Last year, about 18 million postal items passed the customs procedure, a year earlier it was 28 million. The decrease was caused by a coronavirus pandemic. The new regulation will also apply to consignments from the United Kingdom which after Brexit, it has fallen into the category of so-called “third countries” in customs data since 2021.
According to analysts, some orders could be more expensive. The European Union fights mainly against the underestimation of postal items and also cheap goods, especially from China or the United States, because mainly European e-shops cannot compete with Chinese ones in terms of price.
At present, low-value shipments go through a simple customs procedure, which is provided by the postal operator or carrier. The consignee does not have to deal with practically anything and the ordered goods are delivered directly to him by the postal operator or express carrier. Newly, the consignee will have to lodge an electronic customs declaration. So far, this has applied to packages with a price of 22 to 150 euros.
Given that 99 percent of all items ordered outside the EU are transported by a postal operator, created the Customs Administration eCeP application, which will make it possible to lodge a customs declaration for consignments worth up to EUR 150.
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“We will take the shipment from a third country into transport, provide the necessary administration associated with the customs procedure and hand over the package to the addressee. Changes in VAT are not a Czech patent, it is a Union decision. We are ready to help our customers with customs procedures so that tax changes take up as little paperwork as possible, “said Roman Knap, CEO of Czech Post.
The post office will handle the customs procedure for the recipient for 97 crowns in the case of his / her cooperation or for 150 crowns without it. According to Jaroslav Ille, director of the service department, if a citizen decides to file an electronic customs declaration himself via an application provided by the Customs Administration, he must digitally identify himself in advance so that the customs authorities know who they are dealing with and to whom they levy VAT.
Problems with customs procedures may occur as early as June
If people order goods in June, for example, but it will not arrive in the country until July, they will have to file an electronic customs declaration on their own, or be represented by a postal operator or carrier. The same procedure will apply to consignments that arrive in the Czech Republic by 30 June, but will not be submitted to customs until July.
Under the new rules, VAT-exempt gifts sent occasionally between individuals remain up to € 45. However, it will also be necessary to file a new electronic customs declaration for these consignments.
Due to the expected onslaught at the beginning of the year, the Post Office opened a new branch in Prague for handling foreign shipments. The Prague 120 post office moved from Košíř to a renovated building in Štěrboholy, and the detached department of the Prague Ruzyně Customs Office for postal services moved together with it.
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