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Frequently asked questions about shopping online from countries outside the EU

These are the answers to the most frequent questions about the rules when buying online from countries outside the EU. These include questions about customs declarations and any charges, VAT and duty.

About forwarding agents and transport

Swedish Customs has the task of collecting the correct revenue and ensuring competitive neutrality. Thus, it is important that whoever carries the parcel levies the VAT on what is being sent to Sweden from a country outside the EU.

Contact the carrier and ask if you can return the article to the consignor. You do not have to pay any customs duty, VAT or any other taxes.

If you purchased the article from an online seller that charged VAT at the time of purchase, you must contact the online seller from which you ordered the goods to request a VAT refund.

No, Swedish Customs does not handle any parcels in that way. This is taken care of by the transport company.

Does Swedish Customs have my package?

When purchasing via an e-commerce platform, you can sometimes choose which forwarding agent is to send your parcel. However, when Chinese postal services are the forwarding agent, Postnord automatically handles all mail-order parcels in Sweden.

Swedish Customs cannot comment on any administrative fees charged by the company transporting your goods. Please contact your forwarding agent for more information.

Swedish Customs does not have the details of how these types of VAT payment are handled. Contact your forwarding agent to find out how it handles them.

Postnord is the only body in Sweden that complies with the convention regulating, amongst other things, the importation and exportation of mail parcels (the UPU Convention). Consequently, if anything is sent by post in another country, it is Postnord that carries the goods in Sweden.

However, this role does not mean that Swedish Customs has any collaboration with Postnord. We deal with Postnord in the same way that we deal with other companies.

About customs declarations

We are looking into the possibility of developing a service for private individuals. However, this needs to be synchronised with the work that is being carried out in this connection within the EU.

Each detail has a purpose.

Correct charges

You must pay the correct charges when importing goods. The classification of your goods determines which charges you are to pay to us. All goods have to be classified and given a commodity code. These codes are made up of numbers. For example, the commodity code of a cotton T-shirt is 6109 10 00 10.

Taric – Tulltaxan

Correct provisions

Complying with import provisions (e.g. permits, licences and restrictions) is important. In their turn, these provisions are crucial for: protecting the internal market; protecting people’s safety and health; and, political and humanitarian reasons.

You are contributing to Sweden’s trade statistics

The details you submit in your import declaration are one of the bases of Sweden’s trade statistics. Contributing correct statistics is vital. We compile the details submitted in declarations and supply them to Statistics Sweden (SCB).

Basis for manual customs declarations for imports

If you choose to handle your customs declaration yourself, you can provide the information on a simplified form and lodge it at a customs office where a customs officer will help you enter the declaration into our import system.

Forms

Download the ‘Basis for manual customs declaration for imports’ If you have several different types of goods, you may also need a continuation form.

Data for manual customs declaration for imports pdf, 162.1 kB.

Data for manual customs declarations for imports – Supplement sheet pdf, 135.6 kB.

About VAT and customs duties

Swedish Customs is unable to answer this. You must ask whoever is sending your article, or the business selling it.

You must inform Swedish Customs. We will help you calculate what you should have paid and send out a periodical customs bill so that you can do what is right.

Read more about how to pay customs duty, VAT and any other charges retrospectively.

That depends on the article you have ordered. The rate of customs duty is between 0 and 20 per cent. All goods can be found in the online query service Tulltaxan (Customs Tariff).

Look for your article in the Tulltaxan

For most goods, VAT is 25 per cent. However, for foodstuffs it is 12 per cent and for printed items such as books and newspapers it is 6 per cent.

If the total value of the goods is no more than SEK 1,800 exclusive of freight, you do not have to pay any customs duty. However, you always have to pay VAT. So that we can see whether you have to pay any customs duty, it is crucial that the value of your goods is clearly stated in the documents that are visible to Postnord or the company making your customs declaration.

It may be because you have ordered goods that are excluded from the general rules, e.g. tobacco goods, perfume and toilet water. In such cases, you have to pay both customs duty and VAT on the goods. It may also be that you have to pay VAT, but not customs duty.

To calculate the import charges, i.e. customs duty and VAT, you must start by calculating the customs duty value of your article. The customs duty value is the price of the article plus the freight charge and any transport insurance. Use the customs duty value to calculate the customs duty on the article. You then calculate VAT on the total of the customs duty value and the customs duty.

If you have returned the goods, you can apply to recover the VAT and customs duty you paid on the goods.

When you order clothes or shoes from the USA, you must pay 25% VAT. If the total value of the goods is more than SEK 1,800 you must also pay customs duty as well as the VAT.

The customs duty on clothes from the USA is 12 per cent and certain types of clothes are also subject to an additional duty of a further 25 per cent.

The customs duty on shoes can vary between 8 and 17 per cent and, in certain cases, there is an additional duty of 25 per cent. The rate of customs duty depends on materials, styling and, in certain cases, size.

If you would like to know the customs duty on your goods and find out if they are subject to additional duty, please telephone or write to us.

Confectionary, crisps, chocolate and similar goods are foodstuffs. The rate of VAT on foodstuffs is 12%.

If the confectionary contains ingredients of animal origin, such as dairy products or eggs, you require a permit from the Swedish Board of Agriculture to introduce the goods into Sweden.

Bringing in or ordering food and drinks to Sweden – Swedish Board of Agriculture

Customs duty is paid only on “physical” goods. VAT should already be included in each article’s price.

About Swedish Customs’ role

Swedish Customs has the tasks of ensuring that correct revenues are collected and preventing illegal goods coming into Sweden. Neither one is excluded by the other.

You can read about VAT in § 5, chap. 1 of Sweden’s Value Added Tax Act (1994:200).

You can read about mail-order parcels in §§ 3.6 and 4.4, chap. 2 of Sweden’s Act on Freedom from Tax on Importation, etc. (1994:1551).

Miscellaneous

Bringing in counterfeit or pirate goods is illegal.

Read more about buying pirate copies.

There is no difference. The same rules and fees apply regardless of whether the product is new or used.

Dropshipping means that you buy a product online from a company that does not have its own warehouse. Instead, the goods are sent directly to you from a manufacturer, wholesaler or other retailer. These companies are usually located in a country outside the EU.

Dropshipping – Swedish Consumer Agency