What is meant by clearance of goods?
Clearing goods means declaring goods to customs. These are products coming in from outside the European Union. At customs clearance, you need to complete the necessary customs formalities. This includes the importer having to pay any import duties, taxes and VAT on the imported goods. Several documents are needed to make this go as smoothly as possible.
- Bill of Lading (B/L) or bill of lading
- Commercial invoice (is in some cases a pro forma invoice)
- Certificate of Origin
- EUR.1 certificate and invoice declaration
Customs clearance for webshops with e-fulfilment center
Webshops that only trade within the EU will not have to deal with customs clearance. Because we are not limited to customers within the EU, we do occasionally encounter customs clearance. Basically, this can be distinguished into two different groups.
If you want to use our e-fulfilment center as a party outside the EU, the goods will have to be cleared through customs first. Although customs clearance is not required for amounts under €150, it will hardly occur in this case. Parties often send bulk inventory to our e-fulfilment center. Due to the quantity of the bulk, the price will soon exceed €150.
In some cases, we also face customs clearance. That’s when someone places an order from outside Europe. Depending on the value of the package, customs clearance will or will not be required.
Clearance of webshop goods in Europe from outside the EU
Online sales from web shops are becoming increasingly international. Where previously most orders were within their own country, this soon became within a particular trade region. These days it is also starting to get easier and easier to sell around the world. The threshold for a party from outside the EU to sell within the EU has been lowered even more thanks to an e-fulfilment center.
Thus, with the expansion of the sales area, customs clearance does come into play. Sending a bulk stock to our e-fulfilment center brings a substantial value to the European Union border. This needs to be cleared; we can take care of this completely. In fact, there are a number of issues involved here. For example, a VAT number is required to have the goods cleared. We can assist in getting this number up and running or in setting up a company to apply for a VAT number for your organization.
Clearance of goods When ordering outside the European Union
As a webshop, a customer from outside the European Union may also place an order with you. Because our e-fulfilment center is within the European Union, there is a chance that the goods will have to be cleared by customs. Again, it depends on the value of the goods.
When the package needs to be cleared, there are two different ways to divide the cost. This can be DDP or DAP, we are happy to explain the differences. DDP stands for Deliver Duty Paid, which means the shipper pays for customs clearance. DAP stands for Delivered At Place, in which case the recipient must pay for customs clearance.
