In order to create a level playing field for EU trade, a loophole will be closed in July 2021. ” Today ” shows what it means to you.
Actually, the package case would have been planned for the beginning of the year, it will come now in the middle of the year. The main focus: Until now, no submission or registration by customs has been provided for parcels with a goods value of up to 22 euros. “This regulation is used by senders from third countries. They simply wrote any value under 22 euros on the package to avoid taxes,” the Ministry of Finance said to ” Today “.
That in turn harms all European companies and retailers and creates inequality, said Finance Minister Gernot Blümel. From July – regardless of the value of the goods – a customs declaration must be submitted and the import sales tax paid. As of July 2021, the exemption limit of 22 euros is also expected to drop for small shipments from EU third countries.
Does this mean that online orders from abroad are generally more expensive?
“That depends on the voluntary decision of the foreign commercial shipper or seller as to whether he will bear the additional costs for import sales tax and handling of customs clearance,” says the finance minister. If that is not the case, one must expect additional costs. Specifically, regardless of the material value of the goods with 20 percent VAT and the manipulation fee charged by the express service or the post office for processing customs clearance, which the customs authorities have no influence on.
In the case of a material value of more than 150 euros, there are also customs duties of around 5 to 10 percent of the material value, depending on the type of goods. These duties are included in the VAT calculation base, according to the ministry. Sounds complicated, but it can be easily calculated using examples.
> For a cashmere sweater from China with a tangible value of 160 euros, there are already 16 euros in customs duties (10 percent) plus 35.20 euros import sales tax plus around 10 euros (estimated costs) handling fee. Total additional costs of 61.20 euros for imports into Austria and does not represent any change from July 1st.
> Headphones from China with a tangible value of 20 euros incur customs duties of 0 euros plus four euros in import sales tax plus around 5 euros (estimated costs) manipulation fee. This will result in additional costs of nine euros in the future, as opposed to the previous 0 euros, because shipments with a material value of less than 22 euros are still duty-free until 30 June and no customs declaration has to be submitted or customs clearance.
It is therefore more expensive, especially for cheap orders from abroad, in the case of the China headphones, instead of 20 euros, 29 euros are due – provided that the sellers pass the increased costs on to the buyer, which can be assumed.
An exception applies to shipments between private individuals if it is not a sale and the material value does not exceed 150 euros.
For example, when Aunt Mary from the US sends her niece Petra in Vienna a silk scarf worth 130 euros for her birthday, according to the ministry. In this case there are no customs duties and no import sales tax.
However, so that the large online low-cost providers do not pretend to be “Aunt Mary” when sending the goods or “bypass imports” occur, consignments must be declared for customs regardless of the value of the goods and also if they are exempt from duties.
“This regulation already applies to shipments with a material value of between 22 and 150 euros and will remain unchanged after June 30, 2021,” said the ministry. However, these shipments could also be a bit more expensive, as manipulation fees could be incurred by the post office or express services.
“The post office writes to the recipients of items with suspiciously low values and requires proof of the price actually paid,” says the ministry on the procedure if there is suspicion of “under-franking”. Since January 2020, 22,000 letters were declared to be too low in 86 percent of the cases, and three quarters of the cases concerned items with a material value of less than 22 euros. As a result, an import sales tax of 378,286 euros was levied.
“When analyzing the incorrect value information on the items, a few senders stand out who systematically explain values that are too low,” said the ministry. Among them is a “Chinese consignor” who gives “almost always only half of the actual value”. Another Chinese consignor traditionally gives only 20 percent of the actual value. “The senders who declare too low values are mostly Chinese senders, but also consignments from other countries such as the USA or Israel,” said the ministry.
Consignments with textiles, fashion and accessories, technology and electronics are particularly affected. Priority checks would also uncover prohibited goods such as weapon parts, psychotropic substances, illegal drugs and dietary supplements. When it comes to medicines, sexual enhancers are at the forefront, senders are private individuals in India or Singapore. Counterfeit Corona drugs have also been intercepted. Counterfeit branded products, on the other hand, are increasingly coming from China, Hong Kong and Turkey.
