Forum Moderators: buckworks
I've been reading online and I found this PDF file from the "Official Journal of the European Union" that states the value of ECU 22 shall be replaced by EUR 150.
Now let's say someone from any country within the European Union (UK, Germany, France, etc...) buys something from my USA website will they be charged Import Duty Tax or VAT on products under EUR 150?
Thank you,
olimits7
Thank you,
olimits7
Complaining about charges as a consumer also gives next to nothing as those charging are untouchable (even if they do so when they should not, and admit as much, there is no refund).
Import duties is basically a protectionist measure: to make the foreign product more expensive.
VAT is different: companies generally recuperate VAT they pay, but charge it to their customers. Only the consumer pays it in the end (so it's a bit like sales tax with a very complex system of collection)
I think it's best to warn international customers they might have to pay import duties and/or VAT (and charges to collect the above). But you have little to no control over how much it is going to be, nor when it will be charged or not. (I've had it charged and not on identical shipments of identical value with identical customs forms on them). There is often also room for interpretation by the customs officers, so there really isn't much logic to discover.
E.g. I've had reasonable success in getting packages from amazon.com without charges (where there should have been significant charges), but I've been hit by 10 EUR (excl VAT) processing charges for amazon.de shipments (inside the schengen zone).
As a company, I like suppliers shipping stuff to me in Europe, to NOT split up packages in smaller shipments (a problem with e.g. amazon.com who try to help with giving you "free" multiple shipments). Mainly the fixed cost per package to process it outweighs the import duties in all cases I've seen, and I don't care about VAT, if I get charged, I get it back, it's useless to try to charge companies VAT.
I'd much rather pay 15EUR to process one big package than pay 5 times 10 EUR to process 5 packages.
As a consumer, it depends on the VAT rate in the country it gets shipped too (e.g. books can be low, while DVD are high), if I'd rather slip below the radar or pay the processing fees. I don't think it's easy to predict for you, but allowing the customer to choose how it is divided is the best you can do.
Now let's say someone from any country within the European Union (UK, Germany, France, etc...) buys something from my USA website will they be charged Import Duty Tax or VAT on products under EUR 150?
Since December 1st 2008 EU citizens ordering from countries outside the EU do not have to pay customs duty for goods worth less than 150 EUR. But they still have to pay VAT.
However this does not apply to all goods. For some goods like tobacco, perfume, alcohol the 150 EUR excemption does not apply.
The limit for travelers arriving in the EU has also been raised to 430 EUR.
As to strategies how to avoid the customs: Better not use them. You are not doing your customer a favor. I ordered something in the US last year. It took unusually long until the shipment arrived. Then I found out the reason: The shipment was sitting at the customs office. The seller had thought he would do me a favor and only state the worth of the goods with 50$ instead of the 200$ I had paid. But the guys at the customs are not dumb. The result: 10 days delay and I had to drive 30 kilometers to the next customs office, with my credit card statement to show what I really had paid instead of having the parcel delivered by the postman.
Thank you for your replies...
1. So if a product is over 150 EU; what is usually the percentage (%) charged for customs duty?
2. What is usually the percentage (%) charged for VAT?
Thank you,
olimits7
what is usually the percentage (%) charged for customs duty? What is usually the percentage (%) charged for VAT?
There is no usual percentage. Every EU member state has different VAT tariffs. For example: Cyprus - 15%, Denmark 25%. And while the customs duties are the same for the whole EU the tariffs vary according to product. For example CD-Player: 9.5%, DVD Player: 13.9%
Do you know if there is a website that lists all current EU member state VAT tariffs, and customs duties?
I guess it would be good to know this information if international customers ever ask me about VAT or customs duties.
Thank you,
olimits7
And here you can search for the customs duty:
[ec.europa.eu...]
If you know the taric code for a specific item you can search by taric code. Or you can search the taric descriptions.
olimits7
