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Another question about customs process on USPS boxes
Hi, all. Forgive me if this has been asked and answered before, but I just did a search of the archives and found a couple similar situations, but not exactly the same and I'm left with a question or two.
I've just moved to Brussels from the US. I got rid of most of my things before leaving, packed three big suitcases to bring with me on the plane and then shipped to myself here six medium-sized boxes (between 20-40 pounds each) and a mailing tube with some posters in it.
I addressed them all to myself at the aparthotel I'll be staying at until the end of October. I attached the USPS-required customs forms, gave a breakdown of what was in each and declared the value of each of the boxes as $100; the poster tube as $50. All were marked "gift" and the summary of what was inside started with "Used household goods for personal use," which they all are.
Mostly clothes I couldn't fit in baggage, shoes, odds and ends; nothing newly-purchased.
ANYWAY, after seeing the tracking show "Customs Clearance" for the last five or six days, today I received a letter from BPost asking me for an invoice of the goods purchased. There was not, as I was expecting, any dollar amount listed as fees I would have to pay upon delivery.
So I'm confused as to how I can provide an invoice for items I did not purchase recently -- they've been mine for some time. At this point, three weeks after shipping them, there's no way I can remember what specific items are in each box. What to do? Any advice appreciated...
Gift, weight, personal use, used etc etc.....Makes no difference to your tax assessment. What you should be doing is talking to customs. There are tax exemptions for bringing in your own goods when you come to live here which should mean you don't need invoices at all.
But you didn't declare them as used personal items, you declared them as gifts. If you can't produce invoices, you will have to pay import taxes on the value that Belgian Customs assess them to be, which will, unsurprisingly, probably be higher.
It pays to be honest on Customs' forms.
The option to refuse the goods is also there, they should be returned to sender.
As Mike says, you are going to have to talk to Customs and you're going to have to find out exactly where your goods are before you do that. I was involved in a similar situation some time ago and had to go to a place on the edge of Mechelen.
You are importing you own, used possessions which were sent when you left the US and should not be liable for any taxes or duty beyond, possibly, a handling fee. ***As you will clearly remember***, the Customs paperwork was filled in word for word as you were advised by whomever dealt with you when you were shipping the packages.
A "gift" raises the tax threshold from 22 to 45 Euro. In practise marking items as gifts means nothing much at all because if the item is worth taxing then the gift designation makes no difference at all. Yes, go speak to customs before you do anything else. In the event you send something like a poster in future, don't mark it's value over 25 Dollars. ;). It's just asking for hassle.
Hi there,
You can prepare an invoice and specify as old items,on the value column,put the caption"No commercial value"or 1 euro.They will/might want to do customs inspection to verify that they are indeed old items,You will be asked to pay for the inspection fee.
You shouldnt pay duty for old items,most people are not aware that they can actually make an invoice showing the value as nil..hence all the confusion.Many freight forwarders do explain this to their customers,but since you did the shipment yourself,thEn you have to do Aall the documentaion.
Mercy....Your post suggests that people importing used goods need not fear taxes. Just not so. Also, duty is the least of the issues. It's VAT and handling fees. The OP's issue is they should not be paying duty or VAT because they are bringing in personal belongings which are (usually) exempt from VAT, duty and handling fees.
They charged my son 30€ inspection fee and 6€ paperwork on something he had ordered from Asia a gift that was labeled as under €10. Website small print said he was liable, I'm unclear if they lied about he value.
I have no idea what he actually paid but with the tax it cost me €80 for what ever it was he ordered. Said it was a gift for his friend and asked me not to open it, he repaid me the tax I have to add.
Can you not say you don't have. Recipes it's a gift of used items from a friend to set up your home?
There is a procedure for moving to Belgium and avoiding customs fees.
http://fiscus.fgov.be/interfdanl/fr/citizens/demenager.htm
Whether you can now persuade customs retrospectively that the items are yours and that they are part of your move, I don't know.
All the other stuff people have posted about invoices and making it a gift or whatever is largely irrelevant. Go and see the customs and explain your situation.
