Import duties to Germany, EU!!

Discussion in 'Market Place' started by uselessmail, Mar 17, 2012.

  1. uselessmail

    uselessmail Regular Member

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    Hey there!
    I know there have been similar posts here but I'm having a hard time finding the exact answer to this question. Kindly help me out here!
    What is the total import duties that one has to pay to buy a racket online from outside EU, say from RKEP's Ebay store for eg.?
    I read on the german website that for goods until 150 Euros there are no duties but you still need to pay the Import-Sales tax (whatever that is!!! :confused:)
    Has anyone here in Germany or actually anywhere in EU purchased rackets from outside before? Well I'm sure many have!!!:rolleyes: Could you simply list the racket, its original price (in Euros) and the duties you paid for it!
    Would be a real help in deciding whether to buy the rackets from outside or no!!!

    Regards!
     
  2. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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    You will have to pay 19% Mehrwertsteuer over the (product price + shipping cost) + the clearance fee charged by Deutsche Post/DHL/UPS/FedEX. If you order for example clothing, you also have to pay EU import tax on clothing on top of Mwst. (but this last one, EU import tax, only above €150).
    Also with the EMS/courier shipping method it is pretty much guaranteed you will have to pay the Mwst. + clearance fee. With normal airmail you still have a chance to escape it since they don't check every single package then.
     
    #2 demolidor, Mar 17, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2012
  3. Cheetah

    Cheetah Regular Member

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    Hallo,

    Well I ordered numerous times from asia... 2 out of 8 orders went straight to the "Zoll". And yes it's right, if you order stuff of a value of more than 150€ you'll have to pay fot it.

    But if you order under 150€ they'll just tell you you have to pay the Merwertsteuer as demolidor already said.

    One advice: Order once a big order... I made a mistake after the 2 orders which came directly to me... the Zoll always took my parcels out to check... so I had to pay ALL THE F****** TIME -.-
     
  4. Tadashi

    Tadashi Regular Member

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    I thought there no duties on imports anymore, due to the WTO agreements ?!
     
  5. Cheetah

    Cheetah Regular Member

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    Well when I ordered the last time (october '11) I did have to pay...
     
  6. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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    Even then duties are not the same as Mwst. (if given the choice I'd rather pay duties than Mwst ;)) ... besides that I don't even know if there are duties due on badminton rackets(?).
    Suffice to say I never use courier services like DHL and Fedex, UPS or EMS and rather wait a few weeks for it to arrive and take my chances with the Zoll :D. The only advantage EMS & Co. have is: the shipping time is only a few days so they process the packages at the Zoll with priority so you have to pay more clearance fee for the extra speed and they will collect the Mwst. for you first and bill you later :p.
     
    #6 demolidor, Mar 17, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2012
  7. Tadashi

    Tadashi Regular Member

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    I just check the TARIC (tariff code in the EU), it is 9506, sub code is 51 01. You can use it all over Europe, i.e. in the UK it is the same. Different surcharges correspond to countries of origin.
     
  8. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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    Yes I looked it up once for clothing to check if my bill was correct :D. But that was when the limit was only €25 instead of €150. So what is the percentage for rackets made in China and Japan?

    The calculation including any duties would be: (cost of goods+shipping * duty %) * Mwst %

    edit: looks like it's 4,70% so as expected peanuts compared to VAT/Mwst. or does it belong to 9506 40 and therefore only 2.70%?

    Of course the weird but pleasant thing is for €150 only the product cost counts yet if it is over that limit you also have to pay tax on the shipping?
     
    #8 demolidor, Mar 17, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2012
  9. Tadashi

    Tadashi Regular Member

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    I think the OP wants to know where to buy his rackets to beat the price of a shop in Mühlheim (GER) or in his local town. (Mühlheim seems to be the centre of Germany's badminton world, training centers and associations all have their headquarter in Mühlheim, German Opens 2012 was there too).

    First, customs don't matter anymore (I mean 5% surcharge is nothing compared to the 25% or whatever in the past).

    Second, VAT (MwSt) only matters if you're a retail customer. So importing into Europe and re-selling to retailers (Karstadt) does not make you pay the VAT. But buying from a online retail shop makes you pay it (but not twice).

    Third, the money value is subject to currency demand and inflation. So, you actually should compare purchasing power parity prices instead of nominal price for each city you consider to buy ... etcetera ... the problem is, comparing purchasing power parities is a lot of research and spreadsheet work, multiplying inflation and exchange rates etcetera .... I wonder if this effort justifies savings of hypothetical 15 EURO on one racket ... ?!
     

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