Tullverket

Do you need to make a payment, or are you eligible for a repayment?

When you buy online, things do not always go as you imagined. We here give guidance on, amongst other things, paying VAT, receiving customs duty repayments and returning goods to the consignor.

I have to pay VAT

If you have bought an article online from a country outside the EU (e.g. via Wish or Alibaba), you must always pay VAT on this article. If you discover from your receipt or invoice that you have not had the opportunity to pay VAT, you must inform Swedish Customs. We will then help you to calculate what you have to pay and send out a periodical customs bill so that you can do what is right.

This applies whether it is Postnord or a courier company that has transported your article.

Remember also that you have to pay customs duty on any article worth more than SEK 1,800.

Inform Swedish Customs by sending us an email or letter stating what has gone wrong and which company transported your goods. To be able to help you, we need to know the price of the article and any freight and insurance charges. You should find these details on, for example, receipts and invoices. Send them to us digitally or on paper.

E-mail tullverket@tullverket.se or send a letter to:

Swedish Customs
Box 27311
SE-102 54 Stockholm

Notify within three years

You can notify Swedish Customs of non-payment of VAT in the three years following arrival of the goods in Sweden.

I have to pay customs duty and VAT

If you have spent more than SEK 1,800 on an article from a country outside the EU (e.g. via Wish or Alibaba), you have to pay both customs duty and VAT on said article.

If you discover from your receipt or invoice that you have not had the opportunity to pay customs duty and VAT, you must inform Swedish Customs. We will then help you to calculate what you have to pay and send out an invoice so that you can do what is right.

This applies whether it is Postnord or a courier company that has transported your article.

Inform Swedish Customs by sending us an email or letter stating what has gone wrong and which company transported your goods. To be able to help you, we need to know the price of the article and any freight and insurance charges. You should find these details on, for example, receipts and invoices. Send them to us digitally or on paper.

Email tullverket@tullverket.se or send a letter to:

Swedish Customs
Box 27311
SE-102 54 Stockholm

Notify within three years

You can notify Swedish Customs of non-payment of customs duty and VAT in the three years following arrival of the goods in Sweden.

I have paid too much customs duty or VAT

If you believe that you have paid too much in customs duty or VAT to the shipping company that declared the goods that you ordered online, you can request a review of the customs duty and VAT decision. Swedish Customs can correct the decision if you have applied within 3 years of the date when you received the decision.

However, Swedish Customs cannot refund any administrative fees charged by the shipping company for submitting your customs declaration.

Note: If you have purchased your goods from an e-commerce platform that is connected to the Importer One-Stop Shop (IOSS), and thus paid VAT at the time of the purchase, Swedish Customs cannot refund any fees. In cases where the paid VAT twice, once at the time of purchase and once as the goods entered Sweden, you need to contact the online vendor to recover the VAT paid at the time of purchase.

If you have paid an incorrect amount of customs duty or taxes

You can apply for repayment from Swedish Customs if you believe that you have paid an incorrect amount of customs duty or taxes by following these steps:

  1. Complete the form “Application – Correction and/or repayment”.
    The form contains help texts and a verification feature that ensures that you have provided all the necessary information.

  2. This application should be printed and signed by you, if you are the applicant.

  3. Attach a bank statement, e.g. from your bank account or PayPal, indicating the amount paid for the goods.

  4. Submit the original copy of the application together with any attached documents by mail to:

    Tullverket
    Uppbördsbevakning syd, ändring av importdeklaration
    Box 31007
    200 49 Malmö

We will respond within 30 days.

I have paid VAT for a gift

A gift a consignment that is sent from one private individual to another. You are not required to pay VAT for gifts that are worth SEK 600 or less. If you believe that you have received an incorrect VAT demand that you have not yet paid, you should contact PostNord or the company that transported your goods. If you believe that you have already paid customs duty in error, you can request a correction by sending us a letter.

If you pay VAT for a gift in error

You can apply for repayment if you believe that you have paid an incorrect amount of VAT for a gift by following these steps:

  1. Complete the form “Application – Correction and/or repayment”.
    The form contains help texts and a verification feature that ensures that you have provided all the necessary information.

  2. This application should be printed and signed by you, if you are the applicant.

  3. Attach a photograph of the address label that was affixed to your package in your application.

  4. Submit the original copy of the application together with any attached documents by mail to:

    Tullverket
    Uppbördsbevakning syd, ändring av importdeklaration
    Box 31007
    200 49 Malmö

We will respond within 30 days.

If you have not yet paid

If have not yet paid, you should contact PostNord or the company that transported your goods.

Sending and receiving gifts

Swedish Customs cannot repay the transport undertaking's fee

Swedish Customs cannot repay any administrative fees or customs declaration fees that the transport undertaking charges for submitting your customs declarations. Please contact the transport undertaking for any questions about fee repayments.

My goods have been returned to the consignor

If your goods have been returned to the consignor, you must contact the vendor and request a refund of the amount paid for the goods.

When you have received your refund, you can contact Swedish Customs and request a refund of any VAT or customs duty paid.

Note: If you have purchased goods from an online vendor charged VAT at the time of purchase, you must contact the online vendor from which you ordered the goods to request a VAT refund.

However, Swedish Customs cannot refund any administrative fees charged by the shipping company for submitting your customs declaration.

How to reclaim customs duty and VAT

Follow these steps to request a repayment when you have returned goods and wish to recover any customs duty or VAT paid.

  1. Complete the form “Application – Correction and/or repayment”.
    The form contains help texts and a verification feature that ensures that you have provided all the necessary information.

  2. This application should be printed and signed by you, if you are the applicant.

  3. Attach the following to your application:
    – Proof that your goods have been returned to the consignor;
    – Proof that you have received a refund. This may be a copy of an account statement where the repayment is indicated, or a credit note.

  4. Send the original copy of your application by mail to:

    Tullverket
    Uppbördsbevakning syd, ändring av importdeklaration
    Box 31007
    200 49 Malmö.

We will respond within 30 days.

I have returned my goods

When returning goods that were purchased online you may be refunded any customs duty, VAT or other fees that were paid at the time of purchase. To process any refunds, Swedish Customs has to annul the customs declaration. This can be done if you submit a request to annul your customs declaration within 90 days from the date when Swedish Customs received your customs declaration.

Note: If you have purchased goods from an e-commerce platform that charged VAT at the time of purchase, you must contact the e-commerce platform to request a VAT refund. If the goods were subject to excise duty, such as tobacco or some electronics, you must contact Swedish Customs to recover any paid excise duty or VAT on that excise duty.

What to do after you have returned your goods

To request that Swedish Customs annul your customs declaration and request a repayment of any customs duty, VAT or taxes that you paid on the returned goods, please follow these steps:

  1. Complete the form “Application – Correction and/or repayment”.
    The form contains help texts and a verification feature that ensures that you have provided all the necessary information.

  2. This application should be printed and signed by you, if you are the applicant.

  3. Attach the following to your application:
    – Proof that your goods have been returned to the consignor.
    – Proof that you have received a refund. This may be a copy of an account statement where the repayment is indicated, or a credit note.

  4. Submit the original copy of the application together with any attached documents by mail to:

    Tullverket
    Uppbördsbevakning syd, ändring av importdeklaration
    Box 31007
    200 49 Malmö

We will respond within 30 days.

I received a new unit as a replacement

If you received new unit, e.g., to replace goods that were broken in transit, you are also required to pay customs duty and VAT for the new unit. You can request a refund of any customs duty and VAT that was paid for the original unit.

Note: If you have purchased goods from an online seller that charged VAT at the time of the original purchase, you must contact the online seller from which you ordered the goods to request a VAT refund. If the goods were subject to excise duty, such as tobacco or some electronics, you must contact Swedish Customs to recover any paid excise duty or VAT on excise duty for the first goods.

How to reclaim fees paid for the original article

After you have returned an article, please follow these steps to request that Swedish Customs repay any customs duty, VAT and other taxes that you paid to your transport undertaking:

  1. Complete the form “Application – Correction and/or repayment”.
    The form contains help texts and a verification feature that ensures that you have provided all the necessary information.

  2. This application should be printed and signed by you, if you are the applicant.

  3. Attach the following to your application:
    – Proof that the original goods have been returned, for example a credit note or any other document that shows that the vendor has received the returned goods in a country that is not an EU Member State.

  4. Send the original copy of the application by mail to:

    Tullverket
    Uppbördsbevakning syd, ändring av importdeklaration
    Box 31007
    200 49 Malmö

We will respond within 30 days.

Swedish Customs cannot repay the transport undertaking's fee

Swedish Customs cannot repay any administrative fees or customs declaration fees that the transport undertaking charges for submitting your customs declarations. Please contact the transport undertaking for any questions about fee repayments.

I am planning to send an article for repairs

If, as a private individual, you own a broken article that you want to send to a country outside of the EU to be repaired, processed or exchanged, you may be eligible to pay reduced customs duty and VAT for the article when it returns to you. In some cases, you may be completely exempt.

This is known as “outward processing”. For outward processing, you need authorisation from Swedish Customs.

Am I required to pay any customs duty or VAT at all?

If the repairs are covered by the goods’ warranty, you are not required to pay anything as the goods return.

If the repairs are not covered by the warranty, you will be charged:

  • Customs duty for the cost of the repairs and customs duty for shipping and insurance expenses as the goods are returned to the European Union;
  • VAT on the cost for repairs, customs duty and any other applicable taxes and fees.

If your goods are duty-free, i.e., the rate of customs duty is 0 percent, you only pay VAT on the costs for repairs and any applicable taxes and fees.

How to apply for outward processing

Retain the receipt that you are given as you send your goods. This receipt is your proof of export.

When the goods return to you, the transport undertaking (which may be PostNord or any other forwarding agent), will often submit your import declaration and collect any customs duty or VAT from you. To avoid this charge, you must inform the transport undertaking that you intend to “reimport” the goods after “outward processing”. The transport undertaking will then apply for outward processing in your customs declaration.

The transport undertaking may want to see your proof of export and a copy of an invoice or a similar document from the company repairing the goods, where it is stated that the document refers to repairs, as well as the amount paid.

I am upgrading or improving my goods

If, as a private individual, you send an article to be upgraded or otherwise improved, you may be eligible for a reduced rate of customs duty or VAT when your article returns. Examples of improvements include refitting jewellery with new stones, renovating musical instruments and upgrading functions in cameras and watches.

Improvements of this nature are known as “works” and are included in the “outward processing” customs procedure. For outward processing, you need authorisation from Swedish Customs.

What am I required to pay?

You are required to pay the following when sending an article for improvements:

  • Customs duty on the cost of the works;
  • VAT (calculated based on the cost of the works + customs duty).

If your goods are duty-free, i.e., the rate of customs duty is 0%, you only have to pay VAT on the costs of the works.

How to claim a reduced rate of customs duty and VAT

Retain the receipt that you are given as you send your goods. This receipt is your proof of export.

When the goods return to you, the transport undertaking (which may be PostNord or any other forwarding agent), will often submit your import declaration and collect any customs duty or VAT from you. To avoid this charge, you must inform the transport undertaking that you intend to “reimport” the goods after “outward processing”. The transport undertaking will then apply for outward processing in your customs declaration.

The transport undertaking may want to see your proof of export and a copy of an invoice or a similar document from the company repairing the goods, where it is stated that the document refers to repairs, as well as the amount paid.

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