Official import from China with VAT

What you end up with

• Customs declaration. The core document. It confirms the import and the payment of duty and VAT, and provides the basis for your tax credit.
• Contract and invoice. The foreign trade agreement with the supplier and the invoice, matching the declaration in amount, product range and codes.
• Packing list and transport documents. Bill of lading, air waybill or CMR — depending on the mode of delivery.
• Certificates and permits. Declarations of conformity, sanitary and phytosanitary documents, state registration — wherever the product category requires them. We handle these ourselves: product certification.
• Certificate of origin — where it qualifies you for a reduced duty rate.

We prepare the full package rather than "help you collect it": your accounting department receives the documents in a form they can record straight away.

What the customs payment consists of

Two payments are made at customs.

Duty. The rate depends on the HS code of your goods — zero for some categories, tens of percent for others. The code is determined before shipping, so you know the amount in advance instead of finding out at the terminal.

VAT — 20%. Calculated on the customs value of the goods together with duty and delivery to the border. This is the amount that goes into your tax credit: it reduces your tax liability for the following period. For a VAT payer, official import looks economically different from what the payment figure suggests at first glance.

The key variable here is the HS code. An error in the code means either an overpayment or an amended declaration with additional charges. We determine the code before shipping and show the calculation together with the logistics rate.

When it is time to switch to official import

The moment usually arrives on its own, and several signs make it visible. You have become a VAT payer, and every unofficial shipment now means a lost tax credit. You are moving into retail chains, marketplaces or tenders where you simply are not registered without documents. Volumes have grown to the point where the risk of losing a shipment outweighs the saving on the payment. Or you are importing a category — electronics, equipment, food supplements, foodstuffs, batteries — where the question of documents is raised not by you, but at the border.

We handle this transition as a separate project: we go through the product range, select the codes and show the real difference in cost price. It is often smaller than the client expects.