Extra-EU purchase and VAT paid twice?
Hello, I haven’t made any extra-EU purchases for a few years (except AliExpress, I mean), I bought 3 action figures from Japan from different sellers, today one of the packages was due for delivery but since I wasn’t home I found the courier’s receipt (Poste Italiane) in the mailbox with customs charges and postal fees. I paid $36 for the action figure + VAT already applied by eBay of $7.92 for a total of $43.92. Now I didn’t know that the EU had introduced VAT payment and all these lovely things. As customs charges, the receipt shows me €9.66 while postal fees are 5 euros. Now, are the 9.66 literally the VAT I already paid on eBay, or am I wrong? And in these cases what should I do? I certainly have no intention of giving money to the state and in other discussions it’s not very clear how to proceed. Besides, as I already said, I’m waiting for 2 other packages in which the VAT has already been paid and the amounts are higher. Do I need to go to the post office? Do I need to write to eBay? Do I need to figure out what to do by tomorrow.
deejaynick
·2 years agoPoste Italiane’s “problem” is that it has completely upended (since the abolition of the minimum taxable threshold on imports) all the customs duty labels that have existed for decades (and still apply to all couriers):
- VAT
- Duty (for imports over 150 euros)
- Customs charges or customs clearance fees (due to the carrier for customs clearance)
They grouped the first two under a single heading, calling them the same as the third... and introducing a new one, “postal fees”.
Obviously they only do this with private individuals because companies, for obvious tax reasons, DEMAND that VAT and Duty be separated from customs clearance fees.
And in fact the invoice still adds up exactly as it did before with the 3 separate items.
All that said, for them the “customs charges” are VAT and Duty, if that is clearly indicated on the receipt, you are entitled to reimbursement of VAT only and not of any Duty (which in your case should not be there) and not even of the “postal fees” due to Poste for customs clearance.
tomhar_70
OP2 years agoI contacted eBay and I was told that they can refund me, but I have to send an “adequate” receipt for the VAT paid a second time, which honestly I didn’t quite understand, since I picked up the package and paid by card, so they gave me a receipt showing customs charges and postal fees, but it doesn’t specifically mention VAT. On top of that, they wanted photos of the label on the package. I’ve just sent everything and hopefully they’ll refund me something, because in other discussions I read that for many users eBay has caused quite a few problems since it wouldn’t accept certain receipts from Poste Italiane and they wanted them more specific (in my opinion just a way to try not to refund, especially since if you send photos of the package it’s obvious you picked it up). I also noticed that the seller put 36usd as the value when I actually paid 43, so clearly the VAT already paid wasn’t mentioned
marioelegio
·2 years agoTheoretically the reverse should also apply, meaning Poste should refund the excess VAT paid with documentation of what was paid to eBay. But I doubt anyone is able to get reimbursed by them.
What are Customs Duties?
sika700
·2 years agoYou need to check on the receipt what you're paying for!
Remember that customs duties are something else entirely... they should not be considered VAT, but import charges.
If on the receipt it says that you're paying VAT instead, you can ask eBay for a refund, but only if you have the receipt.
Kind regards.
tomhar_70
OP2 years agoHi, on the receipt it only tells me
customs fees: 9,66
postal charges: 5
total 14,66€
now on the Poste Italiane website it is explicitly stated that customs fees are duties and VAT where not applied, but the VAT has already been paid and duties under 150 are not applied, I spent 43,92 and 22% of this amount is precisely 9,66, that is, the fees I was asked to pay, so I guess it’s the VAT that I have to pay twice? Unfortunately this is the first time this has happened to me and there is a lot of confusion even in the discussions.
sika700
·2 years agoWell, if you’re sure you paid VAT twice, ask eBay for a refund here:
https://ocswf.ebay.it/mudcwf?deptName=CollectRemitRefund
Kind regards.