"Do I have to pay tax on orders I buy at Chinavasion?"
Maybe. It depends on what country you are receiving the goods in.
Tax is a complex issue, because it depends what country you are receiving
the goods into. Some countries are easy to import into, and have few
restrictions and no taxes. Other countries are ultra restrictive and have high
taxes. Before you start importing bigger quantities of China electronics to your
country, you'll need to research what the law and practices are in your country
(or shipping destination countries if you are dropshipping internationally).
Please read the following notes for some basic background...
No Sales Tax Charged By Chinavasion:
- There are no sales taxes or hidden charges to pay on the China side when
you buy at Chinavasion.com - However, you may need to pay some taxes on your
local side when you receive the goods. Please read below for more
information.
- When you buy from China, and the products are delivered to your country,
this is by definition importing. This means the process to receive
the goods will usually be different to simply buying mail-order products
from shops inside your country.
Import Duty and Sales Tax Charged By Your Country:
- Some countries charge tax on certain imported products, at certain
quantity/value levels. Some countries do not. You are responsible for
finding out the situation in your own country.
- Whatever you order from Chinavasion, we will send you. We won't enforce
any rules so it's up to you to make sure that what you are buying is OK to
import in your country.
- Many countries charge two kinds of tax when you import anything from
overseas. These are (1) Sales Tax (VAT); (2) Import Duty.
Usually these taxes are not very high,and the tax is calculated according to
the value of the goods (+ shipping sometimes). On the other hand, many
countries do not charge any tax on certain types of goods, or on small
shipments.
Declared Value: Packet Value Affects Tax
- Usually, importing big quantities of goods from overseas is controlled
by your country's customs quite strictly, but smaller quantities can be
imported more freely. The definition of "big quantity" and "small quantity"
(often defined by a value "threshhold") varies from country to country.
- The term "ad valorem" in import taxes means that the tax you have to pay
is calculated as a percentage of the total value of the goods (+sometimes
the shipping too). Obviously there would be an advantage to declare the
value of the goods lower in such cases. This is known as "under-declaring"
the goods and is not permitted, despite being widespread practice. Any
customization you request from us in regard to declaration value on the
shipping paperwork is at your own risk.
Declared Contents: Packet Contents Affect Tax
- The category of goods you are importing often has an effect on whether
you have to pay tax, or how much.
- Obviously, certain categories of dangerous or restricted goods are
illegal to import in most countries. Other, specific restrictions on certain
items such as laser products or AV recording devices may apply in your country as well -
please research that information for your local country.
- The declared contents of a package must be true and accurate for customs
purposes. Any customization you request from us regarding declaration of
packet contents is at your own risk.
Tax And Air Mail Packets
- Typically, taxes are more often / more strictly applied to courier
shipments (UPS, FedEx, DHL) than postal shipments (Air Mail, USPS, EMS). In
many countries, for single items, postal shipping is a simple way to reduce
or eliminate import taxes.
- However, shipping by air mail is not necessarily a guarantee of avoiding
such taxes.
How To Pay Import Taxes
- If you have to pay any tax on the goods you receive, the most common way
is that the taxes are first paid at customs by the courier (e.g. DHL, FedEx,
UPS) and then you simply pay back the courier using cash or your credit
card, when they deliver the goods to your door.
- On bigger orders (meaning, for most countries, anything more than one or
two cartons) you should consider hiring a professional licensed Customs
Broker to assist you with the clearance of your goods when they arrive in
your destination country. This is because tax and contents assessment is
applied most strictly to bigger shipments.
Why You Need To Do Your Own Research
- Import and tax rules are (a) different in every country; (b) changing
often; (c) highly dependent on the shipment size and contents; and (d) not
consistently applied by your country's different ports and customs houses.
Therefore Chinavasion cannot offer you specific advice about how much tax
you will have to pay, or any guarantees related to this issue.
- We will always do our best to help you import successfully and
profitably. If you have any doubts, simply open a live chat or help ticket
with our English-speaking Customer Support Team.
- Sometimes the importing rules according to your country's government and
customs are not enforced as strictly or consistently as they say. A good way
to find out the realities of importing into your country is to begin with a
series of smaller orders from Chinavasion and make careful notes of what (if
any) steps you had to go through or charges you had to pay. You may be
pleasantly surprised how easy importing is for you.
Who Provides Import Paperwork?
- In general all the paperwork required for clearing your goods through
customs is provided by Chinavasion. Usually the shipping invoice and courier
waybill included with all shipments from Chinavasion is sufficient.
- Sometimes additional paperwork such as product licences are required by
customs. We track all of your shipments until they reach you, so if there is
such a requirement, we will respond to it promptly on your behalf, usually
without the need for you to take any action.
- You may need to show a copy of the shipping invoice to receive your
products in some cases, and we will give you the papers you need on request.
- It is your responsibility to confirm the details of the shipping
paperwork with Chinavasion before the goods are sent out. We will follow
your instructions for customizing the shipping documentation according to
your requirements, and you, as the importer, bear full responsibility for
any exception arising from this paperwork.
Tax Liability
- The importer is solely responsible for all import taxes, sales taxes,
and any other customs-related charges.
- Chinavasion accepts no liability for any such charges. Importing taxes
and charges cannot and will not be quoted/predicted, and they cannot be
reimbursed to you under any circumstances.
- If an importer refuses to pay taxes or otherwise refuses to comply with
requirements of the importing or customs clearance process, the goods will
usually not be delivered successfully. In such cases the goods could be
seized by customs, destroyed, or returned back to China. In any such cases
you, the importer, bear sole responsibility provided no error has been made
by Chinavasion in following your order requirements.
Import Taxes And Dropshipping - Warning
- Dropshipping means you "sell" goods to an end customer, and Chinavasion
sends the goods directly to your customer without you handling the goods.
This means that the end customer is the consignee of the package being sent
from China, and this means your customer is also considered to be the
"importer" of the goods. Thus, your customer bears full responsibility for
importing the goods and paying any applicable taxes, duties, and other
charges. Make sure you research the situation and inform your customers
clearly in advance!
- Responsibilities small print:
- In this system, you as the Dropship Vendor are solely responsible for
informing your Dropship Customer about the China origin of the goods, the
shipping method, the import declaration used, the import process, any taxes
or charges that are likely to be charged or could be charged, and the
mechanism for receiving goods and paying applicable charges. You are solely
responsible for establishing and communicating whatever delivery terms,
warranty, guarantees, or other contracts that you wish to establish with
your customers; in these matters Chinavasion accepts no liability.
- When dropshipping via eBay selling, Amazon selling, or any similar third
party sales platform, you must additionally abide by their terms and
conditions for clarifying the delivery/import process for your customers and
clearly communicating/advertising your terms before the sale.
- In an exception case where a Dropship Customer refuses to receive goods,
refuses to pay taxes, or otherwise fails to comply with the import process,
you as the Dropship Vendor bear full responsibility for resolving the issue
directly with your Dropship Customer. In dropship cases Chinavasion as the
Dropship Wholesaler will be deemed to have fulfilled all responsibility for
delivering the order, and Chinavasion will not accept any liability in such
cases. In practical terms this means that in such a failed delivery case,
you would have to decide whether or not to compensate your customer, but
Chinavasion would not offer you any form of refund.
- If you consistently fail to inform your customers properly about their
import responsibilities, leading to delivery exceptions, we reserve the
right to close your account and cancel any outstanding orders.
Getting More Information About Taxes
- Please undertake your own research about import regulations and taxes in
your country. We can offer informal pre-sales advice, but we will not offer
any formal advice or guarantees due to this issue being beyond our control.
- After you have placed your order from Chinavasion, make sure you get in
touch with us to confirm details of any customization that you require for
your shipping invoice declarations.
- After your packets have been sent out from our warehouse, we will stay
in touch with you and help you with any further importing process steps.
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