Selling EU -> Rest of World. Have I pay Taxes?

[Greyhawk]

If I want to sell from the EU to outside the EU, and the tax portion of a product exceeds the import VAT threshold (De Minimis) of the customer's country, do I have to charge the customer VAT?

I ask this because I read elsewhere that when selling to private customers outside the EU, you never have to charge Value Added Tax (VAT).

This confuses me a bit. 🤔

Best regards!

[Rostislav]

Hi Greyhawk,

It is a rather broad question. Every country is different when it comes to taxation and minimum thresholds. And it is not always VAT , it could be GST , ST etc. , even though the idea is more or less the same, Selling to US would mean to observe 800 USD customs duties threshold during import. And the US customer is accustomed to handle taxes in their side (use tax). 

Countries in Europe like the UK and Norway have their own  non-mandatory low value consignment schemes which require registration.

Switzerland is even more weird and for the imte being DDU is the best solution for Switzerland. 

The general rule is simple  - send it without taxes and the local tax authorities/logistics companies  will collect taxes on arrival. But be prepared that your customers might need to pay customs handling fees and become unhappy customers.  

[Greyhawk]

Rostislav, Thank you for your response.

"The general rule is simple  - send it without taxes and the local tax authorities/logistics companies  will collect taxes on arrival."

Are you saying that as a seller, I should not show or charge taxes for customers from abroad, and that it is common and acceptable for customers to pay taxes later upon receiving the shipment?

Or do you mean that I should better charge taxes to prevent customers from paying taxes later, which you want to avoid?

Sorry for the questions, but when it comes to tax matters, they always need to be explained to me as if I were a three-year-old child. 😀