E-Commerce

Online shopping and its customs fees

It is also increasingly common for these purchases to be made for resale to others or for own consumption, in countries outside the European Union, such as the United States, Australia or China, being sent, in most of the situations, through postal packages due to its small volume. These operations are considered imports and may involve the payment of customs duties on imports, in addition to VAT.

From 1 January 2021, the existing VAT exemption for goods up to EUR 22.00 disappears. Thus the customs duties are only applied to the import of items whose value exceeds EUR 150.00.

Import duties do not apply to goods of European Union origin, but those arriving from a third country (extra-Community) must pass through customs and, in general, must be accompanied by the following documents:

• Purchase invoice (eBay, Amazon, Alibaba, etc.)
• Purchase contract (optional)
• Proof of payment (PayPal, Visa, MasterCard; etc.) may not be enough to clear the shipment
• EC certificate of conformity in the case of electrical appliances or machines

Taxes are paid to customs through a Customs Broker or their representative through a document called SINGLE CUSTOMS DOCUMENT.
The invoice of the customs broker or its representative must include, in addition to its fees and corresponding VAT, other items to be paid, such as import VAT (documented in the DUA) and customs duties that will depend on the nature of the goods.

Import duties generally range from 0% (books) to 17% (clothing and shoes). Some products are tax free, but others may be subject to additional taxes, depending on the country of origin that can be taxed with an additional levy, also called “anti-dumping”.