Has something changed? I thought the threshold was around CHF70.-
I've been ordering a lot from Amazon the past few years because of how they deal with import fees, charging a "deposit" for the exact amount of tax, avoiding the carrier admin charge. But today I noticed that they weren't charging the deposit for an order of CHF190.- If I doubled the quantity, then I got the charge of about CHF30.-
Depends what you ordered, and always has.
Tom
You're an idiot.
No, YOU are the idiot (as always).
Various items are taxed at different rates, the key is CHF 5 VAT, and NOT the value.
Try engaging your brain!
Tom
You're an idiot.
(That's what you said you meant when you groan people).
You have made an assumption and didn't ask the OP which Amazon he was ordering from - it makes a difference. That's dumb.
So when someone calls you an idiot (which you said you meant when you groaned them on a recent thread), you red-rep them.
You really are quite insecure aren't you?
And you're an idiot.
If you ordered directly from Amazon, not a problem. If you have ordered from a 3rd party seller on Amazon, who probably shipped the item via DHL or different carrier. Even with paying the import fees on the total, you still can get a bill from the carrier on delivery. Depending who they use to ship.
I order some herbs/vitamines from the US and the threshold for duty/tax is 200 I think so yes, it depends on what you order.
It depends on from where you order too. If you order from Amazon.de, dispatched by Amazon they dispense with the tax deposit and what you see, is what you pay.
If you order the same item, dispatched by Amazon.co.uk, you pay a deposit.
Contrary to what a know-all poster posted, it hasn't always been like this.
As others have written, the value of the item makes a difference too.
If you had no "import deposit" on less than 200 and it was charged when you doubled the order ( I am presuming that it was of the same item ), you are obviously ordering something that falls in the reduced VAT rate of 2.5% for which the 'Import VAT-free' order limit is 200 CHF.
The question was:
New import fees threshold? Has something changed? I thought the threshold was around CHF70.-
The answer is:
Nothing has changed. The threshold was and still is CHF 5 of VAT.
Indeed, which is why I posted "Depends what you ordered, and always has."
Buy stuff at 2.5%, 7.7%, or a mix, will give different answers.
Tom
The EF never fails to entertain.
Alot of tomfoolery
All the toys back in the pram ?
I noticed today, to my horror that an item I bought on Amazon.de from a German 3rd party retailer for 11 euros had a 55 euro charge added for 'shipment and duty'. This was to be shipped to a german address.. thank God I didn't try to ship to Switzerland.
I thought the item was sourced in Germany by the retailer, I now think it was sourced from the UK. Thankfully they cancelled the order after I contacted them but it just shows.. the 'internal' EU market works but with the UK and CH outside that.. you should only buy 'locally'.
On a related note, while it is still some months to go, keep in mind that as of January 1, 2024, the VAT rates in CH go up... to 8.1% (up from 7.7%) for most items and 2.6% (up from 2.5%) for those with reduced rate. This will change the calculations a bit.