Ok, so I had to leave the US for Belgium before my reading glasses were ready, so I had my husband ship them to my hotel-- 10 bucks US, no problem. WELL! To have the postguy actually leave the package the hotel had to pay on my behalf 35 fucking Euros “import tax”. What? They’re going back home with me. They’re MY GLASSES, God dammit! That’s more than I paid for the things, after insurance. Does anyone know if this is something I can retrieve, or am I just screwed? Oh, God, how irritating!
I think a mistake may have been made as they were second-hand goods and already yours. Either a genuine or deliberate mistake (with someone pocketing the extra).
Maybe. Could a Dutch or french native help me with a phrase here?: “De vrijstelling “bagage” is niet toepasselijk op de postzendingen/ La francise “bagage” n’est pas d’application sur les envois postaux.” Is this me, even though I’m not a resident and they are going home in 2 weeks? What is “bagage” here? It also says that small shipments without commercial nature are tax free up to 22 euros, and gifts to 45 euro (of course husband marked them at 100 $ value at US post office). Damn it, am I out of luck? Or is this something I can get back like VAT tax? That’s an incredibly high tax rate.
The note says that “postal deliveries are not to be counted as luggage” and hence applicable to taxation. There is a mistake made here though. You are not a resident and hence you should not pay the tax since you are going to take the item with you back to the US. I would call the VAT desk at the airport and ask how do deal with this. My suspicion is that you will have to go there before you leave, show the tax receipt and you will be reimbursed.
Was the note from customs, the post or from the hotel BTW? If from the hotel, they could be ripping you off, if from customs or the post it’s just red tape idiocy.
The big mistake was that your hubby marked the value like he did, but I guess there were good reasons for that. In general the European sales taxes and the VAT bureaucracy sucks golf balls through straws!
Sparc
Ah, thanks, Sparc-- that’s what I suspected. Ugh. What a mess. The paperwork is from customs and the post. I think perhaps I can get most of it back, save an idiotic 8 euro “delivery fee”. My ass. What bureaucratic crap. You have reassured me-- not that the money matters all THAT much. . . well, actually, 15 euros and I’d think “Huh. That’s lame,” except for the principal of the thing. But 35 sends me through the roof. That’s like 20 beers!
I think he marked it for some insurance reasons, but of course this is the same man who, when we entered Schipol with a very expensive replacement bike frame for a friend, when asked whether it was for business or a gift started to say “business” until I STOMPED on his foot.
Always, always, always… put “NCV” on the customs label when sending anything anywhere by mail. (It stands for “no commercial value”.)
Washington Post: Postal Service Switch Derails Delivery in Europe