Some good advice for individuals about foreign orders - Vámprogram
Some good advice for individuals about foreign orders
There are many people asking us about what they need to pay attention to in case of ordering online from abroad, so we've collected the most important information about this subject in our article.
Nowadays, it is a common habit to order birthday or Christmas gifts from webshops. Ordering online is fast, simple and reliable. Unfortunately, many forgot to consider other aspects before placing an order from abroad.
In case of ordering within the EU, we do not have much to do because goods from the community are not subject to customs duty. This simply means that there is no other incurring cost, administrative obligation on the commodity in addition to the possible freight costs or insurance premium..
ORDERING OUTSIDE THE EU
Consignments sent from the community territory are identical to for example a package sent from Debrecen to Budapest, there are no VAT or customs duties included. In spite of this, it is advisable to check the datasheet of the webshop or the product, as many Asian webshops operate an EU warehouse, but many products still come from outside the EU.
If our much-sought-after and ordered shipment comes from outside the EU, keep in mind the following before ordering:
- customs clearance can be carried out by the consignor or, in the absence of customs clearing service, by a customs agency of our choice
- customs duty and/or VAT may be incurred
- the given forwarder may also charge other service fees in addition to the NAV's public charge
DUTY EXEMPTIONS
Based on the legislative provisions currently in force, it is possible to use exemptions in certain cases:
- if the total value of goods arriving within a consignment is equivalent to EUR 22 (calculated on the basis of the customs rate applicable in the current customs clearance), then the package’s customs clearance is duty-free and VAT-free
- between EUR 22 – EUR 150 the consignment is duty-free, but subject to VAT
- above the total value of EUR 150, customs duties and VAT may also incur (duty may be due if the product has a duty rate higher than 0%)
USEFUL INFORMATION
It is important to mention that the customs authority can examine and request the order confirmation related to the product, or the PayPal certificate demonstrating the real purchase price of it!
It is also essential to know that customs clearance is based not only on the value of the goods, in other words NAV calculates the amount of any customs duty and/or VAT using not only the purchase price of the goods. Any possible shipping cost or, for example, insurance premium is also a VAT base increasing factor.
EXAMPLES OF ONLINE SHOPPING
The following two examples illustrate the calculation made by NAV.
1) Ordered product: cell phone
Value of goods ordered: USD 100,-
Shipping cost: USD 10,-
Duty rate: 0%
USD customs exchange rate: HUF 279,54- (exchange rate applied by NAV, changing monthly)
Customs duty basis – 100*279,54 – HUF 27.954- -> since the duty rate is 0%, customs duty will not be imposed
VAT basis – 27.954 + 2.795,4 (shipping cost) * 27% VAT = HUF 8.302 VAT is payable
For the above example, the value of the item (below EUR 150) made it possible not to share the shipping cost. However, over EUR 150 the part of the purchase costs (e.g. freight costs), which applies outside the EU increases the base of customs duty and VAT, but the part that applies within the community only increases the basis of the VAT.
2) Ordered product: robot vacuum cleaner
Value of goods ordered: USD 300,-
Shipping cost: USD 50,-
Duty rate: 1,7%
USD customs exchange rate: HUF 279,54-
Customs duty basis – 300*279,54 – HUF 83,862 -> calculated with 1,7% duty rate = HUF 1.426 customs duty
VAT basis – 83.862+13.977 (shipping cost) +1.426 (customs duty) * 27% VAT =HUF 26.802 VAT payable
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
A 'service charge' may occur at almost all forwarders, which is also related to the administration of the ordered consignment. It is important to note that this fee is not equivalent to the shipping cost. In most cases, the forwarders invoice the guarantee and other services related to customs clearance to the consignee.
It is possible that at first glance, the product we are looking and craving for seems cheaper in a Chinese webshop than on a Hungarian site, but we strongly suggest to check and count on the additional costs before ordering!
It is important to consider that if at the end of the calculation it is still worth to purchase and do the customs clearance of a product, there may be a risk of being disappointed when opening the package. The size of the ordered shoe is not proper, the quality of the product is not as it looked on the site, etc… In this case, it is necessary to count with the costs of returning the package, and with the complicated conditions and administration of the reimbursement of possible public charges!
We hope that the points described above will help individuals who want to order from outside the union but are still insecure due to the administration and costs associated with customs clearance.