Ebay error about customs duties.
Hello everyone. Ebay is trying to charge me customs fees for a purchase in the UK of about 38 euros, shipping included.
This is irregular, given that even on the Poste website it clearly says: "from the United Kingdom to Italy above a certain threshold, namely 45 euros."
So where does this money Ebay is asking for go, since it doesn't go to the State? Does Ebay keep it?
11 comments
utente_pignolo
OP3 years agop.s.: I’d like to leave you with a question here about the text of Circular 30 June 2021:
"whose ‹‹intrinsic value›› does not exceed a total of 150 EUR; alcoholic products, perfumes and toilet water, tobacco and tobacco products are excluded (7).
Intrinsic value
By ‹‹intrinsic value›› is meant:
- for commercial goods: the price of the goods themselves when they are sold for export to the customs territory of the Union, excluding transport and insurance costs, unless they are included in the price and not indicated separately on the invoice, and any other taxes and charges that can be perceived by the customs authorities from any relevant document"
I don’t understand this clarification, since I have always read that the value of the goods must be added to shipping costs. Accepting the fact that VAT may also be paid on transport costs, it seems to me that this circular clearly says that, if shipping is stated separately (which happens almost always, except in cases of so-called "free shipping"), the value of the goods is the product price alone - at least for the purpose of identifying the tax "bracket".
I hope there is someone here who knows a lot more than I do!
sika700
·3 years agoIntrinsic value is used only to determine the amount of duties... if it is below 150€, no duties are due... duties only!
Whereas for customs charges, the carrier's charges and VAT, the full amount of the transaction is taken into account.
It's interesting, though, to understand what intrinsic value means: "Value that a good has in itself independently of what it may acquire later through bargaining in the market."
This value is established beforehand by customs if the declared value can be considered not consistent with the described good.
Kind regards.
utente_pignolo
OP3 years agoSorry, I used the Poste website example because it is still a government reference. On a legal advice website, a recent article (https://bit.ly/3ZHeTul) explains:
"The standard fees for Italian customs are calculated as follows: value of the goods + shipping and insurance costs. For shipments with a value of less than 22 euros, no payment is required. For shipments between 22 and 150 euros, customs duty will not be charged but VAT is required. For shipments over 150 euros, both customs duty and VAT must be paid."
As @marioelegio said
Thanks everyone. I hope this is useful to others.
actar80
·3 years agoThanks for the info, they could come in handy! 👍 👍 👍
👋 👋 👋
marioelegio
·3 years agoRegardless of the link, which refers only to customs charges to be paid to Poste Italiane as customs assistance, goods entering the EU must pay VAT.
As Sika said, things changed as of July 1, 2021. The VAT exemption on the import of small shipments valued up to 22 euros has been removed: this means that all goods imported into the European Union will now be subject to VAT.
In any case, customs charges that may be due to the postal service are not collected by eBay. They will be requested directly by the postman upon delivery.
hi
mario
elenacristian
·1 year agoGood morning, I would like to buy an item in the USA. I’m being asked to pay almost 50 dollars for shipping and below it says that I don’t have to pay anything else... I’m attaching the file. So should I still calculate that I may have to pay VAT?
technopartsbay
·1 year agoIn this case no: what is paid includes everything: customs charges, VAT and duties (not due in this case).
This is because the goods are shipped using eBay International Shipping; that is, the seller assigns a carrier chosen by eBay to take care of everything.
That’s why the amount for shipping and additional fees is higher than what you would pay “normally”: services cost money... but they avoid the hassle of additional charges to be paid to the carrier.
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoThe Poste link you’re referring to, I think, is this one:
https://business.poste.it/professionisti-imprese/contenuto/brexit-e-commerce.html
Doing a Google search, I wasn’t able to find this THRESHOLD of 45 euros below which no taxes are paid anywhere else....
What kind of order did you place?
Did you use the GSP (GLOBAL SHIPPING PROGRAM), which is managed by Pitney Bowes (a shipping service), or will the seller handle the shipping?
the UK is considered a non-EU country
Italian Post, for example, for little packages coming from China bought for 1 or 2 euros, charges more than the item is worth because you pay VAT, customs duties, and the service fee for collecting the money by the post office.
If eBay charged you something, it means it is required by law.
Kind regards.
sika700
·3 years agoIn this other conversation:
Request for Payment of Customs Charges Upon Delivery by the ... - eBay Community
the writer leaves the link that you also found... but it is an old link, as it refers only to Brexit... without considering that in July 2021 things changed for imports from outside the EU.
Kind regards.
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoI imagine the person who wrote it had to do some kind of Google search to find that old link.
From what I can tell, the user_pignolo still hasn't completed the purchase because they ran into additional, unanticipated import charges.
I don't know whether that link is still valid or not; if it were obsolete, I don't know why they didn't remove it. In any case, I wouldn't bet my hand on the fact that maybe a relative or a friend who lives in the UK wants to ship a dress to Italy, writing in the customs declaration that it's a gift and maybe declaring the value ZERO/GIFT, but insuring the package for 44.99 euros, would actually arrive in Italy without any customs duty at all (but only in the case where it is handled directly by Italian Post).
But this is not the case under discussion, since sales (even between private individuals) made on eBay are classified as commercial sales, so documentation proving the transfer of money must also be attached.
So in conclusion (I'm writing this for user_pignolo), assuming but not conceding that Italian Post actually doesn't ask anything for items under 45 euros, they still have to pay what eBay asks to complete the transaction, otherwise the only alternative is to ask the seller to cancel the sale.
Kind regards.
sika700
·3 years agoHello,
customs charges are not just duties!
In the charges that eBay bills you (to be checked whether the seller participates in GSP or not...) VAT and any import costs are charged, which "may" also include duties, but not only those, if the value of the item is over €150.
So eBay doesn’t withhold anything at all; if it charges you VAT, it pays it to the state, if you pay customs fees, it pays them to Pitney Bowes.
Best regards.