How do I do the right thing when importing an online order?
Everything you need to know about import.
Import is the release of goods into free circulation and it is an action by which the customs authority enables the disposal of the goods for the purposes determined by the customs procedure in which they are placed. The person who carries out the importation is called the importer.
Wondering how your order is arriving from abroad? Follow the whole process.
Click here to download the document with the import process in Kosovo.
Place of customs clearance
The ordered shipment arrives at certain places of declaration for the goods and their customs clearance – customs office Post, or if it arrives by air transport – customs office Prishtina Airport.
Customs declaration
The shipment is taken care of by the companies that perform fast or ordinary delivery – based on the declared data in the shipment, it is determined whether the shipment is subject to import customs or is exempt from customs and import duties.
Shipments with a value of 22 euros (including transport costs) are released immediately after the shipment arrives; there is no obligation to submit a customs declaration for them.
For all other shipments that have a value above 22 euros (together with transport costs), there is an obligation to submit a customs declaration in written form.
This declaration can be submitted by the shipment carrier (post or ex-press mail) or another customs agent. It can also be submitted by a natural person who receives the shipment.
This is a matter of choice for the importer (legal or natural person) – he should independently decide who will submit the customs declaration.
- The value of the shipment (together with the transport costs) should not exceed an amount of 800 euros and a net mass of up to 1,000 kg. This is the simplest way for customs clearance of shipments arriving from import.
- If these conditions are not met, it is mandatory to submit a customs declaration in a regular customs procedure. This declaration can be submitted by the importer (individual or legal entity), customs agent – freight forwarder, or by post or express mail.
Documentation
Most often, from where the shipment is ordered, they mark it with a declaration that says what it contains, its value, and where it comes from. This declaration is valid evidence describing the goods ordered.
If other documentation is required, the responsible person from the customs office contacts the recipient. If he does not provide the necessary data, the value for which the order should be cleared is calculated by the customs officials.
If he does not agree with the determined value, he has the right to submit an objection to it.
If a shipment is sent from one person to another person, the sender should be careful to indicate the value of the goods, to more easily determine whether it is subject to regular customs clearance and payment of duties.
Additional costs
Costs that are included in the value for which an order should be subject to customs include the costs of postage that occur outside the R.S.M.
This means that if the order is 50 euros, and the postage for it to arrive costs 10 euros, the total value of the order is 60 euros.
The customs value does not include other possible additional costs incurred in our country, which are calculated and charged by Prishtina Airport Costums.
After the customs value of the shipment is determined, the customs officials calculate the additional amount of duties that should be sent.
If the customs value of the shipment is less than 22 euros, it is exempt from customs and VAT. This does not apply if the shipment is an alcoholic beverage, tobacco product, perfume, or toilet water.
If the customs value of the shipment is above 90 euros, then import duties, i.e. customs, and VAT, must be paid. In this case, additional costs for handling and manipulation are paid, which are sent by Prishtina Airport Costums.
These handling and manipulation costs are often charged for shipments that are exempt from paying customs duties and VAT upon importation, and citizens often think they are customs duties.
*This applies only if the shipment is sent by a legal entity, and does not apply if the shipment is received from another natural person.
Arrival of the shipment
At the moment when the shipment arrives on the territory of R.S.M. as long as no treatment is determined with it, it is under customs supervision and is treated as temporarily stored goods in a customs office.
After the completion of the whole process, the shipment arrives at your address!
How do I do the right thing when exporting an online order?
Everything you need to know about export.
With the export procedure, the customs authority approves the export of domestic goods from the customs territory.
Exporting involves the application of export and export formalities and trade policy measures. The seller or shipper of such goods is the exporter.
Wondering how shipping a product outside of your country works? Follow the whole process.
Click here to download the document with the export process in North Macedonia.
Preparation
The shipment to be sent outside the borders of our country is prepared in appropriate packaging for international transport.
Documentation
Along with the product, documents are prepared, the most important and mandatory of which is the commercial invoice. In addition to the invoice, depending on the requirements of the importing country, a packing list/delivery note and/or proof of product origin may be required.
- Name and address of the exporter (legal entity or sole trader)
- Name and address of the importer (distribution partner, intermediary or end user)
- Shipping address
- Net and gross mass, packaging dimensions
- Accurate description of the goods
- Quantity of goods, number and type of packages
- Price
- Terms of delivery and payment
- Country of origin
In addition to the invoice, in certain countries of delivery with which Kosovo has concluded agreements on free trade, and for the buyer not to pay customs duty, it is necessary to produce proof that the products are of Kosovo origin.
This can be easily done by filling in a declaration of origin in the commercial invoice, which can be made by any exporter for goods whose value does not exceed the amount of 6,000 euros per individual shipment.
Customs declaration
For the shipment to leave the customs area of Kosovo, a customs declaration should be submitted.
The customs declaration can be submitted by the e-merchant, but it can also be submitted by a customs agent – freight forwarder, or by the sender.
Also, the customs declaration can be submitted in a regular or simplified customs procedure.
Regular or simplified customs procedure
In the regular customs procedure, the export customs declaration has to be submitted for each shipment at the time of dispatch/export of the shipment, which considering the speed and costs is not advisable for e-merchants.
In simplified customs procedures, the e-merchant can submit one customs declaration for all shipments sent during one day, regardless of the number of shipments and the number of buyers. For something like this, approval from the Customs Administration is required. This procedure is recommended for e-merchants who have a higher volume of work..
- The declaration is signed with a digital certificate
- It contains all the necessary data
- The e-merchant has attached all the necessary documents
- The goods have been submitted for inspection by the customs authority
If the shipment is exported by mail, the customs authority at the exit is the one in which the shipment is taken over under a transport contract for transport to another country by the postal services.
Sending of the shipment
Approval for simplified customs procedures, and the whole work can be completed in any branch of the Kosovo Post on the territory of the country. The forwarding agency of the Kosovo Post should be contacted beforehand. They can take over the shipment or it can be taken to any branch of the post office and be cleared for export by the kosovo Post upon its receipt.
The shipment can also be handed over to express mail companies, which can perform export customs clearance of the shipment at any time.
If the e-merchant wants to send the shipment independently, he should independently submit an electronic customs declaration. This declaration is submitted to the competent customs office for export – it is the customs office Posta Prishtina, based on the receipt of the shipment for export issued at the counters of Kosovo Post. This declaration is submitted through the Merchant Export Portal, and a Movement Reference Number is used to identify the export operation.
The e-merchant has the right to choose whether he wants to use a regular export customs procedure or a simplified export customs procedure – but one thing is mandatory – to submit a customs declaration.
After completing the whole process, your shipment arrives at the end buyer!
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