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In our relationship with some states, importing and exporting goods is subject to a series of customs duties that change according to the country of origin (or destination), the type of goods and transport.
In this article, we will see what customs duties are, who collects them and when they are applied when it comes to transport!
Customs duties are taxes that are collected at customs, i.e. at the body that checks the goods that are exported and imported to and from a country through various types of transport.
Customs duties are duty and VAT:
1. Duties are usually applied to imported goods (but in some cases also to exports) and can be of two types: ad valorem (the amount is in proportion to the value of the goods) or specific (the amount is calculated on weight, length, capacity or volume of goods)
2. VAT is Value Added Tax and is applied to goods that enter an EU Member State
Duty and VAT are collected by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, the tax agency that deals – among other things – with:
- administering customs duties, internal taxation of international trade and excise duties, ensuring the assessment, collection and litigation;
- managing customs services, ensuring the application of the European Union customs code and all measures, including those relating to agricultural and common commercial policy connected to international trade
Customs duties are charged to the recipient of the goods.
It is a legal act through which you communicate to the customs which result you want to give to the goods.
The customs declaration can be verbal (in the case of a private citizen declaring the value of goods bought abroad to customs) or written.
The written declaration is the one intended for commercial consignments that ship merchandise and must be drawn up in the Single Administrative Document (SAD) or an official form valid for the whole European Union.
The European Union Customs Union (EUCU) is a customs union that was created in 1968 and includes all the member states of the European Union.
Thanks to this union, customs duties are not applied between EU countries, while for goods from non-EU countries, a common customs tariff is applied in addition to the TARIC (Integrated Community Tariff).
Since from 1 January 2021 Great Britain is no longer part of the customs and fiscal territory of the European Union, the rules governing the movement and transport of goods between the UK and Europe have undergone changes which are contained provisionally in this official agreement of the European Commission. Furthermore, from 1 January 2022, to be entitled to the zero or, in any case, reduced duty rate, all exports of products manufactured in the EU with a value greater than €6,000 must have a REX number that will be indicated on the export invoice. The REX number is the number obtained by registering with the registered exporter system. To register as an exporter, you need to fill in a form and submit it to the competent authorities.
At Aldieri, we take care of all the procedures relating to duties and customs declarations for international transport that are entrusted to us in such a way as to offer our customers 100% safe, fast and worry-free shipments.
