Information about shipping & customs for Europe destinat

[iceman57]

I recently get a package from the USA sent in EMS. Seems that customs had been enforced. I rang them about and they explain me that some invoices were missing.

Here is the message I get printed from the Customs on the shipment :
"PLEASE REMEMBER TO ENCLOSE 5 COPIES OF THE INVOICE
- For all good samples and shipments destinated for outside the European Union.
- Shipments without invoice may be held in customs and could cause problems for your consignee."



So to insure your packages arrival over Europe, better to include the required 5 invoices copies (they explained that Paypal payment e-mail is valid as invoice copy).

[Nene]

Just to clarify for US senders, I've never known UK customs to be that tight so the rule obviously doesn't apply here. ^_^ Just the standard white form for Express mail from the US works fine here. No invoices need to be inside any parcel. I always request that none are put inside since I always ask for a low value to be declared anyway lol!

[iceman57]

Just to clarify for US senders, I've never known UK customs to be that tight so the rule obviously doesn't apply here. ^_^ Just the standard white form for Express mail from the US works fine here.

Interesting and useful for future expeditions

[Nene]

Just to clarify for US senders, I've never known UK customs to be that tight so the rule obviously doesn't apply here. ^_^ Just the standard white form for Express mail from the US works fine here.

Interesting and useful for future expeditions

Yes. Perhaps to counter this problem, you could tell sellers individually whom you purchase from at the time, to include multiple invoice copies. I doubt this thread will reach a wide enough audience. Plus I don't want US sellers to start including invoices in my parcels... or anyone from the UK for that matter. x.x

[ippojoe]

That is very strange, i've never experienced this myself in all my years of buying from the USA and Japan, i've never even heard of such a case from anyone else either.

Like Nene said, i believe receiving parcels from the US to the UK has never had this problem, and i hope this doesn't force US sellers to include invoices, as this would actually cause problems. ><

I think Iceman, this is a one off scenario, but if you're worried, id do as Nene suggested and email your sellers before they send your item, as this maybe just an issue in france, its never been an issue in the UK.

Hope you get things sorted. ^^

[Nene]

Like Nene said, i believe receiving parcels from the US to the UK has never had this problem, and i hope this doesn't force US sellers to include invoices, as this would actually cause problems. ><

Those were my thoughts, that's why I panicked for a moment. ^_^; If a sender puts an invoice showing $500 inside the package and a $10 value is declared on the front, it could actually get both the sender and recipient in trouble if UK customs decided to open the parcel and inspect it (although the one and only parcel I had opened was a plush toy - perhaps customs thought it was hiding some kind of illegal drugs inside. XD).

[ippojoe]

haha, poor plushie, was he violated....?

I recently received a package from japan with the contents totaling over $4000 USD, i asked for an extremely low value, and got the package with no trouble what so ever. If customs had opened the box to find an itemized invoice...i think id be up shit creek, lol. So i implore future sellers not to include an invoice with the package, ideally good communication between buyer and seller will avoid this type of incident.

that poor plushie.............

[darksuzaku]

Customs are always mandatory, at least in most European countries. If you check the online EMS tracking for any package you should see that it includes customs clearance.

What happens is that in most cases they just check the declared value, and if that declared value is low they just let it pass.

From time to time they threathen popular online shops or other bussineses to include the real value, because theorically, if you sell something you must provide customs information. But that's the most they can do. The print you see in your package is more or less a threat/reminder at sellers to make them provide the real price.

No country has the manpower to keep checking every single package, so if it passes the basic security detections (metal/explosive/etc...) they just let it pass. They only stop the ones they know for sure they would have to apply high taxes. That and if there's something that catches their attention like big logos of a well known busines..... something that cries "Here's some valuable content inside".

Of course all of this doesn't mean a package with a low declared value isn't going to be stopped but it lowers the chances of happening.

[Nene]

Poor P-chan, he refuses to talk about the incident. T.T

I can only imagine how much more you'd have had to pay, Ippo if you had an itemised invoice that was discovered.

[iceman57]

Ha ha seems I worried UK people, apologies

Well I think that US to UK is as simply as Canada to France, old country cousins able to read the documentation from each other. But maybe this kind of 5 invoice demand comes as says "Darksuzaku" from a custom control over a value packed or non understood language.

This also happened during Xmas season and that time is maybe more "controlled" than other time of the year.
As I always insure packages for their content values, maybe I've more package able to be stuck in customs, but I always get my cash back.
Additionnaly recent airplane bombing affair in america in the same period may have tight the controls of goods from USA.

That was the very first time in almost 10 years I faced such invoice request from any post or custom office (and as the cel was damn great, I rang them several times to check unlock day by day).