As 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.)
Comments
https://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/buying-of-goods-online-for-personal-use/buying-goods-from-outside-the-eu.aspx
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.
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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.
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.