Extra-EU shipping as a gift

Good morning everyone. I need to send a gift from Italy to South America.

Right now I was getting everything ready as far as the documentation is concerned, but I’ve run into the commercial invoice, where all the details regarding type of goods, value, etc. have to be included.

My doubt now is: since it’s a gift I’m giving to a person, do I have to enter the actual value of the product? How can I make it show up as a gift and not as a sale? I have everything ready, but I’m missing this step to avoid making mistakes that could lead to the customs hold.

Thank you very much

samtof0

4 View listings

Posted 3 years ago·Last reply 3 years ago

5 comments

sika700

·3 years ago

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Good morning,

not all countries accept 'gift' declarations and not all items can be shipped, so you need to make sure whether the country you want to ship to accepts it and whether it can import that specific type of item; you can take a look at the website of the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli.

For those that accept it, you must meet certain requirements:

The sender must be a private individual and the recipient must receive delivery at a private address
The gift must be sent free of charge and be of an 'occasional' nature
You need to indicate the wording “gift” on the Air waybill (AWB) and on the commercial invoice, together with a detailed description of the gift itself
For all items, you need to provide a full description and the corresponding value, which cannot exceed a certain amount, set by each country.

Kind regards.

samtof0

OP3 years ago

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Good morning. Thank you very much for the reply. The recipient is indeed a private individual and it will be sent to a private residence. I am giving away a smartphone worth over €1000, brand new, as a gift, and a used laptop since theirs broke. This is the first time I’ve made a shipment like this, so I felt a bit awkward.

marioelegio

·3 years ago

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If it were shipped to Italy, even as a gift, taxes would have to be paid as if it were a purchase (22% VAT, duties and customs fees for a total of over 30% of the value).

If a suitable value is not declared, customs officials will adjust it.

You should find out about the rules in force in that country before shipping.

mario

samtof0

OP3 years ago

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I'm trying to get informed since it has to be shipped to Colombia.

As I was saying, the package contains a new smartphone and a used laptop. Everything has to be shipped as a GIFT since I'm actually sending them as a gift. The point is how to fill out the PRIVATE form accurately and not as if I were making out an invoice as a merchant, which I absolutely am not.

Also because if I had to put the value of the products, okay, no problem for the phone, but for the used laptop? How am I supposed to know what its value would be? Moreover, I don't understand the point of having to pay VAT twice. At that point the whole point of the gift would be lost, since 22+19% VAT would be a huge hit!

marioelegio

·3 years ago

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VAT was paid in Italy, but if there’s something similar in Colombia, it also has to be paid there. For the values, you can quite easily take an average of the transactions made on eBay (looking for that model among the used sold listings).

For the customs invoice, just tick non commercial (Select this option if your
shipment is not a sale). You must обязательно indicate the value: Value for customs purpose only
Further below you need to provide the value of each item. This value is mandatory and it can never be 0€ (zero). Provide the real value to avoid issues with customs authorities.

Here you can find copies of the invoice and the customs declaration, as well as some instructions. The same documentation can be found on almost all international courier websites. https://support-ebay.packlink.com/hc/it/articles/208377629-Fattura-Doganale-Come-compilarla

mario