General about shopping online
When you buy goods online from another country, the applicable rules vary depending on what you order and from which country the goods are coming.
If you order goods from an EU company that, in its turn, orders the goods from a country outside the EU (e.g. the USA or China), the applicable rules are the same as if you were ordering directly from a country outside the EU.
Buying online from a country outside the EU
When you order goods from a country outside the EU, you must always pay VAT. You may also have to pay customs duty and other taxes and charges. Your goods must also be declared to customs. This applies regardless of whether the goods are new or second-hand.
Usually, it is the company transporting your goods (Postnord or a courier company) that makes your customs declaration and levies the VAT for you. It does this on the basis of the invoices and other documents accompanying your parcel. The company transporting the parcel then charges you an administration fee for doing this.
Different charges for different goods
How much you pay in customs duty, VAT and any other taxes depends on, amongst other things, the value and type of your goods.
Read more about various charges.
We help you to do things correctly
Even if a company is transporting your parcel, it is you, as the person placing the order, who is responsible for the correct charges being ultimately paid to Swedish Customs. If you discover that you have not paid VAT, you must inform Swedish Customs. We will then help you to do things correctly.
Read more about how to pay VAT.
Buying gifts online
When you buy online and the goods are sent from a country outside the EU direct to the final recipient, this is never regarded as a gift. This is because the consignor is a business. A gift can only be sent from one private individual to another private individual. If you buy online and send the gift directly to the consignee, the gift is regarded as goods.
Read more about sending and receiving gifts.
Buying online from another EU country
When you order goods from another EU country, you do not have to pay customs duty, Swedish VAT or other taxes on the goods.
Exceptions
There are geographical areas in the EU’s customs territory that are not in the EU’s fiscal territory (e.g. Åland). If you order goods from one of these areas, you do not have to pay customs duty on the goods. However, you do have to pay VAT and any other taxes in Sweden.
Seek more information about the EU’s VAT area at the Swedish Tax Agency).
If you order goods from an EU company that, in its turn, orders the goods from a country outside the EU (e.g. the USA), the applicable rules are the same as if you were ordering directly from a country outside the EU. You can read more about this in the paragraph about buying online from a country outside the EU.
Is the country a Member State?
If you are uncertain whether the country that you are trading with is a Member State, you can visit the website of the European Union and consult a list of Member States or search for a specific country.
Prohibitions and restrictions
Certain goods are covered by special rules that mean you have to notify them to Swedish Customs regardless of which country you are ordering from.
Read more about goods to which special rules apply.
There are many goods for which, to bring them into Sweden, you must apply for a permit from authorities other than Swedish Customs.
See the authorities on behalf of which Swedish Customs carries out checks (information in swedish).
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