Objecting to customs clearance costs
Would you rather not pay the customs clearance costs? Then you can choose not to receive your parcel. We will then send it back to the sender. The customs clearance fee will then be waived.
Did you already pay and do you still want to object? This only makes sense if:
The customs clearance costs are incorrect
Are the customs clearance costs calculated on the basis of the wrong value in your opinion and can you prove this? In that case you may lodge an objection.
It concerns a gift with a value of less than € 45
You do not have to pay VAT for gifts with a value of up to €45. Please note: this only applies if the parcel is from a private sender.
In this case, 'gift' means things you receive as a present from someone abroad. Do you buy something yourself from abroad to give as a present to someone else? Then we do not consider it a gift.
You have returned the parcel
If you have returned the parcel, you can claim a refund of the customs clearance costs. But only if you returned the parcel to the country it came from (outside the EU).
Objecting is useless if
You think the clearance costs are too high
With goods of a low value, the clearance costs are relatively high. Not nice of course, but also no reason to object. That is just how the rules are.
It concerns a gift from a business sender
The VAT exemption up to € 45 only applies to gifts from a private sender.
You have sent the parcel back to a country other than the one it came from
You can only reclaim customs clearance costs if you returned the parcel to the country it came from (outside the EU).
Have you already paid VAT during checkout?
Then you can reclaim the VAT for purchases with a value of up to €150 from the webshop or sender. When you pay VAT during checkout, the sender must inform us that you’ve already paid VAT. This isn’t always done correctly, which is why you’re sometimes asked pay customs clearance costs even though you’ve already paid VAT. Is the value of your purchase higher than €150? Then you may still have to pay import duties and handling costs.