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23.12.2020
As the transition period of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) ends, starting from the 1st of January 2021 the conditions for the exchange of postal items with that country within the EU will change. This means that when Latvian residents receive items of a certain value from the UK, they will have to go through customs clearance and pay taxes. Customs clearance of items received at Latvijas Pasts is possible in two ways: the recipients can carry out this procedure in the EDS system of the State Revenue Service (SRS) on their own or use the services of a customs broker of Latvijas Pasts.
From the 11th of November 2019 the taxes to be paid by recipients of postal items from third countries are no longer calculated by the SRS customs officers, but customers submit their own customs declarations via the SRS Electronic Declaration System (EDS). It is also possible to carry out customs clearance through a customs broker of Latvijas Pasts for a fee. From the 1st of January 2021, with the end of the Brexit transition period, this procedure will also apply to items from the UK.
The customer will receive information that the item received from the UK needs to be cleared through customs in the invitation from Latvijas Pasts, which will be delivered as a mobile text message (if the customer has indicated the correct mobile phone number of the recipient on the item) or as a printed notice in the letter-box. The invitation will specify that an item subject to customs clearance, which is addressed to the particular customer, has been received at Latvijas Pasts. If the item does not need to be cleared through customs, the customer will be served an invitation to receive the item without additional information about the required customs clearance and without specific customs numbers.
Upon receipt of an invitation regarding an item subject to customs clearance, the customer can choose to do customs clearance independently or use the services of a customs broker of Latvijas Pasts.
If the customer chooses to clear the item through customs independently, he or she must log in to the SRS EDS and fill in and submit the simplified Import customs declaration for postal items. In this case taxes can be paid by connecting directly to the portal www.Latvija.lv from EDS.
Before filling in the declaration, the customer must find out the information about the received item which is necessary for customs clearance:
1) the postal item number, the specific Temporary Storage Declaration (TSD), the number of the item subject to customs clearance, the TSD order number and the weight of the item which will already be indicated in the invitation delivered by Latvijas Pasts;
2) the value of the item:
- if the goods were purchased in an online store, the value of the item will be known from the purchase documents;
- if the goods were sent by friends or relatives, their value can be found out by contacting the sender, or by finding out information at Latvijas Pasts: the most convenient way to do so is by contacting the Customer Centre (phone +371 67008001, +371 27008001, info@pasts.lv), whose specialists will capture the accompanying documents for the specific item in an image and send the image to the recipient.
After filling in the declaration and paying the taxes, the customer can go to Latvijas Pasts to collect the item.
When choosing the services of a customs broker of Latvijas Pasts, the customer does not initially have to go to the post office: it is possible to immediately send the documents related to the item to the e-mail address pastabrokeris@pasts.lv: these are the purchase order, the payment order, the item number and the power of attorney authorising Latvijas Pasts to carry out the necessary customs formalities. The power of attorney is available here or the brokers will send it to the customer electronically. The brokers will also find out the value of the item if it is a gift, but if necessary, they will contact the customer for additional or clarifying information.
Upon completion of the customs clearance procedures, Latvijas Pasts customs brokers will send information regarding the completion of the customs clearance process and the total amount of taxes and service fees to be paid by the customer to the e-mail address provided by the customer. After receiving this information, the customer must go to the post office, where he or she will be asked to show the original power of attorney and pay taxes and service fees, and then the item can be received immediately.
The customs broker service of Latvijas Pasts for customs clearance of one item for natural persons costs EUR 3.50.
Please keep in mind that as of the 1st of January 2021 inbound items from the UK will be subject to the same customs clearance procedures as items from any other country or territory outside the EU. Items up to EUR 22 will not be subject to the customs duty or VAT, so customs clearance procedures will not be required. Commercial items, such as goods purchased in an online store, with a value of between EUR 22.01 and EUR 150 will be subject to VAT, but those above EUR 150 – both to VAT and the customs duty.
Meanwhile, non-commercial items – gifts or goods sent by one natural person to another natural person – with a value ranging from EUR 22.01 to EUR 45 will not be subject to the customs duty or VAT, but items from EUR 45.01 to EUR 150 and more will be subject to both VAT and the customs duty.
Similar changes are also expected for express mail or EMS (Express Mail Service) items to and from the UK. In all cases, when sending any type of items to the UK and other countries or territories outside the EU, in accordance with the requirements of the Universal Postal Union from the 1st of January 2021 the sender will have to provide maximum details about the contents, recipient, value, weight and country of origin of the item. Inaccurate or incomplete information may delay the delivery of such an item.
Detailed information on the conditions of the taxation procedure for the postal items from the UK and on the customs clearance is available from the State Revenue Service on https://www.vid.gov.lv/lv/pasta-sutijumi; phone: +371 67120000.
The UK’s official withdrawal from the European Union started on the 31st of January 2020 with a transition period until the end of the year, the 31st of December.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with around 3,200 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
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