fbpx
Log in

Login to your account

Username *
Password *
Remember Me

Create an account

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.
Name *
Username *
Password *
Verify password *
Email *
Verify email *
Captcha *

New rules for importing online purchases made outside the EU

NEW RULES FOR IMPORTING ONLINE PURCHASES MADE OUTSIDE THE EUAs of July 1st, 2021, all purchases that enter Portugal, regardless of the value of the object and the date it was purchased, will be subject to the payment of VAT and respective customs clearance.

Not everything has changed. Customers will continue to have access to the simplified customs process for purchases up to 150 Euros. For this, you should opt for online stores that automatically charge the missing VAT, ensuring the respective settlement themselves.

CTT, the Portuguese postal service, have optimised their Customs Clearance Portal. Imports of foreign online purchases made through CTT, which include the payment of VAT and customs duties (when applicable), will be simpler and more automated. They are also going to reduce the price of the customs clearance service (from €2 for payment by electronic means). See more information about the new tariff, effective from July 1st here. 
(The website is in Portuguese, but can be translated by viewing in Google Chrome, right-clicking and selecting Translate from the menu that pops up. Or alternatively copying the text and pasting it in to Google Translate.)

Pin It

Comments  

+4 #11 Sue Fletcher 2021-06-13 11:11
A useful explanation, with worked examples comes from the Irish Customs website.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/buying-of-goods-online-for-personal-use/buying-goods-from-outside-the-eu.aspx
+2 #10 Sue Fletcher 2021-06-13 11:06
Quoting DAVID:
My suitcase sent by Sendmybag is stuck in Lisbon. It contains clothes for our holiday but customs have taken an indecent interest presumably in my wife's underwear. I have filled in 6 forms so far and they are blaming Brexit


As far as I know, anything sent by a delivery company into the EU is automatically checked by customs. If there are any obviously new items in the consignment expect charges to be levied unless they fall in the 'under €22' band. It's no different than having baggage checked at an airport.
+2 #9 Steve 2021-06-13 10:24
Quoting Brook:

Good point to order Amazon from Spain, as it is the same currency as Portugal, no charges for currency conversion and its closer, so faster delivery.
You can also order from Amazon.de I do it regularly and usually get it delivered in 3 days by paying extra for delivery which is around 50-60 cents more depending on how big it is. The trick is to make sure the item you buy from Amazon will be delivered by Amazon and not by the seller. I have bought stuff form Amazon UK and then find that the item is sent from China.
0 #8 DAVID 2021-06-13 08:17
My suitcase sent by Sendmybag is stuck in Lisbon. It contains clothes for our holiday but customs have taken an indecent interest presumably in my wife's underwear. I have filled in 6 forms so far and they are blaming Brexit
0 #7 Brook 2021-06-12 23:53
[quote name="Roy Carpenter"]Ordering through amazon.es is simpler even if not cheaper. We bought items priced at £ 9.99+p&p on amazon.uk which were charged at € 18.58 including p&p by amazon.es and arrived 10 days after placing order.[/quote
.......................
Good point to order Amazon from Spain, as it is the same currency as Portugal, no charges for currency conversion and its closer, so faster delivery.
+1 #6 Roy Carpenter 2021-06-12 12:03
Ordering through amazon.es is simpler even if not cheaper. We bought items priced at £ 9.99+p&p on amazon.uk which were charged at € 18.58 including p&p by amazon.es and arrived 10 days after placing order.
+5 #5 Sue Fletcher 2021-06-12 11:22
John Martindale: The €22 band will be withdrawn. Your purchase was over 22 euros which is probably the reason for your issues.

A tip: anyone buying from Amazon's EU websites should check where the goods are actually coming from. We nearly got caught when we saw something we were interested in was coming from the UK, but it wasn't clear on the order page, only by clicking on the supplier link.
+9 #4 John Martindale 2021-06-11 23:35
As of July 1st, 2021, sorry but this law has been active for a few months now, i ordered some small items from a Hong Kong site 3 months ago, it stayed in Lisbon for 30 days, i received daily emails '' insufficient documents'' from the CTT portal, even though i am Portuguese i couldn't satisfy the customs decleration, they asked me for my order number, they claimed i was buying to re sell, a pepper shaker x 1, phone cord x 1, battery tester x 1, plastic car window phone holder x 1, whistle x 1, these items came to just under €30, shipping was free, on one of the CTT /Customs page there is a field to enter postage and cannot be 0, as there was no postage i had to enter something, they claimed i was lying, they also requested my business registration number, after 30 days of this i had enough, they sent me the bill, i was taxed 70% so that's that, no more on line shopping, many people will get their fingers burn't, many irate complains to CTT, will they care, hey Suzan, welcome to the club, you are not alone, do you wonder why so many people happily leave this country, the things you don't see on postcards, welcome to Portugal, eventually it will break you.
+8 #3 Steve 2021-06-11 17:25
I wonder if birthday cards sent from the UK also have to go through customs. Still waiting for one sent on the 13th of May.
+10 #2 Susan Harrington 2021-06-11 17:17
The CTT cannot even follow the current rules. I ended up paying VAT on their online portal and they billed it AGAIN when it got delivered. It was back in March and I am STILL waiting for them to refund me. They keep saying it is 'under internal investigation'. Personally I think they are corrupt and have no intention of ever refunding me. At the very least it's absolutely shocking customer service.

You must be a registered user to make comments.
Please register here to post your comments.