Krefeld (ots)
New IT application makes customs clearance of parcel shipments easier
This year too, Black Friday at the end of November marks the beginning of the hot phase of pre-Christmas online shopping and means peak season for parcel senders and services. What many online shoppers don’t consider is that if the package they ordered is sent from a non-EU country, customs is involved, in several ways. “This would also be the case, for example, with shipments of goods from Switzerland or Great Britain,” says Stefan Frisch, press spokesman for the main customs office in Krefeld.
If the long-awaited sneakers or the latest smartphone are ordered from an online retailer in a third country, customs duties and import sales tax may be due upon import. For goods subject to excise duty, such as tobacco, coffee and alcohol, additional excise taxes must be paid. However, goods that are in postal and courier shipments may also be subject to bans and restrictions that do not allow them to be processed at all.
The following provisions apply to shipments from a third country:
Value of goods up to 150 euros: Import sales tax at the regular tax rate of 19% or the reduced tax rate of 7%, for example for books or food, and, if applicable, excise duties are levied.
Goods value over 150 euros: In addition to the import sales tax, goods-related customs duties and, if applicable, excise taxes also apply.
Exceptions apply to private gift shipments. These are exempt from customs duties and import sales tax up to a value of 45 euros. Quantity restrictions apply to goods subject to excise duty.
As a rule, the carrier (postal, courier or express service provider) takes care of the customs formalities when the shipment arrives at the parcel centers and also pays the import duties due in advance. Online orderers should note that the transport companies generally charge a separate service fee for registration with customs and advance payment of import duties. Information about this should be contained in the general terms and conditions of the carrier or seller. The service fee is not a customs fee.
If the information necessary for customs clearance is missing or incomplete for shipments that Deutsche Post AG transports within the framework of the Universal Postal Agreement, Deutsche Post AG will generally contact the customer to answer questions about customs declarations (e.g. value of the shipment, exact description of the goods). Otherwise, the postal item will be forwarded to the customs office responsible for the recipient. In these cases, the customer will be informed by a notification letter from Deutsche Post AG and will have to personally take care of customs clearance.
Customs recently expanded its digital offering in this area. With the new IT application “Internet registration for postal and courier shipments” (IPK), citizens and companies that are not participants in the ATLAS system can register small shipments ordered in a non-EU country up to 150 euros and private gift shipments up to 45 euros can be registered online easily and efficiently using the customs portal and in many cases this saves you a trip to the customs office. Customs has further information about the new online application on its website www.zoll.de made available.
The shipments often also contain products that can harm consumers. Clothing with the wrong company logo as well as technical devices or toys for children that do not meet safety standards must be removed from circulation by customs, especially at Christmas time.
“Supposedly cheap branded products can quickly turn out to be a bad investment if they are counterfeit,” warns Stefan Frisch from Krefeld Customs Brand companies or even criminal consequences.”
The import of food that is intended for the recipient’s own use or consumption is generally permitted – even in the case of private gift shipments. However, the import of certain foods into Germany may be restricted or even generally prohibited for health protection reasons.
Time and again, the customs officers at the customs offices also discover protected animals and plants in the mail. Their trading is strictly prohibited. This is what happened at the customs office in Mönchengladbach, where a bearskin was confiscated some time ago.
In addition, shipments of medicines, nutritional supplements and weapons are regularly withdrawn from circulation.
Postal and courier shipments from other EU member states can usually be received without customs formalities. However, anyone who orders alcohol or tobacco from another EU country may have to pay taxes. In addition, certain import bans must also be observed here. For example, tobacco products, herbal smoking products and liquids for e-cigarettes or disposable e-cigarettes ordered online must have a valid German tax stamp, regardless of the value of the goods. In addition, the provisions regarding the declaration of ingredients, packaging and labeling (e.g. warning notice in German, shock image, package leaflet in German) must be met so that import is possible. The import of snus (tobacco for oral use) is generally prohibited. So if you want to give gifts in a relaxed manner at Christmas, get smart in good time www.zoll.de or uses the chatbot “TinA” provided there.
#HZAKR #Krefeld #Main #Customs #Office #information #Christmas #time #package #customs #quickly #safely
