FAQ

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VAT must be paid for importing goods from a country outside the European Union. This tax is levied by customs by means of an import declaration (or import declaration). Normally, the VAT must be paid and the importer can deduct this paid VAT when submitting his VAT return.

The Article 23 permit makes it possible for you to reverse the VAT on import. This means that you immediately deduct the VAT you have to pay on the same import declaration. This reverse charge mechanism only occurs in the Netherlands and Belgium.

When you have an Article 23 permit, you do not actually pay VAT when importing goods. You state the VAT due in the import declaration. This VAT may be deducted again in the same return.

You can apply for an Article 23 permit via this link; Application for Article 23 permit.

To use our service from Belgium, you need to create an account via our website. We will ask for your CBE extract and a completed DV document.

We clear your products in the Netherlands. From there we ship the products to your specified address. The costs for this are stated in the air freight and sea freight manuals.

What about the VAT reverse charge?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to reverse the VAT for sea freight since the products are cleared for customs in the Netherlands and as a Belgian customer you cannot apply for an Article 23 permit. You are able to get the VAT back. To be able to do this, you need to apply for a Dutch VAT number.

For air freight, we can clear your products under Fiscal Representation. Then the customs clearance costs are €115,-.

If you want this, you must indicate this to us.

You can choose to have your shipment insured domestically. The insurance premium is 0.75% of the insured value of the goods, with a minimum of €10 per shipment. If the value of the shipment exceeds €100,000, you must request permission in advance from DHL customer service.

Unfortunately, we do not offer foreign insurance.

For more information about the DHL insurance view this PDF file; DHL PDF details insurance.

Our delivery time for air freight is 3-4 days after shipment. We fly several times a week from Shanghai and Shenzhen airports.

Our delivery time for sea freight is 31-33 days after shipment. We sail weekly from the ports of Shanghai and Shenzhen.

In consultation with us, you can also have your goods departed from another (air)port!

Incoterms

An Incoterm is an agreement between a factory and you regarding the shipment and who will take care of what. Please agree the incoterms FOB Shanghai or FOB Shenzhen with your supplier. This means that they bear the local costs associated with sea freight shipments. If not, we are forced to pass on these costs. The FOB costs can be found in the Sea Freight Manual.

FOB (Free On Board)

For sea freight we work with FOB. This means that the supplier delivers the goods to our agent and bears all other local costs (FOB costs). For example, you can think of the costs for loading the container, formatting documents, taking care of export and the costs at the port in China. This is required for ocean freight shipments. If you have not agreed FOB, we must pass on these FOB costs to you (for sea freight). This is also explained in our manual.

FCA (Free Carrier)

For air freight we work with FCA. This means that the supplier will deliver the goods to our agent, but will not incur any local costs. You must agree this with your suppliers if they place an air freight booking with us (this is stated in our manual).

EXW (Ex Works)

Some suppliers work with EXW. This actually means that nothing has been agreed at all. The responsibility of the supplier is purely to produce the goods. The shipment from the factory to our agent is yet to be arranged. All shipments (sea freight) also include local costs from our agent, in this case the supplier pays nothing at all.

For further explanation of terms you can visit this website.

You can request all codes regarding your products from your supplier!

HS code

Do you buy goods from suppliers outside the EU? Then you will soon come into contact with the term 'HS code'. HS codes (Harmonized System codes) are codes that the World Customs Organization (WCO) uses to classify goods. 183 countries are members of the WCO that use uniform HS codes for products. The HS code (also known as HS code: Harmonized System in the Netherlands) of a product consists of 6 digits and forms the basis for a more extensive product code that differs per country. This means that each country can individually expand the HS code of a product with additional numbers.

Taric code and commodity code

You usually need a 10-digit code if you import goods from a country outside the EU. The universal HS code of 6 digits is then extended with 4 digits, which may differ per product. We call this 10-digit code in the EU a Taric code or commodity code upon import.

By stating the Taric code or commodity code in your import declaration, Customs knows which products your import shipment contains and how much import duties you have to pay. The rate of import duties (and other forms of import tax such as import VAT) is therefore linked to the Taric code of a product.

You can look up the import duties percentage yourself on; Look up import duties percentage.

For more information on this, visit this link.

An EORI number is an identification number. You need it if you do business across the border and then have to deal with Customs. For example, if you have to file a tax return. In the Netherlands you also use an EORI number if you have an excise permit.

The EORI number ensures that data is exchanged faster in the EU. That works efficiently. Not only for Customs, but also for you.

You can request an EORI number via this link; Request EORI number.

Our pallets are Euro pallets. Its dimensions are 120 x 80 cm with a maximum height of 1.80 m. The number of pallets you need therefore depends on the number of CBM of your shipment. There is about 1.2 CBM on 1 pallet.

The costs of the pallets are stated in our manual; Sea Freight Manual.

If you have made a booking with us and you want to send the products via Bol, we offer you the function to immediately send your products to 1 of the 2 Warehouses of Bol. You indicate this when making your booking.

Check out our guides to find out the terms of LvB delivery!

With the help of our calculator you can already get a good insight into what the costs of your transport will be.

In addition, there may be additional costs (eg for sea freight) such as FOB costs or pallet costs. You can find these costs in the Sea Freight Manual. Also costs such as domestic insurance by DHL (optional) can be added.

It is also important to know that 21% VAT can be charged on the value of your goods. This depends on whether you have an Article 23 permit (see 'What is an Article 23 permit?' in the FAQ).

The import duties percentage is also settled. The import duty percentage depends on your HS code(s). You can look up the percentage yourself on; Look up import duties percentage.

To place a booking, you must first create an account. When your account is fully registered, you can place your first booking!

View this guide on how to create a booking; Create a booking manual.

Your supplier will receive the address details of our Warehouses in China from our agent in China as soon as your booking has been created and accepted by us.

Once your booking has been approved by us, you will receive an email from us with appropriate instructions for you and your supplier.

If you have made a sea freight booking with us and want to temporarily store the products with us, you can do so. We have a large warehouse with space for 40,000 m2 of products.

We work with pallets. Storage costs €1.95 per pallet per week. If you want to have a pallet shipped from the Warehouse, or an 'X' number of boxes from the pallet, you can schedule this via your dashboard.

For air freight bookings we can have the goods delivered to our warehouse.