FAQ

Import costs have three components: VAT, customs and customs administration costs. It is important that, even though the VAT is already included in the price of something, you may still have to pay customs duties afterwards! Below we explain what, how much and when you have to pay.

VAT:

Based on the new EU VAT law that entered into force on July 2021, 1 from all third countries (from outside the European Union) regardless of value, VAT (27% in Hungary) must be paid for incoming packages. With this, the VAT exemption of the previous packages below 22 euros (in theory, in practice ~ HUF 13) has ended.

The new system more relief also introduced regarding the payment of VAT in the case of packages with a value not exceeding 150 euros. The delivery fee and any insurance fees are also included in the package value! The value of the packages is converted at an exchange rate that changes every month, namely the exchange rate published by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank on the penultimate Wednesday of each month (hereinafter monthly MNB exchange rate) (if no exchange rate was published on this day, then the last published official exchange rate). (Source). This exchange rate should be used to determine the value of packages in EUR throughout the following month (unless other circumstances override this, see source). If the value of the package is not listed in euros or forints, but for example in USD, then the current one is listed first monthly MNB exchange rate based on which the dollar must be converted into forints and then into euros (also a monthly MNB exchange rate Based on.

The said reliefs are as follows:

• iOS (Import One Stop Shop) system: Sellers from outside the European Union can register in the system, which makes it easier for the buyer to pay VAT. The point is that the buyer also pays the VAT to the seller at the time of purchase, which the seller forwards then to that to the Member State, where you logged into the IOSS system. So if we see the tax in the webshop total, we know that we are buying from a place that uses IOSS. It is enough for the seller to register in one member state and pay the VAT there, the customs authorities of the member states will distribute it among themselves according to the destination country of the package. So it is possible that an Aliexpress seller in Poland just logs into the system and pays the VAT to them, but the "Polish NAV" will send it to the "Hungarian NAV" if the package is addressed to Hungary.
• SA (Special Arrangement): Freight forwarders (e.g. Magyar Posta, DHL, DPD, etc.) can simplify VAT payment by using SA, if they notify the tax office in advance of its use. SA is a special agreement between the freight forwarder and the tax office, under which the freight forwarder will collect the VAT from the addressee upon delivery of the package, and then declare and pay it to the tax office at certain intervals. This is only possible if the customs procedure is carried out in the country where the recipient is located.

If none of the reliefs are applied by the seller and the forwarder, the recipient must pay the VAT during the import customs procedure (this is the usual way).

It is important that packages must be subject to customs procedures in all cases, regardless of when the VAT is paid! This means that even though we have already paid the VAT to an IOSS seller when ordering, the customs procedure must be completed when the package arrives in the EU, which has a cost, see below. However, most Chinese webshops and sellers avoid this cost in one way or another or include it in the price, so we don't have to deal with this in most cases.

DUTY:

In principle, customs must also be paid for packages above the value limit of 150 euros, but experience shows that this is the case in the rarest of cases. Most consumer electronics and household appliances are an exception due to their product category, they are always duty-free. There is one on the NAV page data base, where the applicable customs and tax rates can be queried based on the customs tariff number, date and place of origin. However, we only know this in rare cases, so we prefer to let the pre-calculation go, and then NAV will tell us if we have to pay, and if so, how much (in 99% of cases we don't have to).

The customs limit of 150 euros in the current year, it must be converted based on the exchange rate published by the European Central Bank on the first working day of October of the previous year. NAV publishes this every year website too. So throughout the year based on the exchange rate at the beginning of October of the previous year are calculated at a fixed rate, and this does not necessarily coincide with the EUR 150 limit affecting the applicability of the IOSS and SA relief, as it is calculated at a monthly changing rate. In 2024, the EUR 150 customs threshold is HUF 58.

It is also important that NAV examines the customs liability based on the intrinsic value of the package, i.e. the cost of transport and possible insurance is not included in this (and of course not the VAT, if you paid it when ordering and that is why it is included on the invoice), only the actual purchase price of the goods (if the shipping or insurance costs are indicated separately on the invoice, i.e. you can know exactly how much the product cost and how much the shipping cost fee).

Depending on the currency, the duty exemption is checked as follows:

Understand:

• If you paid for the package in euros, no conversion will take place, they look at whether the purchase price of the product is more or less than 150 euros.
• If you paid in HUF, they look at whether (in 2024) the purchase price of the product is more or less than HUF 58.
• If you paid in another currency (e.g. dollars), they will first convert to forints monthly MNB exchange rate according to, and then they will see if it is more or less than HUF 58 (in 000).

CUSTOMS COST:

When the parcels arrive in the EU, they are subjected to a customs procedure (this is mandatory regardless of the value limit!), for which there is a fee, this is the cost of customs administration (also known as customs agent service fee, cost of customs procedure/customs handling). This is the intermediary fee of the transport company, for settling the VAT/customs payment with the tax authority on our behalf. In most cases, customs clearance of packages addressed to Hungary is also carried out in Hungary.

The value limit of the packages - as you can read in the VAT section - varies monthly here at the exchange rate established by the MNB (monthly MNB exchange rate) are calculated and the date of the customs procedure is taken into account, so e.g. even if you ordered the package in July, if it goes through customs in August, the value will be converted to euros at the exchange rate valid in August. Based on this, the customs administration fee is determined, as well as whether the IOSS or SA method can be used at all, i.e. whether the value of the package is below 150 euros. The VAT/duty to be paid also depends on the monthly exchange rate, if the package was not paid in forints (which is almost always the case), since we pay a certain percentage based on the forint value.

A significant part of the incoming packets is a Hungarian post handles. THE In the case of packages worth less than 150 euros, it is possible to complete the new customs declaration with reduced data content the customs procedure, which requires much less data compared to what was used before, making it faster and in most cases, without the recipient's intervention, automatically can be done. Accordingly customs administration costs also decreased, a new lane system was introduced. The fee can also be paid in a new online system, thus significantly reducing the amount to be paid. The following fees apply:

It can be seen that we can save a lot by paying online, and it is best if we buy from an IOSS seller/webshop (so we also pay the VAT to the seller when ordering), since only the customs clearance fee is a fixed HUF 550. If this is not the case, Magyar Posta applies the SA relief to packages under 150 euros, so we will have to pay the VAT to the postman upon delivery, but the customs administration fee, which depends on the package value, should also be paid online in this case, because it is cheaper. In case of package value over 150 euros, the normal, "many data" customs declaration must be filled out, so the administration time will increase (up to 1-2 weeks) and the fee will be more significant. This is the classical customs procedure known before.

A DPD consignments arriving in Hungary via its system always arrive customs-cleared, the customs clearance procedure is carried out upon entry into the EU in the first EU member state (usually France, the Netherlands). DPD does not have to pay additional costs for incoming packages, so no customs fees are charged. The course of general administration:

• The recipient in Hungary will receive an email notification in English. In this email, the amount and deadline of the VAT and/or VAT to be paid will be determined.
• There will be a link in the email, with the help of which you can quickly and easily settle your VAT and VAT payment obligations that may arise.
• The shipment is then forwarded to the recipient.

Administration through the eVÁM system

A private recipients As of July 2021, 1, the NAV is new, eVÁM web interface can also handle the customs declaration through In this case, customs clearance is free of charge, the VAT of the customs-treated product is eVÁM portal can be paid by bank card or bank transfer. So this seems like an attractive option to completely avoid the cost of customs clearance, unfortunately in this case, all postal service providers will charge certain fees.

Magyar Posta e.g. charges a fixed HUF 1100 "contributor service fee" (GTC 113-114. side), plus the individual customs administration must be reported to the Post Office by filling out the appropriate online form (so that there is no double customs clearance for the package). The fee is justified by the fact that the Post Office keeps the package during customs administration and provides us with the information necessary for customs administration. We think so it is not worth asking for individual customs clearance, because it involves much more administration and we cannot make significant savings.

VAT CALCULATOR

A VAT calculator is available on our website (on desktop view on the right side of the page, on mobile by clicking on the tool icon at the top of the page), which calculates a VAT + administration fee amount with Magyar Posta's customs clearance fees for IOSS, SA and normal customs clearance. It also indicates if due to the value of the package, customs duties must also be paid. The calculator calculates according to the rules and exchange rates described above, we believe that it determines the expected fees quite accurately, so it is worth using it before/after ordering to check the import costs. The info button and question mark bubbles in the calculator help you to use it.

IN SUMMARY:

For packages arriving from outside the European Union (e.g. China):

• Regardless of the value below 150 euros, you have to pay 27% VAT + customs administration fee, but this is already included in the price for most webshops.
• In the case of package value over 150 euros (2024 HUF in 58), 000% VAT + customs administration fee + customs duty must be paid in rare cases, but this is already included in the price for most webshops.
• In the case of IOSS, the VAT is paid at the time of purchase, but a customs administration fee must also be paid during the customs procedure.
• In the case of SA, we have to pay the VAT and the customs administration fee together.
• IOSS and SA can only be used under a value of 150 euros, above that only normal customs clearance is possible, for which the fee is also higher.
• It is worth buying from a seller/webshop that uses IOSS, because the customs fee is much cheaper.
• It is worth paying the customs fee online because it is much cheaper.
• The customs limit of 150 euros and the package value at the time of customs administration are not necessarily calculated based on the same exchange rate!
• When determining the VAT, they look at the total package value (delivery costs and insurance fees are also included), but when examining the duty-free status, they look at the internal value (the real purchase price of the product without delivery and insurance fees - if these are listed as separate items on the invoice).