cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/7147508

case 1 (buying a cheap gadget from outside Europe):

I ordered a rare gadget from the US which could not be obtained locally. It was only $10. It was inspected by customs (which IIUC is a random selection process). Customs deemed it worthless, likely because the low value was not worth the paperwork. But then Belgian post demanded a flat “clearance fee” of €10. The rationale is that #bPost wants extra compensation for their effort in managing customs on behalf of the recipient. If I were to refuse payment, bPost would have a right to keep the gadget or destroy it, and had no obligation to return it.

IIUC, I also had the option to fetch the package from the customs office myself and pay nothing. This was an undisclosed option - I only later learned about it via rumor. In hind sight, it would not have made a difference anyway because the customs warehouse is quite far from Brussels. So I paid the €10.

case 2 (a customs mess and lost gift):

In part because of case 1, I tell family outside of Europe to never send me gifts. I generally tell everyone not to send me gifts anyway because of my general objection consumerism. But mom would not hear it; sent me a gift anyway. She wanted it to be a surprise but of course that doesn’t fly with customs. So she did everything right as far as she knows - declared a value and listed the contents.

Normally I would expect to receive a pick-up slip from bPost. But this time customs sent a form asking me for a copy of the invoice and to list the contents and value. I replied saying it’s a gift, thus I have no invoice. I said for the same reason I don’t know the contents or value but that I was told that info was already disclosed on the package by the shipper. I supplied a phone number so they could reach me quicker.

Customs apparently simply ignored my response. I received no further correspondence and no pickup slip. Mom never received the package back either. It just disappeared. I told my mom she should at least demand a refund from USPS on the shipping costs, but she could not be bothered. I’m not sure if customs tried to call me (it was years ago). It’s quite possible that they called and did not speak English which would have effectively been a dead-end because I was not fluent in local languages.

case 3 (future gift):

Another family member really wants to send me a gift for some exceptional reason. I have no idea what it is but I plan to stand my ground and insist that it will be a disaster.

I’m posting this to ask if my facts are correct, or whether things have changed. So specifically:

  1. Is shipping into Europe still a random game of chance, whereby some packages simply get a pass and avoid both VAT and clearance fees?
  2. Is it possible for a sender to pay the VAT at the same time as paying for shipping and ensure there is no further VAT fees or clearance fees? (I heard that’s possible although I don’t think this was ever offered to people shipping things)
  3. Is the clearance fee from bPost still a flat €10?
  4. Is the clearance fee from UPS and/or FedEx still €13 plus a percentage of the value?
  5. Is it legal for customs to ignore correspondence? I would expect a developed system would require customs to respond one way or another to state what demands are unmet, and to give some kind of notice before or after taking some adverse action. If a response to them is lost, I would also expect customs to send a reminder saying they received no reply (in a civilized region).
  6. (amend) I heard a rumor that often if a VAT charge is levied, then the courier will often waive their clearance fee but if customs opts not to charge VAT then couriers are encouraged to impose their clearance fee to ensure that recipients have to pay something. Is this generally true? If yes, is it actually written policy?
  • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl
    2·
    11 months ago

    1. Not all packages are checked, that’d add months to the delivery time. All packages should be properly paid for, of course. Before 2021 the rules were complicated and you were likely to get lucky, but the rules have been simplified and you should expect to pay your taxes and duties on all packages now, unless your package qualities for an exemption.

    2. It’s possible for foreign sellers to pay VAT before sending products](https://vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu/one-stop-shop/declare-and-pay-oss_en). The old exemptions on cheap products are gone,only some gifts qualify for exemption. Most reputable online retailers already handle this for you (with prices denoted to include VAT) which makes the whole process a lot quicker and easier.

    By default, you need to pay VAT, import duties, and other fees over gifts. However, there are exceptions for small, irregular gifts. Unfortunately, the standard EU method of paying VAT beforehand is aimed at businesses, so your family members probably won’t be able to use that, and you’ll have to pay the VAT and duties.

    1. Don’t know for sure, but their websites lists these fees

    2. Don’t know for sure. The rates do seem similar to what DHL charges.

    3. I’m not sure what obligation they have to you if you can’t provide the details they have the right to demand. Contact them and verify that they received your documents in the first place (maybe the postman lost your documents?), and if they need anything more.

    It’s possible they’re still waiting for you to send the list of contents, which your family surely would’ve been able to provide. If it’s been over a year, I expect them to have closed the case and destroyed the item, customs generally doesn’t hold items for very long as far as I know.

    I’m not sure why they’d send you a reminder when you know your package is supposed to be underway can just contact the courier and ask for details. The courier is supposed to deal with this in the first place, you should probably be asking whatever delivery service was used to send the package about what’s going on, or check with bpost for the status of your package. I don’t think the normal process involves communicating with customs directly, normally customs will communicate with the courier and the courtier will communicate with you.

    As for the legality: ask a lawyer.