I once had to pay 13 euros for a soundtrack bix set that cost over 40 euros. But i asked at the post office and they told me that it always varies if you have to pay tax or not, there is no price or weight limit (at least that's what they told me).

philkws, January 6, 2007; 7:00 AM

If my memory is right, I pay here in Holland 24% plus 5 Euro handling fees. Always a waste of money :( . But many times it gets to my mailbox without taxes :). They pick at random parcels. If it is yours, bad luck. It helps if you ask the seller to write a lower vallue on the parcel.

s.tonkens, January 6, 2007; 9:56 AM

Hi!

First of all is important to know where you are, since VAT taxes are different within the EU.
The bigger value goes for the VAT.
Then you'll have smaller fees related directly to customs, which I believe to be much less. Say less than 10%.
Here in Portugal I'm usually charged in orders above 25€, so I would expect to be the case with TT. This value is not formal, and it happens because it's impossible for any Country to charge every order that comes in, it would require much more people or much more delay.
I don't like it, and I am always happy when an order slips through it, but if I had a store I would not be happy to see CD's getting sold for so little, when I have to charge my clients with VAT.

antonio_lerias, January 6, 2007; 1:46 PM

Hi Phil, David, Sijbold and Antonio,

thank you very much for your exhaustive answers. I believe you have addressed all my questions. :-)

Regards,

Urs

handstand, January 6, 2007; 2:25 PM

I'm amazed ... shocked! ... at the answers posted here. When someone attempts to market a CDR you drop on him/her like "a ton/tonne of bricks" - rightly, so, as it's fraud.

But here you are suggesting:
"... simply ask the seller to mark the items as a "gift" on the customs declaration or have him reduce the declared value and send the invoice seperately." - coma
"It helps if you ask the seller to write a lower vallue on the parcel. " - sijbold.tonkens

Isn't this fraud, too? Or does it not matter when it's against the state?

Mitch, January 7, 2007; 7:43 AM

Ah, coma - if only the tax authorities were of a similar mind!

But, I'm forgetting: the West promotes free-trade - it must be such an anathema to the authorities (the financial chancellors, especially) having to levy such taxes. They probably turn a blind eye to private individuals so as to help themselves sleep at night.

Or more likely, as another correspondent mentioned, it would take too much man-power, etc. to levy a charge on all imported items.

Mitch, January 7, 2007; 10:49 AM

There's also a difference between selling cd-rs and avoiding the taxes. When somebody sells you a cd-r, you lose money through it and a person alone doesn't have as much money as the state has. And the state is always taking our money away from us to build new football stadiums and buy euro-fighters (that's how it is where I live).
So basically, avoiding the tax is no big loss for the state. But selling a cd-r for a tremendous price can be a big loss for some people.


philkws, January 7, 2007; 2:25 PM