Intrinsic value of maximum EUR 150 per shipment
For the purposes of determining whether goods qualify for the duty exemption provided for in Article 23(1) of the RFA , the definition of "intrinsic value" (Article 1(48) of the AD CAU ) must be taken into account. Customs will find this value in the ED 14 14 000 000 of the customs declaration in order to assess the right to use the customs declaration with data set H7. Intrinsic value is explained in detail in Chapter 1.
If the customs determines that the intrinsic value of the goods exceeds 150 EUR , the subsequent treatment depends on the moment at which this becomes evident. The possible scenarios are summarized in the table below:
| Moment of determining the correct value of the assets | Follow-up action required | Who will adopt the measure | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before supporting DA with H7 dataset | Rejection of DA H7 | Customs | Article 172 of the CAU |
| Before admitting the data with the H7 dataset | Presentation of a new DA other than H7 | Filer | Article 172 of the CAU |
| After accepting the DA, but before the release of the goods, if their intrinsic value is ≤150 EUR | Rectification of the DA8 | Filer | Article 191 and Article 173, paragraph 1, of the UCC |
| After accepting the DA, but before the release of the goods, if their intrinsic value is >150 EUR | Customs may refuse to release the goods or suggest the declarant to request invalidation of the customs declaration with data set H7 and submit a new DA with data set H1 or a simplified declaration. Alternatively, Customs cancels the decision on the admission of the DA and requests that a customs declaration with the full set of data or a simplified declaration including the correct customs value be submitted, and the declarant has the right to be heard. | Customs | Articles 27, 174, 188, 191 and 198 of the CAU. Articles 8 to 10 of the AD CAU. Articles 8 and 9 of the AE CAU |
| After the lifting of the goods, detected by the declarant | Correction of the DA if the value remains less than 150 EUR | Filer | Article 173, paragraph 3, of the UCC |
| During the post-lifting checks | Adoption of a formal decision by customs regarding the result of post-release control and the import duty to be paid. If IOSS is used, the Member State of identification must also be informed (administrative cooperation). | Customs | Article 29 of the CAU. Articles 8 to 10 of the AD CAU. Articles 8 and 9 of the AE CAU |
8 A rectification is only possible if the conditions set out in Article 173, paragraph 2, of the UCC are met (the customs office has not informed the declarant that it wishes to examine the goods, the customs office has not verified the inaccuracy of the data and the release of the goods has not yet been authorised). In other cases, the procedure described below will apply for cases where the incorrect value has been detected after the DA has been admitted, but before the goods have been released, and the intrinsic value of the goods is > EUR 150.
Article 25 paragraph 1 of the FRG covers the following goods:
- goods included in shipments with a value of up to 45 EUR;
- goods sent from a third country by an individual to another individual residing in the customs territory of the EU ;
- Goods that are not the subject of commercial import (goods of an occasional nature, exclusively reserved for the personal or family use of the recipient - that is, the importer -, without their nature or quantity reflecting any commercial intention and which are sent by the sender to the recipient - that is, the importer - without payment of any kind9);
- Tobacco products, spirits and alcoholic beverages, perfumes and toilet waters are subject to quantitative limits pursuant to Article 27 of the FRG.
It should be noted that, for goods not of a commercial nature, a franchise may be requested at the item level, which means that, when the overall value per shipment of two or more items exceeds EUR 45, the franchise will be granted up to a total of that amount for those items which, imported separately, could have benefited from said franchise, although the value of an item cannot be split (Article 26, paragraph 2, of the FRG). However, the VAT exemption will be considered with respect to the shipment as a whole, and not in relation to each of the goods included in said shipment.10.
NB Goods subject to a customs exemption based on other FRG articles (such as commercial samples) and returned goods cannot be declared using the customs declaration with an H7 data set and must be subject to a simplified declaration or a normal declaration with the full data set.
If the value of the gifts (other than alcoholic products, perfumes and toilet waters, and tobacco and tobacco products) exceeds the threshold of EUR 45 but meets the other conditions for customs exemption under Article 23 of the FRG, customs will reject the customs declaration and the declarant will rectify it by replacing the additional procedure code C08 with C07.
As long as the value of the goods does not exceed 150 EUR, no customs duties shall be payable, although the goods will be subject to payment of the VAT. If the rest of the conditions are met, it is possible to use the customs declaration with data set H7.
Examples:
- a shipment from individual to individual with a value of 30 EUR: exempt from import duties, exempt from payment of VAT, additional regime code C08;
- a shipment from individual to individual with a value of 50 EUR: exempt from import duties, payment of VAT, additional regime code C07;
- a shipment from individual to individual with a value of 100 EUR consisting of: article 1: value of 20 EUR: exempt from import duties, payment of VAT, additional regime code C07; Article 2: value of 30 EUR: exempt from import duties, payment of VAT, additional regime code C07, and article 3: value of 50 EUR: exempt from import duties, payment of VAT, additional regime code C07. As the total value of the shipment exceeds 45 EUR , VAT exemption cannot be applied.
- A shipment from individual to individual, in a commercial transaction (such as, for example, goods sold on an electronic interface between consumers) with a value of less than 150 EUR: exempt from import duties, payment of VAT, additional regime code C07;
Note that, in cases b) and c) above, the additional regime code C07 cannot be combined with the codes F48 or F49, taking into account that the IOSS and The special regime is only applicable in the context of distance sales of goods (from companies to consumers). However, since example d) describes a commercial transaction that is carried out on an electronic interface between consumers, the additional regime code " F48 " should be used when said electronic interface is registered in the IOSS, or the code « F49 » if VAT is collected through the special regime at the time of importation of the goods.
9The "commercial character" is defined in Article 25, paragraph 2 of the FRG .
10 In accordance with Article 1(2)(c) of Directive 2006/79/EC, "small non-commercial consignments" shall mean consignments which: c) consist of goods whose total value does not exceed EUR 45.