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I'm somewhat aware of the workflow needed for importing personal items that are not in one's personal luggage when going through customs. For example, persons entering Portugal on a D7 visa are often advised to leave their stuff behind in their home countries, wait to be granted a resident permit, and then in the first year of residency have that stuff shipped to the Portuguese home, where it will presumably arrive duty-free (doesn't always work that way, according to some).
I don't have much to bring (nowhere near half a shipping container), but I do have a few boxes of books that may be prohibitively heavy for an airline, and it may also be difficult/expensive to find other storage for them. The resale value is neglibigle, but they have some utility for me, and they'd be difficult/expensive to replace from within Portugal/Europe. It may make sense for me just to pay the surface freight and eat the early importation duty, depending on what it amounts to.
This may be totally unrelated, but my understanding of VAT/IVA is that books have a lower tax rate than other general goods. I am not sure if this applies both to old/used books as well as new books, or if customs would have similarly lower rates on books, particularly old/used books of low declared value.
Is this directionally correct, or am I way off? Could anyone share helpful resources on customs/import duties, such that I could have an idea of what I may need to pay to import certain items without the new-resident exemption? TIA!
All I can say is that IVA/VAT for new books is 6%.
However, if you have online access to AT (Tax Authority/Finanças), you can ask them that specific question, because they are responsible for IVA and import taxes.
Sounds good. I will have to look into that more. In any event, I am impressed with the 6% VAT on new books. That's lower than the general sales tax where I currently reside 🙂
@dxj If these books are your personal possessions and have been owned by you for more than 6 months, you should be able to import them free of taxes and duty. You will need a Baggage Certificate to confirm your entitlement with Customs.
Assuming you have the Baggage Certificate, the freight company should be able to organise everything including Customs clearance and final delivery to your door in Portugal.
We can connect you with a suitable freight comapny if required.
@Gerry Even better 🙂 The books are indeed personal possessions owned by me for decades. I have shipped them overseas before quite cheaply by ordinary post (1-2 boxes of ~20L volume ~20kg for each, and allowing several months in transit). That may be too small an order for many freight companies, but I am not opposed to working with one if they can smooth out the clearance with Portugal.
To get the Portuguese Baggage Certificate properly, would I first need to be a resident of Portugal before any shipment? Or could I first ship the books before coming to Portugal as a non-resident / prospective resident, then sort out the details on arrival? The latter course of action seems riskier, but if that's a path well trodden, I could be persuaded to take it.
Sadly no. You will need to have your residency approved before the Baggage Certificate can be issued.
If you ship the books ahead of your move and without the BC, you will be required to arrange Customs clearance on arrival and pay duty and taxes. If not, you run the risk of storage charges and possible seizure by Customs.
Sounds like a parcels service such as FedEx will be right for you but you will still need to submit the BC when the goods arrive to avoid above.
@gerry OK, no worries, and still quite helpful. That's probably all I need to know in order to decide on what to do next. Many thanks!
