Post-delivered goods subject to customs duties
As of 1 July 2021, a customs declaration for release for free circulation will be lodged for all goods purchased through a distance sale that come from third countries and do not have status of Union goods
The obligation of submitting a declaration for goods purchased through a distance sale is applied in postal traffic and movement of goods delivered by express carriers - courier operators (operators providing integrated services of expedited/time-definite collection, transport, customs clearance and delivery of parcels whilst tracking the location of, and maintaining control over, such items throughout the supply of the service).Declarations for release for free circulation on behalf of the customer (i.e. receiver of goods) are lodged by the postal operators or express carriers (courier operators).
Apart from lodging a customs declaration for release for free circulation, postal operators and express carriers also perform on behalf of the customer - receiver of goods all other actions relating to customs authorities (e.g. submitting documentation (invoice, e-mail communication, etc.), request for invalidation of the declaration due to return of wrongly delivered consignments, request for amendment of the declaration, etc.).
Consignments of negligible value of up to EUR 150
Consignments dispatched directly from a third country to a consignee in the EU, whose actual value does not exceed EUR 150.00 per consignment are free of import duties.Customs duties may be calculated by applying the prescribed rate of duty or a flat rate of 2.5% on consignments sent by a natural person to another natural person free of charge (non-commercial character), if the value of the goods does not exceed EUR 700.00 and if the goods in question are not goods specified in Chapter 24 of the Customs Tariff. If the declarant wishes to apply a preferential rate of duty, a regular customs declaration must be submitted.
This exemption from customs duties does not apply to alcohol products, perfumes and eau de toilettes, tobacco and tobacco products.
As of 1 July 2021, VAT will be charged on import of commercial consignments, regardless of their value.
VAT collection for these consignments will be carried out in one of two ways:
- through a special taxation scheme called the IOSS procedure (Import One Stop Shop), or
- through a special arrangement for declaration and payment of import VAT.
If the vendor of the goods (or the person who secures the sale or an intermediary between the mentioned persons in the EU territory) applies the IOSS procedure, at the moment of the distance sale of the goods to the customer (e-commerce), in addition to the price of the goods being sold, the vendor also collects VAT from the EU territory customer.
The person applying the IOSS procedure for selling the goods shall be registered with the tax authorities of the competent Union Member States, i.e. has been issued a VAT IOSS number which it specifies in invoices, and shall pay the tax it collects from the customers to tax authorities.
If the IOSS procedure is not applied when selling goods from a third country to the territory of the Union, a so-called arrangement for declaration and payment of import VAT will be applied, and the value added tax to the final customer will be calculated in the customs declaration (as opposed to when buying the goods in the VAT IOSS procedure). The VAT amount charged in the declaration will be paid by the consignee to the postal operator or express carrier upon delivery, or handing in the consignment, and paid to the customs authority on a monthly basis. The special arrangement for declaration and payment of import VAT does not allow for the use of reduced rates of value added tax, but only the general VAT rate of 25%.
Consignments of a value of up to EUR 45 sent by a natural person of a third country to another natural person in the EU
Consignments of a value of up to EUR 45.00 sent by a natural person of a third country to another natural person in the EU territory free of charge must be declared to the customs authorities using the H7 declaration. These are exempt from customs duties and import VAT.The consignments may not be of a commercial nature.
The consignments are goods that are at the same time dispatched from the same sender to the same recipient and covered by the same transport contract (transport document).
Such consignments must be occasional in nature and contain goods exclusively for the personal use of the consignee or its family.
As of 1 July 2021, a customs declaration shall be submitted for all consignments of goods arriving in postal and courier traffic that do not have status of Union goods. The declarations to be submitted differ depending on the value of the goods, the character of the consignment and the type of goods.
Using the EORI number when receiving postal consignments
Legal persons or trade businesses established in the Republic of Croatia or other Member States submitting an electronic declaration must have an EORI number.Natural persons established in the Republic of Croatia are not obliged to have an EORI number when importing or exporting goods for personal use.
Third country diplomatic missions also do not require an EORI number.
Documents submitted for customs clearance of postal consignments
Postal consignments are presented for customs clearance based on a valid proof of the value of the goods, such as an invoice, proof of payment, internet order, declaration of value of the goods in the consignment or a printout of the conclusion of bidding.Issue of quantitative restrictions regarding exemptions from import charges in small consignments of a non-commercial significance
Exemption from paying value added tax and excise duties in small consignments of a non-commercial significance sent free of charge by natural person of a third country to another natural person in the Republic of Croatia is quantitatively restricted for certain products, namely:- tobacco products: 50 cigarettes, 25 cigarillos, 10 cigars and 50 grams of smoking tobacco, or a proportional combination of these various products;
- alcohol and alcoholic beverages: distilled spirits and alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of more than 22% vol.; undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of 80% vol. or higher; one litre, or distilled spirits and alcohol, as well as wine- and alcohol-based apéritifs, tafia, sake and similar beverages of an alcoholic strength by volume of more than 22% vol.; sparkling wines, dessert wines; one litre or a proportional combination of these various products, and still wines: two litres;
- perfumes: 50 ml of perfume or 250 ml of an eau de toilette.
Obligation of submitting a customs export declaration for postal consignments dispatched to third countries
Postal consignments of a value of up to EUR 1,000.00 do not require a customs export declaration.A customs export declaration (electronic) is required for: consignments containing goods of a commercial nature whose total value exceeds EUR 1,000.00; consignments containing goods of a commercial nature that form part of successive consignments of equivalent procedures; and goods for which return of a paid customs duty or other charges is requested (unless the request for return is based on an invalidation of the customs declaration for release for free circulation of consignments of an actual value of up to EUR 150 or consignments sent by natural persons to other natural persons with a value of up to EUR 45), as well as consignments of goods that are subject to a restriction, prohibition or specially prescribed formalities.