EU – Baltic States, Markets and Companies, Post Office, Society, Taxation

Due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, new rules must be taken into account when ordering parcels from the new year. This means that if the total value of the goods ordered by post is more than 22 euros, the customer must declare the consignment to customs and pay 20% VAT. If the value of the ordered goods exceeds 150 euros, in addition to VAT, a duty must be paid, the tax rate of which depends on the specific goods.

It is most convenient to declare shipments electronically in the e-MTA, and to submit a customs declaration, you need a notice sent by a courier company or Eesti Post and a document certifying the value of the goods, such as an invoice, payment order or order.

"British online stores are very popular among Estonian shoppers and big discount campaigns often take place in the aftermath of the holidays, but this year one should be extremely careful when ordering goods and not leave the order until the end of the year," said Külli Kurvits, head of customs formalities.

It must be borne in mind that, if the order is placed within the year 2020, but the consignment from the United Kingdom is dispatched in 2021, customs duties and VAT may be added to the consignment. 'For example, if a EUR 30 parcel ordered on 31 December is shipped in the United Kingdom on 2 January 2021, VAT will be added. Therefore, we recommend making purchases early, "Kurvits added.

There are restrictions or special permit requirements for sending or ordering certain goods, therefore you should read the rules on the MTA website before ordering . For example, ordering medicines from online stores is prohibited. Care should also be taken when ordering food supplements, because before ordering, it must be determined whether the food supplement of another country does not belong to medicines in Estonia.

As in the case of all countries outside the European Union, as of 1 January, gifts sent from a private individual living in the United Kingdom to a private individual living in Estonia must be declared to customs, the value of which exceeds 45 euros.

When sending goods from Estonia to the United Kingdom, the goods must be declared to customs if their value exceeds 1000 euros.

You can read more about the changes accompanying the end of the transition period on the MTA website: https://www.emta.ee/en/brexit-eraisikud