a hi-fi purchase of over 150 euros (Aliexpress, EU VAT & Import duty)

[DeepSpace57]

Hello,

I want to buy a new DAC on Aliexpress and am going to make it shipped to the Netherlands. The seller is located in China (Aoshida). The price appeared at about 430 euros without tax after the coins and coupon were used for a reasonable discount. Considering my main concerns below, I would just like you to share your experience or thoughts, if possible.

- Is there any import duties for this product? I found this official letter but curious about your experience. The official letter here

- Is the vat calculated based on the discounted price or the regular one in the Netherlands? At the customs, officials will search the price of it on Aliexpress and see the price without discount on the website.

- Any possible shipping cost inland Netherlands? (like from customs to the door).

- How will I pay the VAT and other costs after/at the Netherlands customs?

- Anything else I should be careful about while I purchase a hifi staff from a non-EU region?

 

[Sokel]

Which DAC?

 

[JSmith]

Is there any import duties for this product?

I'd suggest yes... if it's stopped at all that is.

Is the vat calculated based on the discounted price or the regular one in the Netherlands?

It's calculated on what you paid, i.e. discounted price.

Any possible shipping cost inland Netherlands?

I would have thought postage was part of the purchase... so I'd suggest no further charges for delivery.

Anything else I should be careful about while I purchase a hifi staff from a non-EU region?

Yes, you're likely not covered by local consumer laws and will need to deal with Aoshida direct if a return or repair is required under warranty.

At the customs, officials will search the price of it on Aliexpress and see the price without discount on the website.

They will see the declared value on the front of the parcel.

How will I pay the VAT and other costs after/at the Netherlands customs?

Unsure how it works there, but you will likely be sent a bill for the VAT with the product, or the product may be held until you pay same.


JSmith

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Hello,

I want to buy a new DAC on Aliexpress and am going to make it shipped to the Netherlands. The seller is located in China (Aoshida). The price appeared at about 430 euros without tax after the coins and coupon were used for a reasonable discount. Considering my main concerns below, I would just like you to share your experience or thoughts, if possible.

- Is there any import duties for this product? I found this official letter but curious about your experience. The official letter here

- Is the vat calculated based on the discounted price or the regular one in the Netherlands? At the customs, officials will search the price of it on Aliexpress and see the price without discount on the website.

- Any possible shipping cost inland Netherlands? (like from customs to the door).

- How will I pay the VAT and other costs after/at the Netherlands customs?

- Anything else I should be careful about while I purchase a hifi staff from a non-EU region?

You will have to pay VAT. Base is usually the declared value from the seller. But as Chinese seller offer declare lower values, customs do spot checks. Sometimes if you get lucky it will pass even without having to pay VAT.

 

[charleski]

I don’t think there will be an additional import tariff, but you’ll have to pay the 21% VAT. This is calculated on the amount you paid, so minus any discounts but including shipping. Here in the UK, the seller has to collect VAT on items below £135, but more expensive items are charged by customs instead. I think the situation is similar in the EU. So customs will charge the shipper and they will present you with the bill (including a handling charge) before they’ll deliver it.

Back in the good ol’ days, Chinese sellers would regularly declare the value as below the relief level (which was around £15) so you could evade the VAT. In theory customs might catch this if they opened the item and inspected it, but there were so many parcels coming through that the chances of this were slim as long it was fairly small. Unfortunately that’s all gone now, thanks Boris.

 

[MCH]

@DeepSpace57 are you sure you don't need to pay the VAT when you order at aliexpress? Since a couple of years ago, as long as I am logged in, AliExpress shows me the prices with the VAT of my country (LU) and i am not aware of any setting to avoid paying the VAT at origin, that is, to AliExpress at the moment of the purchase.
In my opinion and experience, paying the vat at origin is beneficial for you and will save you some fees...
I am not an expert, so i still recommend you to search for a trustable source, but the way it works for me, that is coincident with what the rules i am aware of say, is:

1. If you pay the vat at origin (not all the online shops offer this possibility, but AliExpress does):
1a: value less than 150eur: exempt from import duties -> you receive your stuff at home without additional charges
1b: value > 150eur: not exempt of import duties. You will have to check if a DAC from china needs to pay import duties. I would say it doesn't but i don't know for sure. If yes, besides the duty you might need to pay a fee.

2. You don't pay vat at origin. In this case you will have to pay the vat at customs, no matter the value of the item. You will pay the vat for the value+shipping costs + most likely a fee to the carrier company that, for me, goes from 5-10 euros if it is the Luxembourg post to 16eur if it is DHL (iirc). On top of that, if the value is >150eur, you might have to pay import duties as well.

I don't know about the Netherlands, but at least in Luxembourg since a couple of years ago, the "let's see if it passes" lottery is one very difficult to win. My advice would be to pay the vat to AliExpress.

On the warranty and all that, yes, you are screwed, but aoshida has a shop in amazon.de that will be much better in that regard. Have you checked if they sell the same DAC there?
Good luck!

 

[DeepSpace57]

Please let me inform better the situation that I am in. At the checkout, the vat that has been included before is deducted from the final price( as a price adjustment). The appearance is shown below.

I certainly know to pay for %21 vat, but I am curious about import duties. The link that has been given in my first post explains the classes of import duties (some will not require any further charge as import duties). However, nothing is allowing me to classify any hi-fi stuff in this particular list.

 

[Koeitje]

Hello,

I want to buy a new DAC on Aliexpress and am going to make it shipped to the Netherlands. The seller is located in China (Aoshida). The price appeared at about 430 euros without tax after the coins and coupon were used for a reasonable discount. Considering my main concerns below, I would just like you to share your experience or thoughts, if possible.

- Is there any import duties for this product? I found this official letter but curious about your experience. The official letter here

- Is the vat calculated based on the discounted price or the regular one in the Netherlands? At the customs, officials will search the price of it on Aliexpress and see the price without discount on the website.

- Any possible shipping cost inland Netherlands? (like from customs to the door).

- How will I pay the VAT and other costs after/at the Netherlands customs?

- Anything else I should be careful about while I purchase a hifi staff from a non-EU region?

I'm Dutch so I can answer part of it: you pay VAT through Aliexpress. Its the law and you can also see it on Aliexpress (I selected a random Topping product from a Chinese seller):

Pretty sure you still have to pay customs duties etcetera, but I don't know the rules for that.

 

[Koeitje]

I'd also never buy a DAC from Aliexpress if there is a European reseller, because of warranty and DOA issues. EU consumer protection is just too good.

 

[Music707]

Please let me inform better the situation that I am in. At the checkout, the vat that has been included before is deducted from the final price( as a price adjustment). The appearance is shown below.

I certainly know to pay for %21 vat, but I am curious about import duties. The link that has been given in my first post explains the classes of import duties (some will not require any further charge as import duties). However, nothing is allowing me to classify any hi-fi stuff in this particular list.

I suggest that you contact customs directly:

Customs Information Line: 0800 0143 (free of charge)

You can call this number if you have any questions about customs matters, such as Internet purchases, buying souvenirs abroad and import tariffs.

www.belastingdienst.nl

 

[DeepSpace57]

I purchased a dac nearly a a couple of weeks ago (do300). PostNL tracking service is shown above. I have no notification letter dropped into my mailbox. I do not know what I should do. I would appreciate getting any suggestions, especially from members living in the Netherlands.

 

[sarumbear]

Hello,

I want to buy a new DAC on Aliexpress and am going to make it shipped to the Netherlands. The seller is located in China (Aoshida). The price appeared at about 430 euros without tax after the coins and coupon were used for a reasonable discount. Considering my main concerns below, I would just like you to share your experience or thoughts, if possible.

- Is there any import duties for this product? I found this official letter but curious about your experience. The official letter here

- Is the vat calculated based on the discounted price or the regular one in the Netherlands? At the customs, officials will search the price of it on Aliexpress and see the price without discount on the website.

- Any possible shipping cost inland Netherlands? (like from customs to the door).

- How will I pay the VAT and other costs after/at the Netherlands customs?

- Anything else I should be careful about while I purchase a hifi staff from a non-EU region?

VAT will be charged on the total cost of the equipment invoice amount given to the shipper plus the shipping. You may either be asked by your shipper to pay the VAT, or your country’s tax office may ask payment after the shipper delivered to you. If you are lucky the paperwork fails to reach interested parties and you get away not paying VAT.

 

[charleski]

View attachment 289442I purchased a dac nearly a a couple of weeks ago (do300). PostNL tracking service is shown above. I have no notification letter dropped into my mailbox. I do not know what I should do. I would appreciate getting any suggestions, especially from members living in the Netherlands.

https://www.postnl.nl/en/receiving/parcels/receiving-from-abroad/

Looks like the track and trace page should provide a link to pay the fee.

 

[solderdude]

Contact PostNL. (phone them or use the chat function)
Above € 150,- you may or may not have to pay import duties (tax has been paid) but in any case the € 17,00 handling costs.
You can pay via PostNL website (tracking).
After you paid the parcel will be forwarded within a few days.
Don't wait too long otherwise it will be returned to the sender (on the slow boat, may take months before the sender gets it back)

 

[DeepSpace57]

https://www.postnl.nl/en/receiving/parcels/receiving-from-abroad/

Looks like the track and trace page should provide a link to pay the fee.

Unfortunately, No links were provided.

Contact PostNL. (phone them or use the chat function)
Above € 150,- you may or may not have to pay import duties (tax has been paid) but in any case the € 17,00 handling costs.
You can pay via PostNL website (tracking).
After you paid the parcel will be forwarded within a few days.
Don't wait too long otherwise it will be returned to the sender (on the slow boat, may take months before the sender gets it back)

I will contact them tomorrow. Share the situation here, which may be useful for some users later.

 

[audio_tony]

I will contact them tomorrow. Share the situation here, which may be useful for some users later.

What was the final outcome of this?

Did you ever receive your DAC? Did you have to pay import duty? If so, how much?