import tax

Hello,

I am in the uk and I provide a lot of coin packages to swappers in the EU.

Sometimes when I send the package into the EU it reaches the swap partner without any issues.

But sometimes the postage depot holds it until the swap partner in the foreign country pays something  like 3-4 euro.

Why is this?

Is there anything I can do to stop this happening?

I have sent 2 packages to the irish replublic, one required a payment from the swap partner and the other one just got it, it dosent make sence.

thanks 

WIll

There is only so much you can control with the available staff, so often only a fraction of parcels (most often the ones most-likely to be costly) get checked, at least in the past. Like shipping from the US is extremely expensive so you will not buy something for a few bucks and ship it for 40, so almost all get checked. 

Import duties are for parcels with a value above 150€, VAT irregardless of value. There can be additional fees from the deliverer like DHL etc. unless you declare to do the import paperwork yourself or something, burned myself on that crap last time I bought something from Japan (8 € extra for nothing 😒).

About swaps and “gifts” I don't now how they get handled as of today, there was a threshold in the past of maybe 20€ were no VAT gets collected but I think that's gone.

Warm greetings to the entire collecting world.

      This Customs-mod was implemented throughout the European Union. It probably copied the US system.

*All tracked shipments from countries outside the EU are subject to customs clearance.

*The post office invites you if you want to clear the shipment yourself before the customs administration, so you will have to go to the capital to collect it and declare it yourself

*If you agree, the post office will represent you and present the shipment to the customs declarant-he invites you to document the price and type of shipment.  We will write a $1 donation or exchange between collectors /you do not pay customs duties - you are exempt from customs duties, but the post office charges a fee for representation and it will be for representation in front of customs you will pay an extra 4-8 Euro depending on how the post office worker sleeps in the headquarters.

*With us, it is paid upon delivery, you first pick up the shipment and then they inform you that you have to pay an additional 10 euros.

It is stupidly declared if you would write the truth: 

-That the shipment contains rare ancient coins and the value is 10 dollars   ( Almost all countries in the world prohibit the sending of coins and banknotes) 

-most states prohibit the export of coins and objects older than 50 years

I always add a reason-a birthday gift (almost everyone has it every year - only girls every 2 years) 

,, During the last exchange, a colleague here also wrote an email to the customs declarant that the shipment was for a few dollars and that it was graphic designs,, -I didn't pay customs duty, only the representative post office charged about 5 euros.

This is tragic for our hobby and we can already see that North America is playing in its sandbox

The EU is already building its own playground, and we collectors will prefer only our own exchanges

Well, a third country outside of these big players- like various "independent islands on the sea" or distant continents have bad luck😜🤢

Ahoj Ivan

Thanks everyone I appriciate this

Brexit caused this issue with posting items from the UK to any EU country. It has really made  a mess of postage of small value items. If an item is posted in Northern Ireland, it does not need a customs declaration.

For declarations, some dealers use ‘Historical Papers’ or ‘Numismatic papers’ as a description of old banknotes, which is an accurate description of the contents which avoids the mention of money.

Friendly wording can be of help - on an occasion when we had been refused a coffee machine for our lab, we resubmitted the request using the term ‘caffeine extractor’ [an accurate description of the function of the device] - the coffee machine duly arrived a week later.

I've had a mixed experience just after Brexit with customs tax, but mainly from items coming in from the EU.

Normally if you put it as a gift and a value of £15 or less then you're fine. But obviously you'll have to make sure it's ok with the other swapper before doing so in case there is an issue.

Then there is the case of avoid writing that the contents of the package/letter is coins as magically it can go missing.

Perhaps a description of ‘numismatic collectibles’ would cover old coins, and reduce the risk of it going missing.

Sadly for gifts the rules can differ between Member States of the EU. Ireland has a 45€ threshold including the postage fee, Belgium and Germany 45€ excluding fees. Germany explicitly categorises swaps of collectibles along with commercial activities (so customs duty would always be due irrespective of value - though how one would be found out is a different question), Belgium is silent on the matter … 

Bottom line, to make things easier at least for shipments from the UK again, all you guys need to do is to re-join :)