Since its birth and arrival in Spain, Aliexpress has not stopped sweeping among those who choose to fill the shopping cart at the touch of the screen. With very low hook prices, this market for ‘low cost’ products has crept into the shopping route of millions of people on five continents, who are looking for original articles or garments or replicas of leading brands at very low costs. Now, when they are brought home, we can make sure they do n’t go through customs .
Aliexpress products must pay VAT in Spain
Because it is true that sometimes we choose to buy things that are not too important that are in the corner bazaar, but other times we have the opportunity to import smartphones and accessories with a practically unbeatable value for money.
We lack fingers to count Chinese manufacturers and the competition is increasing, if the move goes well, we will have made a great purchase, but if it goes wrong, it may not have been worth it.
This is what we have with Aliexpress, where currently the purchase and import of any product from outside the European Union (or from the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla) must go through a control and pay a community tariff, as well as regulate the taxes that are applied in the country of destination (VAT). Or what is the same; Since June 2021, all purchases that come from any non-EU country, such as China, have to pay VAT when entering Spain.
How to avoid going through customs
In this, customs are responsible for registering and allowing the passage of merchandise that enters and leaves through the border of a country, in order to avoid the trafficking of illegal products and ensure the payment of the corresponding taxes. The famous customs traffic light, when it is red, means that the package is held in customs and there is a need to check its content, so we will be forced to pay an extra if we want to release it.
Therefore, you should know that the customs of Spain are very agile with AliExpress orders due to the agreement of the Chinese state with the Spanish Government. Due to changes in European regulations on imports, all shipments made by AliExpress must pay 21% VAT (7% IGIC in the Canary Islands) and the corresponding tariffs according to the amount of the sales invoice.
In addition, the obligation to pay these taxes and duties now falls on the seller himself, which means a significant increase in the prices that can be found in AliExpress products as of July 1, 2021.
In any case, as you can choose by means of a simple trick, it is that only all those orders that exceed 150 euros in value will have to pay customs fees, those with a value less than 150 euros, will be exempt from paying customs duties. , but they will have to pay the corresponding VAT, regardless of their value.
You can choose to declare your package as a gift
Shipments by Super Saving, SHUNYOU and China Post are usually cheaper in the first instance, however, they suffer many problems when reporting the VAT declaration to the Post Office.
Therefore, it is safer to make purchases with AliExpress Shipping or DHL, since this problem is not so common.
However, the trick that we mentioned to you, and that has been in operation since last year at this point to save VAT, is to opt for AliExpress Shipping in the event that combined shipments are made. This trick does not guarantee that VAT will not be charged, but it is rarer for this to happen.
We can also use the volume of the package, since if it is small, it is best to ask the seller to declare your package as a gift (gift in English). Gifts are not exempt from the same customs procedures as other merchandise. But gifts are often considered not to be overpriced and therefore more likely not to be checked at customs.