Present for a baby from family outside of EU, Customs duty?

terra_incognita · Post by **terra_incognita** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 2:07 pm

Hello.

We have a baby girl born in May this year.
My aunt in my home country like to pass their stroller on to us.
It is quite bulky with over 10kg weight should be sent via EMS delivery.

I inquired about this to Tulli but as always the answer came with proforma instruction.
http://www.tulli.fi/en/finnish_customs/ ... rs/010.pdf

I asked was there any same cases that were exempted from the customs duty as they were wedding present or childbirth present.
But the counselor in Tulli didn't answer to that AS ALWAYS. So I ended up here asking in the hope of someone here has same experience.

In brief,

- My aunt in my home country outside of EU like to pass their stroller on to us as their children no longer need stroller.
- We are not gonna sell it. It's for our baby's use (Sure I can prove anything about our baby, such as birth certificate).
- The stroller is worth about 1,100EUR (Retail price, Stokke Crusi), but it's absolutely used, purchased in 2013.
- Whether for Wedding gift (We got married in Finland 2 years ago) or Childbirth gift, can it be exempted from Customs Duty?
- I can prove somewhat that it belonged to my aunts, such as photos of my cousin sitting on the stroller 2 years ago..

Since it cost more than 130EUR for EMS to Finland I can't just give a shot..
I sent an e-mail to Tulli and my wife called there, but the answer they always give is
"It depends", "We don't know", "Read the our rules about it(Which is absolutely ambiguous)" etc..

If someone has a real experience for the same matter, please help.
Thanks in advance. Have a great day everyone.

**Sponsor:**

Marsh04 · Post by **Marsh04** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 2:50 pm

Sorry can't answer your questions but to me taking so much trouble to bring a used stroller is not a very exciting idea.

terra_incognita · Post by **terra_incognita** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 2:50 pm

Someone might be wondering why my aunt (should be over 50, and she is) bought stroller 2 years ago.
They had their last child (boy) at their age of over 50, 3 years ago. Almost miracle but true..

terra_incognita · Post by **terra_incognita** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 2:53 pm

Marsh04 wrote:Sorry can't answer your questions but to me taking so much trouble to bring a used stroller is not a very exciting idea.

Thanks but can you tell me in which way it seems difficult?
If it isn't subjected to customs duty.. there's no problem I guess.
They even have a safety stroller bag called PRAMPACK from Stokke.
All they have to do is ship it.. and I get it.. only problem is the taxation

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 3:07 pm

terra_incognita wrote: I inquired about this to Tulli but as always the answer came with proforma instruction.
http://www.tulli.fi/en/finnish_customs/ ... rs/010.pdf

I asked was there any same cases that were exempted from the customs duty as they were wedding present or childbirth present.
But the counselor in Tulli didn't answer to that AS ALWAYS. So I ended up here asking in the hope of someone here has same experience.

Your question is clearly answered in the customs links:

"Exemption from customs duty and value added tax is applied to consignments with a value not exceeding 45 euro."

terra_incognita wrote: - The stroller is worth about 1,100EUR (Retail price, Stokke Crusi), but it's absolutely used, purchased in 2013.

Per above, your stroller is not exempt.

terra_incognita · Post by **terra_incognita** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 3:17 pm

Thanks my wife called to the Tulli again and got an answer this time,
that it can be considered wedding gift as a baby is part of the wedding life.
And wedding gift can be exempted from the taxation up to 1,000EUR worth good.

I'll give it a shot as I got an answer and the counselor's name for possible problem in the future.
Thanks for the answers everyone.

FinnGuyHelsinki · Post by **FinnGuyHelsinki** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 3:25 pm

The customs page (in Finnish; http://www.tulli.fi/fi/yksityisille/lah ... opuolelta/ ) states that a gift from outside EU between private persons is exempt from customs duties and VAT if:

-shipment is sent directly from the sender to the originator without any form of payment (directly or indirectly).
-shipments are infrequent.
-shipment contents are for the use of the recipient or the recipient's family. The shipment contents are not commercial in their nature or their quantity.

So you should be fine, altought I don't know what kind of "proof" might be required, if any. Personally, I'd have the stroller sold and buy another one here (new or used), just to avoid possible hassles, stuff can get broken etc. in transit, but if you absolutely must have that one particular stroller, there should be no extra costs other than from sending it.

terra_incognita · Post by **terra_incognita** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 3:34 pm

Thanks for the help. That's what counselor (He was kind luckily this time, according to my wife) said the same.
It will be most likely to be exempt from the taxation but the risk of damage or loss can happen and I'm fully responsible for it.
(Well have to be compensated by the delivery company but it won't be as much as the real value of the stroller.)
I think it's better to think about this for a while, whether to get stroller or sell it there and get it as a cash to buy same one here.
Thanks for the help anyway! I appreciate it.

FinnGuyHelsinki wrote:The customs page (in Finnish; http://www.tulli.fi/fi/yksityisille/lah ... opuolelta/ ) states that a gift from outside EU between private persons is exempt from customs duties and VAT if:

-shipment is sent directly from the sender to the originator without any form of payment (directly or indirectly).
-shipments are infrequent.
-shipment contents are for the use of the recipient or the recipient's family. The shipment contents are not commercial in their nature or their quantity.

So you should be fine, altought I don't know what kind of "proof" might be required, if any. Personally, I'd have the stroller sold and buy another one here (new or used), just to avoid possible hassles, stuff can get broken etc. in transit, but if you absolutely must have that one particular stroller, there should be no extra costs other than from sending it.

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:31 pm

terra_incognita wrote:Thanks my wife called to the Tulli again and got an answer this time,
that it can be considered wedding gift as a baby is part of the wedding life.
And wedding gift can be exempted from the taxation up to 1,000EUR worth good.

It comes with conditions attached. Again quoting your link (which you could have read before posting):

"A wedding present is exempt from customs and value-added tax only if it is addressed by a person permanently residing outside the Community to a person who moves to the customs territory of the Community on the occasion of his or her marriage and before moving has lived at least twelve months uninterruptedly outside the Community."

harryc · Post by **harryc** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 10:51 am

How does this --

" It comes with conditions attached. Again quoting your link (which you could have read before posting):

A wedding present is exempt from customs and value-added tax only if it is addressed by a person permanently residing outside the Community to a person who moves to the customs territory of the Community on the occasion of his or her marriage and before moving has lived at least twelve months uninterruptedly outside the Community."
betelgeuse

Posts: 1304
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Synch with this -- ??

Lahjat EU:n ulkopuolelta

EU:n ulkopuolisista maista yksityishenkilöltä EU-maassa olevalle yksityishenkilölle saapuva lähetys on tulliton, arvonlisäveroton ja valmisteveroton, jos lähetys katsotaan muuksi kuin kaupalliseksi lähetykseksi eli se täyttää samanaikaisesti seuraavat kolme ehtoa

Lähetykset osoitetaan lähettäjältä vastaanottajalle ilman minkäänlaista maksua.
Lähetykset ovat satunnaisia.
Lähetykset sisältävät yksinomaan sellaisia tavaroita, jotka on tarkoitettu vastaanottajien henkilökohtaiseen tai heidän perheittensä käyttöön. Tavarat eivät saa ilmentää luonteeltaan tai määrältään mitään kaupallista tarkoitusta.
Alkoholijuomista ja tupakkatuotteista kannetaan kuitenkin aina valmistevero ja arvonlisävero.

Tavara, joka on tilattu ja maksettu internetissä toiselle henkilölle lähetettäväksi, ei ole tässä tarkoitettu lahja.

And btw - Customs (and Vero) are, in general, more friendly and helpful than DNA, Elisa, Fortum, Pohjola Insurance, Nordea, etc.

And why is this forum requiring checking all possible sources of answers before asking here?

(which you could have read before posting)

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 11:44 am

harryc wrote:How does this --

harryc wrote: Synch with this -- ??

The latter is only part of the rules and should not be used standalone.

harryc wrote: And why is this forum requiring checking all possible sources of answers before asking here?

I don't think the forum does that. However, I do find it reasonable to read the material one has linked to the question. One could then quote the material and ask questions if something is clear, not questions that have readily available answers in the material.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 11:55 pm

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter you or your auntie had a baby or got married.
What the Tulli wants to know: price
If you do not have a receit and say it is "gift" they will look at the price of a similar pram in Finland.
What they want is 23% VAT

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:20 am

Pursuivant wrote: What they want is 23% VAT

The default VAT has been 24% for a couple years now.

harryc · Post by **harryc** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:26 am

harryc wrote:
How does this --

harryc wrote:
Synch with this -- ??

The latter is only part of the rules and should not be used standalone.

If it is a gift, it is a GIFT - and there should be no specific regarding 'wedding presents' (living outside the EU for 12 months, etc.) - so even if it would be a sub-set, it's not making sense.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:42 pm

harryc wrote:How does this --

[...]
Synch with this -- ??

Lahjat EU:n ulkopuolelta

EU:n ulkopuolisista maista yksityishenkilöltä EU-maassa olevalle yksityishenkilölle saapuva lähetys on tulliton, arvonlisäveroton ja valmisteveroton, jos lähetys katsotaan muuksi kuin kaupalliseksi lähetykseksi eli se täyttää samanaikaisesti seuraavat kolme ehtoa

Lähetykset osoitetaan lähettäjältä vastaanottajalle ilman minkäänlaista maksua.
Lähetykset ovat satunnaisia.
Lähetykset sisältävät yksinomaan sellaisia tavaroita, jotka on tarkoitettu vastaanottajien henkilökohtaiseen tai heidän perheittensä käyttöön. Tavarat eivät saa ilmentää luonteeltaan tai määrältään mitään kaupallista tarkoitusta.

You missed the part

Arvoraja 45 euroa

harryc wrote: If it is a gift, it is a GIFT - and there should be no specific regarding 'wedding presents'

It matters not whether you or I think there should be specific rules for wedding presents. Such thing nevertheless apparently really exists (I wasn't aware of it). Could not find the specifics of implementation in Finlex (maybe they are given in some lower level regulations), but the basics seem to follow from
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ ... 32009L0055

(part with words "Exemption shall also be granted in respect of presents customarily given on the occasion of a marriage")

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