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Importing Goods from Outside the EU? Here Is What You Need To Know

If you own a business that operates in the European Union, you must have noticed and taken benefit of the intra-Community transactions. This term stands for any services or goods transferred from one European member country from another. Such transfers do not require registering them at the customs office or paying customs taxes. For goods or services acquired outside the EU, the story is different.
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Key facts about the import VAT in the EU

Import VAT is a transaction tax levied on goods bought in one country and imported to another. Just like the regular VAT, in the EU, it is calculated as the percentage of the taxable amount (including the customs, duty, transportation and insurance costs for goods acquired outside the EU). The VAT rate charged on imports is the same as if the goods have been supplied within the destination country.
There are cases when import VAT is not applied. VAT is not charged for goods bought online of the value less than entrance country’s threshold, which varies from €10 to a little over €20 within the EU (except for tobacco, alcohol and perfumes).

When acquiring goods that cost more than the customs tax threshold, the import VAT usually paid directly to the seller. If the seller fails to charge the VAT from its customer, then the customer pays the import VAT to the delivery company or at the customs.

For goods that are bought from outside the EU and are meant to be sold in another EU member country, sometimes the import VAT can be suspended and paid at the destination country rather than the entrance country. Usually, this rule applies to goods that are held in temporary storage or are in-transit.