Hi frenz,

I want to get a new laptop in germany from my friend in US by post(fedex) in form of a gift. If anybody has done such a thing, please share your experience. Basically I am worried about customs part...if my parcel gets stuck in customs, then what I have to do in that case. I do not want to travel to some other city to get my parcel.

Looking forward to your replies.

Sim

@sim

i think it'll be expensive. i got laptop from switzerland by post and i'd to pay about 195 euros as custom duties.

Hi,
It does not matter in Germany for Custom that it has been gifted or bought. They want the original bill or the Ebay Auction print out to know the price. In germany you can get a gift of Euro 40/- without any custom duty.
Price - Custom Duty
upto 40€ - Nil
41- 300€ - 13.5 % of the value
301 above - 16% of the value

I am not sure about the limits but that is what the rate follow normally. If you can prove that you bought it cheap by Ebay then may be you can save the custom duty a little bit. I will recommend you to get the laptop in person from somebody who visits US or going thru Germany. that is how I got my Laptop without any Custom duty.

If I am wrong, then correct me.
Have a nice weekend.
Peacy

thanks for replying to my query.

Well I would have loved to find someone who is coming to germany from US and who can handover me that laptop...but this not being the case, I am thinking that its better if i can get it by post.

I checked with fedex and minimum non-taxable permissible amount is 45 euros and rest is same as told by peacy.

So I would end up spending 16% as VAT + delivery charges which will be around 100 euros for 5kgs.

Other option is ebay...which is a good idea. I will try to explore that as well.

One more query: What documents will be reqd for dispatcher to send that laptop if it is declared properly. I saw something on DELL website that it has to be specified while ordering if laptop will be exported to some other place.

thx again for ur time.

Hi,
I have looked for prices in Ebay and checked the same for on Dell offers and the difference is really big. As I am alos looking for a laptop for my friend so I had a look on different aspects. A dell with Centrino Duo with 1 GB RAM and 80Gb HDD with 14" Screen costs $874/- but here costs €1100/-. I have imported electronic item with Post and had no problem. Just you should goto custom office, pay the duty and get your stuff.

I think it is still cheaper to buy from US.
My suggestion get the Packet insured for the value, if something got damaged then you can claim it from insurance.

Hope it helps you.
Regards
Peacy

I will be paying 7.25% as sales tax if I buy a laptop from US Dell store. In this case, will I be asked to pay 16% or (16-7.25%) as VAT ?

Thanks for ur posts.

Hi Friends,
Don mind me asking like this. I have a Apple Mac book of mine stuck up in US because i recently moved into germany. Its that if someone ships it from US i got to pay 19% customs which is too much for me to offord. I learnt from this forum that if someone is flying from US to Germany we can get it from him. So friends can u please tell me if u know someone who is flying from US to germany and can help me in getting my Laptop. i would be really grateful if u help me out with this.

If you are a student (should possess a student id from a university) or if you get your laptop shipped to a student(a friend whom you trust), you don't have to pay 19% tax.

you have to declare it as
study/learning material.
in german schulungsmaterial.