Avoid import tax.
May 21, 2024 9:47 AM Subscribe
I want to send a friend a small gift that I made. Like a mosaic mirror. Value $200.00. He is in Italy. I am in USA. Is there a way for me to pay the import tax, instead of saddling him with the tax charge?.Or maybe I could send him a Money order or personal check to cover the charge. Thanks.
the value of the gift (including insurance, freight and postage costs) is €45 or less
OP's mirror is not €45 or less.
The term for what you're looking for is "incoterms delivered duty paid" (DDP). FedEx should be able to handle it for you, although you might have to go to FedEx hub location to find an employee who's sufficiently familiar with international shipping to set up a shipment as DDP. You may have to set up an account with FedEx for them to bill the import tax to you.
It'll almost definitely be easier and cheaper for you to simply include a money order for $44 equivalent in Euros for the maximum 22% import tax that Italy would charge. That said, it's distinctly likely Italy will not bother charging import tax. If you're tight on money, you could ask your friend to rip up the money order on his side if import tax is not charged and then you cancel the money order on your side, to get the money back (albeit usually with a fee taken out).
posted by saeculorum at 10:08 AM on May 21
OP's mirror is not €45 or less.
The term for what you're looking for is "incoterms delivered duty paid" (DDP). FedEx should be able to handle it for you, although you might have to go to FedEx hub location to find an employee who's sufficiently familiar with international shipping to set up a shipment as DDP. You may have to set up an account with FedEx for them to bill the import tax to you.
It'll almost definitely be easier and cheaper for you to simply include a money order for $44 equivalent in Euros for the maximum 22% import tax that Italy would charge. That said, it's distinctly likely Italy will not bother charging import tax. If you're tight on money, you could ask your friend to rip up the money order on his side if import tax is not charged and then you cancel the money order on your side, to get the money back (albeit usually with a fee taken out).
posted by saeculorum at 10:08 AM on May 21
Has your gift’s value been evaluated by someone other than yourself?
posted by Ideefixe at 10:10 AM on May 21 [3 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 10:10 AM on May 21 [3 favorites]
I would have absolutely not qualms about filling in the declaration as "decorative item, mirror: 30eur".
Unless you're a professional artist then it is entirely normal for arts and crafts to end up worth less than the cost of the materials. How are you objectively valuing this item? Go into any goodwill any you'll find plenty of canvases with $20 worth of paint on them being sold for $1 so someone can paint over them.
posted by samworm at 10:43 AM on May 21 [15 favorites]
Unless you're a professional artist then it is entirely normal for arts and crafts to end up worth less than the cost of the materials. How are you objectively valuing this item? Go into any goodwill any you'll find plenty of canvases with $20 worth of paint on them being sold for $1 so someone can paint over them.
posted by samworm at 10:43 AM on May 21 [15 favorites]
You made a handmade gift for your friend? I'm sure the value is about €25. Just put "Gift - handmade mosaic" on the package and rest easy.
It is usually better to send such things by post rather than a courier service, which tend to charge exorbitant fees for customs clearance. Here are the details on which fees and taxes will be charged by the Italian post office.
posted by ssg at 10:47 AM on May 21 [5 favorites]
It is usually better to send such things by post rather than a courier service, which tend to charge exorbitant fees for customs clearance. Here are the details on which fees and taxes will be charged by the Italian post office.
posted by ssg at 10:47 AM on May 21 [5 favorites]
FedEx should be able to handle it for you
Just as a data point, when my American family members have FedExed things to me in London, FedEx ALWAYS sends me a bill for customs charges post-delivery. Dodgy as hell.
posted by Pallas Athena at 10:53 AM on May 21 [1 favorite]
Just as a data point, when my American family members have FedExed things to me in London, FedEx ALWAYS sends me a bill for customs charges post-delivery. Dodgy as hell.
posted by Pallas Athena at 10:53 AM on May 21 [1 favorite]
FedEx ALWAYS sends me a bill for customs charges post-delivery.
Default incoterms are "delivered at place" (DAP), which means the receiver pays import taxes. DDP is the exception, not the norm. There's nothing dodgy about a delivery company charging the receiver for import taxes. OP will have to specifically ask for something other than DAP if they want the receiver not to pay import taxes.
(also, lying on valuation of imports is tax fraud, even if it's socially accepted tax fraud. OP said it's worth $200, the valuation isn't in question in the post, so saying it's lower than that is both fraud and deliberately ignoring the premise of the question).
posted by saeculorum at 11:09 AM on May 21 [1 favorite]
Default incoterms are "delivered at place" (DAP), which means the receiver pays import taxes. DDP is the exception, not the norm. There's nothing dodgy about a delivery company charging the receiver for import taxes. OP will have to specifically ask for something other than DAP if they want the receiver not to pay import taxes.
(also, lying on valuation of imports is tax fraud, even if it's socially accepted tax fraud. OP said it's worth $200, the valuation isn't in question in the post, so saying it's lower than that is both fraud and deliberately ignoring the premise of the question).
posted by saeculorum at 11:09 AM on May 21 [1 favorite]
Definitely don't lowball the completely made up customs value of a handmade gift item that you made yourself that has not been sold in a marketplace and has no professionally assessed value to avoid paying duty, that's tax fraud. Definitely don't do that.
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:13 AM on May 21 [14 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:13 AM on May 21 [14 favorites]
One should not commit tax fraud, but one equally should be realistic about the value of a thing. It is very common that the value of handmade things is less than the cost of the materials alone, much less the time spent assembling them into a finished product.
The value of a thing is the price at which it would sell in an arm's length transaction, nothing more, nothing less.
posted by wierdo at 11:27 AM on May 21 [7 favorites]
The value of a thing is the price at which it would sell in an arm's length transaction, nothing more, nothing less.
posted by wierdo at 11:27 AM on May 21 [7 favorites]
The significant con -- aside from it being possibly illegal -- to lowballing the customs value is that you will likely only be able to insure it for the lowball value, also. So if it breaks, you may end up SOL. And mirrors breaking isn't exactly unheard of.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:02 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
posted by jacquilynne at 12:02 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
I mean insurance for shipping purposes, not the recipient insuring it. Many people insure packages against loss or damage.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:45 PM on May 21
posted by jacquilynne at 12:45 PM on May 21
DDP is the term. Any other options will quite possibly not work even if they should. I am regularly charged both vat, import tax AND a fixed handling fee by the postal service here which means I have had to pay like 15 dollars to pay a twenty cent tax on an item I didn’t even buy. Thats Sweden but a lot of EU mail carriers are fucked like that.
posted by Iteki at 2:57 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
posted by Iteki at 2:57 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]
You can't really claim insurance on something like this, regardless. If it wasn't sold and you don't have an invoice for it, no one is going to pay out on it. Also, breakage is very hard to claim, especially on something delicate like a mirror. Insurance value is a red herring here.
posted by Slinga at 3:36 PM on May 21
posted by Slinga at 3:36 PM on May 21
DDP is the term
Yeah, I would look into this. I know that at least for some countries, US Amazon handles VAT and customs on its end, meaning customers purchasing items pay those fees up front when buying from Amazon and not at point of collection. I have no idea what the process is though or if it makes sense for individuals.
posted by trig at 10:56 PM on May 21
Yeah, I would look into this. I know that at least for some countries, US Amazon handles VAT and customs on its end, meaning customers purchasing items pay those fees up front when buying from Amazon and not at point of collection. I have no idea what the process is though or if it makes sense for individuals.
posted by trig at 10:56 PM on May 21
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Rules for duty relief on gift consignments:
You can receive a gift without payment of Customs Duty and Value-Added Tax (VAT) if:
the value of the gift (including insurance, freight and postage costs) is €45 or less,
the gift is correctly declared,
the gift has been sent from a private individual outside the European Union (EU) to a private individual within the EU,
the gift is for the personal, or family use, of a private individual in the EU,
there is no commercial or trade element, that is, the goods have not been paid for by the recipient,
the gift is of an occasional nature only such as a present for a birthday or anniversary.
posted by Ideefixe at 10:02 AM on May 21 [1 favorite]