Low value consignments
A commercial consignment is a consignment from a country that is not a Member State of the European Union sent by:
- a legal person (for example, an online store, platform) to a private individual, with or without remuneration;
- a private individual to another private individual for remuneration (for example by using eBay);
- a legal person to another legal person.
If the value of the consignment does not exceed EUR 150, the consignment shall be exempted from customs duties.
Value added tax on the goods received in a commercial consignment shall be paid regardless of the value of the goods.
For example, if a consignee in Latvia receives a commercial consignment from China containing one item with the value of EUR 20, no customs duties will have to be paid but the value added tax will be applied.
|
Value of goods (EUR) |
VAT |
Customs duties |
|
0.01 ≤ 150 |
+ |
- |
|
˃150 |
+ |
+ |
Exemption from duties shall not apply to the following goods regardless of the quantity or value of the goods:
- alcoholic beverages;
- perfumes and toilet waters.
Tobacco products, electronic cigarettes and the refill containers thereof are prohibited to be sold or purchased by distance contracts¹, i.e. in online stores or platforms. Consequently, such goods are prohibited to be received in postal consignments.
«Gifts», i.e. free goods provided with the online purchase for marketing purposes are not subject to payment of duties and such goods do not have to be declared.
If the goods have been purchased using bonus points collected in an online store, the customs payments will be calculated based on the full price of the item.
(!) Important
When making online purchases, you have to consider the risk of unknowingly purchasing imitation of well-known brands. This risk mostly concerns mobile phones and their accessories, handbags, clothes, various electronic goods, medical products. The counterfeit goods usually are of lower quality and significantly cheaper than their original counterparts. Such goods may adversely affect the health and safety of the consumers.
Where such goods are found during customs controls, the products are seized and an examination is carried out to determine whether the intellectual property rights have been violated. If the goods are found to be counterfeit, they are destroyed. For declaration for the customs procedure of release for free circulation of goods subject to prohibitions or restrictions or counterfeit or pirated goods, the declarant — natural person — shall be imposed with a warning or a fine of up to four hundred fine units (up to EUR 2000), but a declarant — legal person — with a warning or a fine of up to eight hundred fine units (up to EUR 4000). /Paragraph 15 of Section 29 of the Customs Law/
_______
¹ Paragraph 2 of Section 8 of the law On the Handling of Tobacco Products, Herbal Products for Smoking, Electronic Smoking Devices and Their Liquids