The RCL40 Book

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(12-09-2022 09:12 PM)Guenter Schink Wrote:  No, one has to differentiate between VAT on import and customs tariffs. The idea is that goods sent from one country to another are exempt from VAT in the sending country while VAT is charged in the receiving country. That's even possible within the EU. If the article wasn't subject to VAT in the sending country, VAT in the receiving country applies, but normally this doesn't happen because it implies additional superfluous paperwork. Each country in the EU sets its own VAT.

Now, different countries have different limits for tax threshold. Thus it may happen that you have to pay 7% VAT on import for books (normal VAT is 19% in Germany)- no threshold anymore in Germany (it used to be ~30€) - and nothing in Ireland - don't know of any threshold there.

There are no specific VAT coming from for specific countries.

Custom is applied only if a certain value is exceeded. These custom rates are equal throughout the EU and other countries in the CU (customs union) e.g. Switzerland or Norway. The tariffs are dependent on the nature of the goods. E.g. Books=0% DVD-Player=13.9% Bicycles=15%.

It doesn't have to do anything with Brexit.

HTH Günter

We see the impact of VAT differences with some vendors like Amazon, which can actually be very confusing. The indicated price takes into account the VAT of the website's country - for instance it will usually be 20% on amazon.fr. Only after the customer confirms the order does the price adjusts to the destination country's VAT. The worst is that they are unable to explain it when asked about it, and answer it's due to the fluctuating prices instead.

Switzerland and Norway are not in the CU either, but maybe I misunderstood what you meant.

The annoying part of customs is not only the clearance fees and the rates for some articles, but also the induced delay, the frequent damages made by inspection or mysteriously missing items. I had my share of those.