) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 5² — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 5¹ (6) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 6¹ (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus MSÜS § 19 (4) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 15 p 1–6 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus MSÜS § 19 (7) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus MSÜS § 19 (5) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus MSÜS § 20 (1)–(3) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Vedelkütuse seadus (Liquid Fuel Act) VKS § 19 (2)–(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 44)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus MSÜS § 19 (6) — text in force from 01.09.2025

Official sources

The laws this article names, each linked to its official text, as read on 9 October 2026. For the Estonian acts we read the English translation in Riigi Teataja; the legally binding text is the Estonian one.

Value-Added Tax Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
Value Added Tax Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
State Fees Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation

Sources in the text are named without links; the official texts are linked under Official sources. To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.

Liquid fuel activity licence in Estonia (import, export, sale, storage service)