CUSTOMS DECLARATION OF GOODS IN THE PASSENGER TRAFFIC
All goods brought into the customs area of the Republic of Croatia undergo the customs surveillance and control from the moment of its entry. That means that every person is obligated at the crossing of the border to declare the goods that s/he is carrying, independently if there should or not be any procedures necessary (i.e. collecting of customs duty or other import duties). These rules are applicable on both the Croatian and foreign citizens.
In the passenger traffic the simplified declaration procedure at the crossing of the country border is applied and in the form of the oral declaration. The goods that are not on the usual place or the customs officer cannot see it in a simple way, and for it the customs duty must be paid, must be explicitly declared.
Since mid 2001, there are so called green lines on a few road and airport border crossings for the passengers that are bringing in the goods that are a part of privileges. This line cannot be used by passengers that are bringing in the goods for which the duties must be paid (and in case it is established that such goods are being brought in there is the case of customs offence).
The customs officer establishes if the goods that is reported-declared being brought in and if the bringing in of the goods are liable for the calculation and payment of customs duty and other duties. Depending on this determination depends the further proceeding.
If for the goods the exemption from paying duties is not foreseen, they are calculated on the special form for calculation of import duties
At the calculation of the import duties the sales value of the goods is determining factor (according to invoices).
The calculation of import duties can be done at the border crossing, if the value of the goods is not higher than KN 5,000.00, and then the unique customs rate is applied – 10%. If the subject of calculation are goods with origin from the country with which the Republic of Croatia has closed contract on free trade, at the passenger request the lower customs rate or rate “free” can be applied and then the goods in the value of up to EUR 1,200.00 can be declared at the border crossing. At bringing certain products – alcoholic beverages, tobacco, oil derivates – a special kind of tax – excise is calculated. On the total amount of the customs value of the goods, customs duty and possibly excise duty, the VAT is being calculated at the general rate (or lower rate if the goods in question undergo lower rate of VAT – some food products, medications, books).
The procedure at the border, allows to the passenger (instead of unique customs rate) to ask for the applications of customs duty from the Customs Tariff. Such request of the passenger that the customs rate according to the Customs tariff is to be applied, demands that the regular customs declaration procedure is performed in the inner customs house.
CUSTOMS DECLARATION OF THE POSTAL SHIPMENTS
The customs declaration of the postal shipments in the international postal traffic is performed under customs surveillance with realisation of the procedures of the customs control, in accordance with the appropriate regulations of the Customs Act, regulations made based on that Act, international and customs agreements and other postal regulations.
All postal shipment that are subject of the international postal traffic, as well as any action that is being performed with the postal shipment in the international postal traffic undergoes the measures of the customs surveillance and procedure of the customs control in the way stated by the customs and postal regulations.
The basis is when the postal shipment reach the customs area of the Republic of Croatia, the customs officer in the authorised post office separates the shipments that are not submitted to the customs house, so they are immediately released for the purpose of being served to the receivers, from the ones that are submitted to the customs house for the control.
Postal shipment that are not submitted to the customs house are:
- Post cards and letters with exclusively personal messages
- Messages written in Braille
- Newspaper, television, films or in any other way taken tapes or pictures to be directly broadcasted over the means of the public information system that are not liable for the payment of customs duty
- All other postal shipments (letters and packets) for which pursuant to Article 50 paragraph 4 of the Customs Act there is no obligation of declaring
Postal shipments (letters and packets) for which pursuant to Article 50 paragraph 4 of the customs Act there is no obligation of declaring are:
- Personal identification documentation and other documentation regardless of the value
- Medals and acknowledgements
- Trademarks, patents, model and accompanying documentation and forms for patent or innovation recognition that are sent to the organisation for the protection of the author and industrial property
- Forms and documents that the state bodies receive for the performing of their public duties
- Object that represent evidence in court or other proceedings in from of the state bodies of the Republic of Croatia
- Samples of signatures and circular letter that are sent as the usual information exchange among the public services or banks
- Official printed forms received by the Croatian National Bank
- Drawings, technical prints, models, description and other similar documents that are imported in order to fulfil the condition for taking part in the international bidding that takes places in the country
- Printed forms that are used according to the international contract as official documents in the international traffic of vehicles or goods.
- Those imported by physical persons. That pertains exclusively to books that are exempted from paying customs duty according to the Agreement on importation of educational, scientific and cultural material and Protocol to that Agreement, and from paying the VAT pursuant to Article 10a point c) of the VAT Act (Official Gazette number 47/95 – 90/05) and Article 57 paragraph 1 point c) Ordinance on the VAT (and Official Gazette number 60/96 – 153/05)
- That is in the postal traffic exempted from paying customs duty. According to Article 187 paragraph 1 point 3) and Article 12 point 4 of the VAT Act shipments that physical person sends from abroad without charge to another physical person in the Republic of Croatia are freed from paying customs duty and VAT under condition that they are not commercial and that the total value does not exceed KN 300
- Consignments of negligible value. Consignments of items of negligible value (Consignments of items whose total value does not exceed 160 HRK) sent from abroad directly to consignees in the Republic of Croatia is exempted from customs duty and VAT. However, this exemption does not apply to alcohol and alcoholic beverages, tobacco and tobacco products, perfumes or toilet waters. The exemption form customs duty and VAT for postal consignments of negligible value applies also to consignments in passenger traffic and traffic of goods.
Under non commercial character it is understood:
- The occasional shipments
- Shipment that contain exclusively the goods meant for the usage of the receiver or his /her family and by the kind and amount it is indicative that it is not a commercial import
- Shipment sent from the sender to the receiver without cost
As it is stated the receipt of goods in the postal shipments understands only occasional shipments and excludes continuous shipment. And there is no stated definition of the occasional or continuous shipment, i.e. how many shipments in a period of time are considered to be continuous. In every separate case the customs service determines what represents the continuous shipping or if in the previous continuous period of time there was a continuous import of goods from the same foreign person.
So the named postal shipments are not submitted to the customs house but dispatched to the postal offices for the purpose of being served to the receivers.
Postal shipments that are submitted to the customs house
It is especially stressed that all shipments that come from abroad from legal persons, as well as all the shipments that are subject to sales (that are being paid for), undergo the obligatory calculation of customs duty and VAT, regardless if the goods are used for the personal use of the receiver and the fact that the value is sometimes smaller than KN 300.
If the postal shipment is being received by the physical person, and the concerned goods are not submitted to the customs house, one of the following documents has to be submitted:
- Postal customs declaration in the following conditions:
- When is possible to apply the unique customs rate of 10%, (the unique customs rate can be applied only in cases of import of goods that a physical person in the Republic of Croatia received from another physical person from abroad, and the shipment contains goods of non commercial character under the condition that the value does not exceed KN 5,000.00),
- If the shipment is partially exempted from customs duties, i.e. when for the goods in the value of KN 300 the exemption from customs duties is applied, and on the rest of the shipment the customs duty and tax in accordance to Article 8 of the Regulation on conditions and procedures for customs duty exemption is applied („Official Gazette “ number 05/07),
- When the physical persons receive (buy) from abroad the goods in value of KN 5,000.00 from a physical or a legal person and the goods can be considered to be for the personal use or for the use of the members of the households with application of the foreseen customs tariff. Regulations of this indent are not applied on the so called repetitive shipments.
Postal – customs declaration from the points b) and c) can be submitted only in the case when the invoice is enclosed, on which the value of the goods is stated, and also if the shipment contains only the above mentioned goods. If there is a case of a combined shipment i.e. the same is contained of the above named goods and the goods for which no submission of postal – customs declaration is necessary, than for the whole shipment the simplified administrative document must be submitted.
- Simplified administrative document is submitted in all other cases. Simplified administrative document can be filled in and submitted by any person that acts on his/her behalf and for his her account. Customs declaration is filled in accordance to the rules stated in the Ordinance on usage of form for application of the Customs Act (Official Gazette number. 176/03) and instructions of the Customs Directorate.
It is usual, however, considering the complexity of the customs declaration procedure in general, and in this respect especially concerning filling in the customs declaration and submitting of appropriate documentation, that the customs declaration is submitted by proxies who in accordance to Act on conditions for performing the representation in the customs procedure (Official Gazette, number 92/01) and the Ordinance on granting approvals for performing business activities to the forwarding agencies and authorised customs representatives (Official Gazette number 93/02, 125/02 and 68/03), satisfy the conditions for performing the activities of representation in the customs procedure (successfully passed test of the authorised customs representative – forwarding agent)
The receiver of the shipment is legal person
When the postal shipment is being received by the legal person in the Republic of Croatia than for the shipment one of the following documents is submitted:
- Statement on the prescribed form at import:
- book
- sample of goods
- advertising material
under condition that the value of the goods in question does not exceed KN3,000.00 per shipment and the goods are not subject to any limitations, prohibitions or specially prescribed formalities.
The prescribed pertains only to books that are exempted from paying customs duties in accordance to the Agreement on importation of educational, scientific and cultural material and Protocol that accompanies that Agreement and are exempted from paying VAT in accordance to Article 10a point c) of the VAT ACT and Article 57 paragraph 1 point c) of the Ordinance on VAT.
In order to apply the stated on the samples of goods and the advertising material the named must comply with the conditions from Article 32 and 33 of the Regulation on conditions and procedures for customs duty exemption, and Article 12 paragraph 1 point 5 of the VAT Act.
The named goods are released based on the prescribed Statement, whose copy is enclosed to this text.
- SAD – in all other cases
Customs debt and customs value of goods
In the procedure of customs declaration, regardless if it is postal customs declaration or SAD, the customs debt to be paid is determined.
The customs debt consists of customs duty, excise duty if the concerned goods are liable for that tax and VAT.
The prescribed rate of customs duty is calculated on the customs value of the goods. Customs value of the goods consist of the goods' sale value i.e. the paid amount or the charged amount for the goods that is the subject to the customs declaration procedure, but with the adjustment of costs from Article 38 and 39 of the same Act. This understands that all costs that are connected to that goods include the customs value, f.e. cost of transportation and insurance (in the postal traffic that is usually postage).
The basic document that proves the sales value of the goods is the invoice.
In case the postal shipment is not accompanied by the invoice, the customs officer will ask the receiver to submit the invoice or other document that proves the payment of the goods.
If the purchase via e- Bay is in question, the invoices from e-Bay can be submitted as documents for the customs declaration procedure with the precondition that they contain all the basic elements of the invoice (buyer and seller, goods description, amount, way of payment etc.) also in the postal traffic it occurs often that there is no invoice if the purchase is done by internet as this is the transaction between physical persons, so different documentation can be submitted (which includes the print out of the online payment and international postal declaration). In both cases, if there is no reasonable doubt in the authenticity of the stated data on the invoice or on the other document that is submitted (in the process of assessment if the concerned documentation is valid proof about the performed payment) the customs service will determine the customs value based on the actually paid price for the goods or the price to be paid.
The tax basis for the excise duty is prescribed by every separate Excise Duty Act for the certain goods. So for example the prescribed basis for coffee is one 1kg net, for luxury products that is the sales value for the product etc.
The tax basis for the VAT consists of the customs base, i.e. customs value of the goods increased for the customs duty and excise duty if the goods are liable for that tax.
Complaint to the determined customs value
However, if the receiver of the shipment did not submit any evidence on the performed payment or the customs office did not accept it, the customs officer will determine the customs value based on other methods for determining the customs value in accordance with Article 32 to 37 of the Customs Act (f.e. based on the sales value of the same or similar goods that was sold for export into the Republic of Croatia and exported at the same or similar time) and then the customs debt will be calculated.
In that case if the receiver of the goods does not agree with the determined customs value of the goods as done by the customs service he/she has the right to demand form the authorised customs house to send the elaborated decision on the procedure of the determining the customs value of the goods. Than the receiver of the shipment at the receiving of the same and receiving of the order for payment is obligated to return unopened shipment to the employee of the post office, for its return to the repeated customs verification, together with all submitted documentation and evidence on the sales value of the goods.
At the written request of the receiver of the shipment the customs house is obligated to issue the elaborated decision on the way of determining the customs value of goods which means to determine the customs debt.
The receiver of the goods can submit the complaint. The complaint is submitted within 15 days, whereby the complaint does not postpone the execution of the decision.
Import of medications in the postal traffic
Import of medications in the postal traffic is not allowed.
According to the opinion of the Ministry of health, the Import of medications in the postal traffic for the needs of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia is not allowed. By the Act on medications and medical products it is prescribed that the medications for the personal needs of the Croatian citizens based on the prescription only legal persons that have the approval of the Agency for medications and medical product can import. Also the Ordinance on medication sales and medical products forbids selling of medications in the Republic of Croatia over internet, i.e. by postal orders if they are not approved for sales in the country.
Goods with origin
If the postal shipment contains goods that comply with the conditions for the preferential treatment in accordance with the Contract that the Republic of Croatia closed with a certain country, the statement given by the physical person in the contracting country is accepted as evidence in the postal traffic. The statement can be given on the customs declaration CN 23, form CN 22, or another internationally accepted document or a piece of paper that is enclosed to the documentation. If the named documents contain the original certificate, the customs house will without special request of post office of receiver approve the application of Article 21 of the Customs Act.