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NEW CUSTOMS REGULATIONS AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR YOUR ONLINE ORDERS

NEW CUSTOMS REGULATIONS AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR…
Zoll Regelungen Online Shopping

NEW CUSTOMS REGULATIONS
AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR YOUR ONLINE ORDERS

Following the implementation of the BREXIT on 01 January 2020, a lot has already changed with regard to import and export regulations between the UK and Germany. We are now in the third phase, which came into force on 1 July 2021. Sneakerjagers therefore took a closer look at what you need to know and what customs want from us when we order sneakers and clothing from (EU) countries.

If you rather want to read this article in German, just click here to go to Sneakerjagers.

Image: Glodi Miessi

New VAT regulations from July 2021

Brexit has (had) consequences for many tax sub-areas, but above all for VAT.

Tip 1.0: Sales tax and VAT always mean the same thing here. There is no difference.

From 01 July 2021, a new VAT regulation and with it extensive changes for eCommerce has come into force. The VAT package is intended to simplify cross-border e-commerce and protect against VAT fraud.

  • Goods (small consignments) with a value of up to 22€ are now also no longer exempt from import turnover tax.
  • Shops must register electronically with customs
  • A new import regulation applies to sales from third territories or countries (e.g. China, UK) with a material value of up to 150€ for private individuals as end customers in the EU with IOSS (more on this later).
  • An (optional) special scheme will be introduced for the payment of import VAT (EUSt) with a tangible value up to max. 150€ for private individuals as final customers in the EU without IOSS (more on this later)
  • Swiss Post (or the courier service provider) charges this import VAT to the consignee and passes it on to customs at the end of each month.
  • Customs declarations for consignments up to a maximum of  150€ or up to a maximum of 45€ for gifts (as long as the non-tariff duty exemption applies) can only be made in the country of destination in the EU if the IOSS procedure is not used.

Image: StockX

It all sounds kind of terrible. At least for us, right? When all we want are shoes… So let’s break it down even further and see what’s really important to us.

Basically, the following always applies: All shipments of goods and, of course, also e-commerce with the UK are subject to import VAT in the country you are currently in.

For orders from outside Europe (= third country), from 1 July 2021 you will also have to pay VAT on parcels under 22€, i.e. an additional 19% of the cost. This percentage applies to all parcels outside Europe. But beware, if your order is over 150€, you will also have to pay import duties. More on this topic in a moment.

Import duties as of 01 July 2021

Import duties are the costs you have to pay when a parcel outside Europe costs more than 150€. But, we have good news, in 2021 these costs will not change at all. So for parcels over 150€, the rules will remain the same.

Your shipment is duty-free between 22€ and 150€, but you have to pay the import VAT of 19% (in our case = shoes) and the excise duty (for shipments with excisable goods). Taxes that are less than 5€ are not levied.

Example from Customs:

Invoice price: 100,00€ + shipping costs: 10,00€
= final invoice amount: 110,00€

Calculation of import sales tax: 110€ x 19% = 20,90€.

Tip 2.0: Each duty calculation according to the customs tariff is calculated individually, whereby the term customs value does not correspond to the term material value.

Tip 3.0: Types of duty include customs duty, excise duty and import turnover tax.

Image: StockX

New IOSS regulations

Now we come to the IOSS (One Stop Shop) regulations mentioned earlier. Up to now, IOSS has been responsible for checking your orders for a fee. From July 2021, this responsibility will be transferred to the webshop itself.

For you as a customer, this means that you have to check whether the foreign webshop is a shop registered with IOSS. If it is, there are no postal clearance fees. If it is not, you have to expect more costs.

Image: German Customs

At Sneakerjagers you can also check out an overview that was created at the beginning of 2021 about the changes in merchandise shipments due to the British and Northern Ireland leaving the EU. Read here more about what sneaker shopping will look like in 2021.

If you are making your next purchase outside Europe, check the terms and conditions on the relevant website. This way you can avoid unexpected additional costs. If you don’t want to pay extra, use the Sneakerjagers search engine for an overview of all shops, sizes and prizes for each sneaker.

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