• Taxes and duties to be paid
• Methods of payment

Taxes and duties to be paid

• Customs duties : customs duties are owed if the products originate from a third country going to the EU. The common customs tariff is applied whatever the point of introduction in the EU. However, preferential agreements reached with certain countries permit reduced if not zero duties. The tariff category and the origin determine the rate of customs duties of which the amount is calculated with the value in customs.
  
  
• Antidumping duties : imports from certain countries are sometimes at suspiciously low prices in the case of dumping practices . To protect the European market from competition regarded to be unfair, the European commission may decide of antidumping or compensating duties on those products as a measure of external commerce control.
  
  
• Agricultural levies : certain agricultural products which are bought at a very low price outside the EU upon entry on the European market are subject to levies aimed at compensating for the difference in price, between the world market and the EU.
  
  
• Excise duties : excise duties are attributed to certain products at the time of freeing for consumption (alcohol, tobacco, mineral oils, petroleum products, ...).
  
  
• VAT: the levying of VAT is a result of national fiscal policies. It applies to the value of the goods at destination. The VAT basic rate is greater than the customs value and includes all costs (including customs duties) until the point of delivery within the importing country (the place determined in the transport contract) There, to the customs value, it is necessary to add all the expenses of bringing goods to destination, including customs duties.

Normally, duties are said to be ad valorem, but there are also specific duties (to the weight) and mixed duties.

Methods of payment

Although the customs debt appears as soon as the customs declaration is accepted, this does not mean its repayment is immediate. The payment credit allows the importer to progressively clear its merchandise without having to pay his debt with each operation. The owed amount is placed in a credit account and the importer pays the sum in a fixed period of time.

This formula presents a financial advantage. It is taken on from the moment that the customs declaration is handed in at the office : the goods thus acquire all the fiscal characteristics of being free for consumption.