Nusha

I ordered some stuff over the internet for about $260 to be shipped to me to Italy while I'm on vocation there (I'm a US citizen). I was charged EU100!!! of different tax upon delivery. Is it even legal? And is there a way for me to get it back upon leaving the country or any other way to do it? Isn't it like VAT refund?

Thanks everybody,

Nina

StCirq

I don't know how anyone can possibly help you unless you provide more details. WHAT did you order? What were the "different tax?" It's very hard to order anything over the internet without agreeing to all the possible charges involved before clicking the Order button.

flanneruk

Anything imported from outside the EU will be subject to:

- EU import duty. Rarely anything like as high as the US equivalent, but usually significant (12% on a shirt from the US, for example) unless imported from most poor countries and EU neighbours
- the national VAT. Usually 17-20% on the sum of the cost plus shipping plus import duty
- the fee charged by the courier company for acting as a tax collector.

This is completely legal. None of this is refundable. It's unavoidable off the internet, though there's usually a limit on the value of the goods (like €100, though it varies by country) below which taxes aren't levied.

If importing this way from a friend, there are legal (getting the declaration right, if they're used clothes, say) and illegal (lying about the value) ways of avoiding the charge.

Ackislander

That's +/-45%. Let's see how it breaks down:

Italian VAT is 20%.
EU import duty per Flanner UK is 12%.
That's 32%.
What were shipping and handling fees?
These are also subject to VAT, believe it or not.

Add the shipping and handling, add another 20% to that, and it isn't hard to see things getting to the neighborhood of another 15% without any trouble at all.

Zerlina

Why on earth would you order anything from the US over the internet in the first place? There's precious little from the US that isn't available in Italy. But maybe you didn't want to pay the Italian prices. So you got zapped by Italian taxes. Tough...

PalenQ

How much of the tax will end up in Berlosconi's pockets?

logos999

If customs suspect that the value hasn't been declared correctly, it may set a value that seems correct to them and calculates taxes from that value. You have to contact them to get you money back in that case. Evil ...

dscarber

I suppose this is for future reference. When I was studying abroad there and our parents sent us extra clothes for the seasons changing our instructors told us to only ship USPS. It has lower rates. And yet, they will charge you a duty tax if you do not declare the items (I'm talking about clothes) as used. If you do not state this then they will tax you as if you are reselling them.

StCirq

True, but if she ordered $260 worth of stuff on the internet, I would assume it wasn't used.

dscarber

Yeah that's true. I guess the lesson is don't ship new things to Italy....or else you'll get taxed. And I'm pretty sure they do look through the stuff, so you can't trick them and say it's used.