What do we mean with customs clearance of goods?
With customs clearance of goods we mean the declaration of goods to local customs. This concerns products that come in from outside the European Union. Or the other way around, from inside the European Union to outside the European Union. During customs clearance the necessary customs formalities needs to be completed. It means that the importer might have to pay import duties, levies and VAT on the imported goods. Various documents are required to ensure that this runs as smoothly as possible.
- Bill of Lading (BoL)
- Customs Invoice
- Certificate of origin
- Packing List
Customs Clearance for webshops using a e-fulfilment center
Webshops that only trade within the EU will not have to deal with customs clearance. Since we, as a fulfilment center, do not limit ourselves to customers within the EU, we sometimes have to deal with customs clearance. Basically, this can be divided into two different categories;
Webshops that are based outside of the EU and are using our e-fulfilment center to fulfil their orders. In this case they have to send their goods into our fulfilment center and these goods have to be cleared by customs. Although customs clearance is not necessary for amounts under €150, this will hardly occur in this case. Webshops often send bulk stocks to our e-fulfillment center that of which the value most likely will be above the threshold.
And in some cases we also have to deal with customs clearance when an end-consumer outside the EU places an order in the webshop of one of our customers. Depending on the value of the package and the country of destination, clearance from customs may or may not be necessary.
Clearing webshop goods into Europe from outside of the EU
Online sales from webshops are becoming increasingly international. Where previously most orders were within our own country, this quickly expanded into a certain trading region. Nowadays it is also becoming easier to sell across the whole world. The barrier for selling within the EU for a webshop outside the EU has been lowered even more thanks to an e-fulfillment center.
Due to the expansion of the sales area, customs clearance comes into play. By sending bulk stock to our e-fulfilment center, a value is reached at the border of the European Union. This value must be cleared, we can fully support you in this. There are a number of things that come into play here, for example a local VAT number is required to have the goods cleared. We can help you to apply for a VAT number, fiscal representative or set up a company.
Clearing Goods for orders outside the European Union
As a webshop, it may also be the case that a customer from outside the European Union places an order in your webshop. Because our e-fulfillment center is located within the European Union, there is a chance that the goods must be cleared through customs outside of the EU in the country of destination. Also in this situation it depends on the value of the goods and the country of destination.
When the package is shipped and has to be cleared through customs, there can be two different ways of shipping the parcel. The parcel can be shipped DDP or DAP. DDP means Deliver Duty Paid, in this case the sender pays for the customs clearance costs. DAP means Delivered At Place, in this case, the recipient will have to pay for the customs clearance costs.