On the reform from the European Union workshop for cheap purchases from China, resp. from third countries, we already have you on our website informed several times. AliExpress, as the largest online marketplace, has had to adapt to the reform and provides information on new tax obligations.
Cheap orders from China are still used by a large number of people and therefore the current fear of ordering something from China is understandable. However, we bring more light to this problem.
Updated 1.7/XNUMX:
AliExpress has confirmed VAT on all products
China's largest Internet marketplace, AliExpress, has circulated an official statement on tax reform for packages imported into Europe. The biggest change is cancellation of the exemption for packages up to 22 €for which so far she did not have to pay tax and were not even stopped at customs. We therefore avoided 20% VAT and also the fee for the customs procedure of Slovenská pošta.
It will therefore be necessary to pay VAT for all packages, because the EU wants to "balance fairness" between local trade and imports.
It has been confirmed that AliExpress will be increase the prices of products by VAT and therefore the payment of VAT will take place directly when ordering on their website. It will not have to be dealt with additionally in the customs procedure.
How to save on VAT and not deal with customs procedures for purchases from China from July 2021?
If you can't find the answer to one of your questions in our article, click on the questions and answers section from AliExpress dedicated to the new customs rules.
Since when do the new VAT rules start?
Changes to AliExpress will apply from 1.7.2021, when EU reform comes into force. All orders from this date will therefore be subject to the new rules.
What if I ordered before July 1?
If you managed to order products before July 1, 2021, you will not be affected by any price increase within AliExpress. But the package can be stopped at customs, because now the arrival of the package in our territory is taken into account, not the date of the order. We explain everything in this article.
How will VAT payment work on AliExpress?
As we mentioned, after the new one we will have to pay extra VAT, for products of every value. The amount of tax varies from country to country (in the Slovak Republic it is 20%), which is taken into account by AliExpress itself. The price of the product will therefore be increased by the VAT of the given country and AliExpress will take care of collecting VAT, it does not matter the value of the product, if we are talking about delivery to countries within the EU. Also if the seller is registered outside the EU. You can see other cases in the picture below.
In the case of a seller registered in the EU, he will be in charge of collecting VAT on delivery to a country within the EU. But there are a minimum of such sellers in the AliExpress market and almost all of them are registered in Hong Kong or directly in China.
The VAT item, ie VAT, is displayed on AliExpress in the cart. You will find it just below the amount for transport.
Item You will see VAT (ie VAT) in the basket in the first step of the order. It will be displayed exactly where the shipping costs are, or a discount with a coupon from the seller.
You will be able to get too invoice each of your new orders. You will get to them in your profile in the list of orders and each time you will see a button Download invoice.
How will the payment of customs duties work?
Exemption from customs duties for products to 150 € does not change. Thus, up to this value, only VAT is paid and you are exempt from duty. But you have to take into account the fee when processing the customs procedure, because the product will be safely stopped at customs. We write about this in our new article, where you will also find new fees from Slovenská pošta. The sad news is that the fee is even if you handle the customs procedure yourself, without the authorization of the post office.
Exemption from customs duty for goods up to 150 € does not change. These rules remain the same as before.
The amount of duty differs from the type of product, from VAT, from transport and the like. Therefore, to calculate the exact amount of the duty, use this calculator.
What if I order a product from an EU warehouse on AliExpress?
We originally had information that purchases from EU warehouses will not increase on AliExpress. However, after launching the new rules, we found that the item VAT is added in the basket and for products from EU warehouses. At the moment, we do not have information on whether you will have to increase in addition to this, ie paying customs duties (if the package is over 150 €) or the need to handle the customs procedure, which is also charged. More in the article on Slovak Post fees.
Unfortunately, VAT is also added to AliExpress for products in European warehouses.
Since the AliExpress platform is registered in Hong Kong and it is a country outside the European Union, they are obliged to collect VAT for goods delivered to customers in the EU, including cases of delivery from warehouses outside the EU up to a value of 150 € or if the goods are delivered from warehouses within the EU.
The collection of VAT even at EU warehouses is caused by the country in which AliExpress is registered as a platform. They operate in Hong Kong, outside the EU, and are forced to levy VAT on all goods.
What about packages that are marked as a gift?
Some smarter shoppers on AliExpress used it often gift tag package. They thus avoided paying VAT on packages more expensive than € 22. In this way, it was possible to avoid overpricing the order from China, except for packages that were randomly inspected. One of the maneuvers of the European Union is the introduction of the new customs control system ICS2 (Import Control System 2).
A detailed description of the packages and their contents will be needed to ensure a smooth customs procedure. This will also apply to packages marked as a gift. The description must be accompanied by the HS code (Harmonized System), which is an international standard for the classification of goods.
More worries about the new reform
The new reform from the EU therefore brings a lot of unpleasant worries for the end user, and the goal is clear - to discourage shopping from China and promote local trade. But whether this is the right step will show time, and we are very curious about how customs will be prosecuted by a much larger influx of packages. For the last month / two, they have had great difficulty handling customs procedures within a reasonable time.
But at least in this way, AliExpress helps make it easier to pay VAT. We will certainly test the traffic with the new rules and we will also publish detailed instructions on how to arrange the customs procedure yourself. However, keep in mind that you will need a civilian with a chip, a reader and all the necessary certificates on your computer.
I have tried to order items from China and I confirm, VAT is automatically calculated when paying. So great here, the worry about paying VAT with us is resolved. Unfortunately, whether it is just a mistake and it will be corrected in time or something else, but when ordering from a Polish warehouse with seven days delivery, ie EU warehouse, VAT is automatically added as well !!!
Hello. We have corrected the information on EU warehouses. At AliExpress, VAT will be paid here as well. : /
Great job, thumbs up for your lightning reaction. As for the EU warehouse, these more or less lose their meaning - the only advantage is the speed of delivery. Most of the goods in them are slightly more expensive, in addition, postage is usually paid. So if someone doesn't rush, it will be better to order at China.
More expensive products in the EU warehouse are no longer the rule. Only on AliExpress, where you pay for example from the Spanish warehouse around 6 € for transport. Such Banggood has much better prices for products in the Czech / Polish / Spanish warehouse and they sell products mainly from there. We will see how sellers on AliExpress will adapt, because many products will not be worth buying even from the EU with the current increase in VAT (which we noticed is only 17%). :/
So from today everything works as until now only the price is higher by VAT? I mean, the Slovak post after this will not charge anything when ordering from aliexpress and the shipment will be delivered as of now when I pay VAT directly to aliexpress?
well thank you
Hello. We do not know this for sure, we have to test the order from AliExpress ourselves. If the product is up to € 150, it is possible that it will no longer be stopped at customs, because for more expensive ones, the duty must already be paid.
Not true about EU warehouses. Products from EU warehouses on Aliexpress are still charged with VAT at checkout.
Yes, the information about EU warehouses is already updated. Please use CTRL + F5 to fetch the post again.
Probably nothing will be the same as before. At the very least, it will be necessary to let customs know that this package has already been solved, and this will not be done without their form and electronic signature.
There should be an automated system for this, and the packages should now also contain a certain HS (Harmonized System) code. So we'll see, maybe the packages will go up to 150 € without stopping at customs.
Today I already received the first delayed order from May, according to the tracking info it was at our customs a few days agonami so I already paid the fee for balik and post. So for ~10€ balik I paid 2€ for postage and 1,98€ VAT.
I also paid VAT on Ali for another order, so I wonder if he will also be subject to these fees.
If it was from a Chinese warehouse, you only pay fee 2 € for automated customs procedures. If you ordered from the EU warehouse, you won't have to pay anything extra and the package will arrive without stopping at customs. We have tested it from AliExpress and from Banggoodu.
according to the latest information, I feel that the post will collect a fee even after Ali introduced VAT, for now it is reduced to 2 €, but again there should be a flood (9 €), so in real life it is again pruser
The post office will always collect €2 for each package, €4 if I have to add some info and contact you, and €9 if I have to contact you plus customs and add info. These prices will apply from septi love how you write.
Hi, I want to put this stick back, I'm more happy here. I booked an AliExpress phone, already in new meetings, VAT has now been added to the payroll. It turned out that the receipt was received by the invoice, I received it, but it was shown that the customer would only see the email addresses and addresses. Is it possible for AliExpress to set up full-time companies to display them on invoices?
My experience is as follows: if the shipment is via Chinese Post, SK Post automatically charges € 2. If the shipment goes through alternative operators, even if SK mail delivers them, nothing is paid. So it looks like SK pošta made a nice rice out of it 🙁
Yes, it's like that. If the package is delivered to you by a courier company, the customs procedure fee is not paid.
So, if I understand correctly… over 150 euros, a duty is paid. VAT is paid regardless of the price, regardless of whether I order from an EU warehouse or a Chinese one (it is therefore more advantageous to order from China). When ordering, I download the invoice, then handle the customs procedure, it is more advantageous to submit a customs declaration via eCeP than to be represented by the Czech Post, where the fee is CZK 200 for the customs procedure. Do I get it right? I read somewhere that eCeP is paid for, I'm confused.
Greetings. Yes, duty is paid only above 150 € and VAT always. It is more advantageous not to order from China, because products from EU warehouses do not stop at customs. You deal with customs procedures yourself only if the seller did not collect VAT for you, but all larger stores already do that, so you don't have to deal with this at all. Only fee 2 may await you € for automated customs procedures.
Good day. I am interested in ordering a package worth € 250 from China, the price of transport should be € 115. I saw that VAT was already added there. The package should be delivered to me from the CZ warehouse (so it is in the seller's offer). But I don't know what to do next. Should I apply for a customs procedure myself or will it come to me or how? I'm completely confused. So I won't pay VAT anymore if the seller charges it? Will he then take him to the state?
Thank you for your response
Hi, so just to clarify, for an item of value € 10 and I pay € 1 VAT to aliexpress (so total € 11) I will still need to pay the € 2 fee to Slovak Post? Why is this, they are not doing anything except seeing VAT is already paid and deliverying it.
Hello, I think you have a mistake in the article
"As we mentioned, after the new one we will have to pay additional VAT, for products of every value. The amount of tax varies from country to country (in the Czech Republic it is 20%),
VAT is 21%
Hello, thank you for your observation, there was information from the Slovak translation, but it is already correct in the Czech version.
"the goal is clear - to discourage shopping from China and support local trade"
Or to support merchants who buy from China one way or another 😀 Because the EU doesn't produce anything anymore, it exported everything to China and now it punishes buying from China. EU sick mind is fantastic.