ESGREEN doesn't add taxes, VAT, or other hidden charges. You pay us what you see on the order screen, i.e. goods sum-total + shipping cost.
HOWEVER - In most countries, you have to pay taxes or duties on imported goods. Sometimes goods under a certain value, or in certain categories, do not incur taxes. The rules are different in every country.
Unfortunately, there is no way for us to know the rules, regulations, customs, traditions, practices, loopholes, schemes, systems, paperwork, codes, laws, or rulings of every single country.
Therefore, we cannot, and will not, offer advice about taxes in your country.
As the buyer, it is your responsibility to find out that information before you order. If you have to pay import taxes and/or additional duties and sales taxes, then you would have to pay that to the courier upon receipt of the package(s). We can't calculate this for you and there is no way to pre-pay it.
If you are drop-shipping or sending a gift item to someone, please make sure they are aware of the possibility of having to pay taxes when receiving the goods. Please find out as much as you can about your import taxes in your own country before completing your order.
If you find out information about the import tax situation in your country, and you believe there are ways to minimize the taxes you have to pay (or eliminate the taxes altogether), just tell us what you need by putting instructions (regarding labeling, packing, declarations, invoices, etc.) in the comments field during checkout. We are more than happy to follow your instructions.
Customs & Import Taxes
Do I have to pay tax on orders I buy at ESGREEN?
Maybe. It depends on what country you are receiving the goods in.
Tax is a complex issue because it depends on what country you are receiving the goods into.
Some countries are easy to import into, and have few restrictions and no taxes. Other countries are ultra restrictive and have high taxes.
Before you start importing bigger quantities of China electronics to your country, you'll need to research what the law and practices are in your country.
Please read the following notes for some basic background...
No Sales Tax Charged By ESGREEN
There are no sales taxes or hidden charges to pay on the China side when you buy at ESGREEN - However, you may need to pay some taxes on your local side when you receive the goods. Please read below for more information. When you buy from China, and the products are delivered to your country, this is by definition importing. This means the process to receive the goods will usually be different to simply buying mail-order products from shops inside your country.
Import Duty and Sales Tax Charged By Your Country
Some countries charge tax on certain imported products, at certain quantity/value levels. Some countries do not. You are responsible for finding out the situation in your own country.
Whatever you order from ESGREEN, we will send you. We won't enforce any rules so it's up to you to make sure that what you are buying is OK to import into your country.
Many countries charge two kinds of tax when you import anything from overseas. These are
(1) Sales Tax (VAT);
(2) Import Duty. Usually these taxes are not very high, and the tax is calculated according to the value of the goods (+ shipping sometimes).
On the other hand, many countries do not charge any tax on certain types of goods, or on small shipments.
Declared Value: Packet Value Affects Tax
Usually, importing big quantities of goods from overseas is controlled by your country's customs quite strictly, but smaller quantities can be imported more freely. The definition of "big quantity" and "small quantity" (often defined by a value "threshold") varies from country to country.
The term "ad valorem" in import taxes means that the tax you have to pay is calculated as a percentage of the total value of the goods (+sometimes the shipping too). Obviously there would be an advantage to declare the value of the goods lower in such cases. This is known as "under-declaring" the goods and is not permitted, despite being widespread practice. Any customization you request from us in regard to declaration value on the shipping paperwork is at your own risk.
Declared Contents: Packet Contents Affect Tax
The category of goods, you are importing often has an effect on whether you have to pay tax or how much.
Obviously, certain categories of dangerous or restricted goods are illegal to import into most countries. Other, specific restrictions on certain items such as spy cameras and jammers may apply in your country as well - please research that information for your local country.
The declared contents of a package must be true and accurate for customs purposes. Any customization you request from us regarding declaration of packet contents is at your own risk.
Tax And Air Mail Packets
Typically, taxes are more often / more strictly applied to courier shipments (UPS, FedEx, DHL) than postal shipments (Air Mail, USPS, EMS). In many countries, for single items, postal shipping is a simple way to reduce or eliminate import taxes.
However, shipping by air mail is not necessarily a guarantee of avoiding such taxes.
How To Pay Import Taxes
If you have to pay any tax on the goods you receive, the most common way is that the taxes are first paid at customs by the courier (e.g. EMS, DHL, FedEx, UPS) and then you simply pay back the courier using cash or your credit card, when they deliver the goods to your door.
On bigger orders (meaning, for most countries, anything more than one or two cartons) you should consider hiring a professional licensed Customs Broker to assist you with the clearance of your goods when they arrive in your destination country. This is because tax and contents assessment is applied most strictly to bigger shipments.
Why You Need To Do Your Own Research
Import and tax rules are
(a) different in every country;
(b) changing often;
(c) highly dependent on the shipment size and contents; and
(d) not consistently applied by your country's different ports and customs houses.
Therefore ESGREEN cannot offer you specific advice about how much tax you will have to pay, or any guarantees related to this issue.
We will always do our best to help you import successfully and profitably. If you have any doubts, simply open a live chat or help ticket with our English-speaking Customer Support Team.
Sometimes the importing rules according to your country's government and customs are not enforced as strictly or consistently as they say. A good way to find out the realities of importing into your country is to begin with a series of smaller orders from ESGREEN and make careful notes of what (if any) steps you had to go through or charges you had to pay. You may be pleasantly surprised how easy importing is for you.
Who Provides Import Paperwork?
In general all the paperwork required for clearing your goods through customs is provided by ESGREEN. Usually the shipping invoice and courier waybill included with all shipments from ESGREEN is sufficient.
Sometimes additional paperwork such as product licences are required by customs. We track all of your shipments until they reach you, so if there is such a requirement, we will respond to it promptly on your behalf, usually without the need for you to take any action.
You may need to show a copy of the shipping invoice to receive your products in some cases, and we will give you the papers you need on request.
It is your responsibility to confirm the details of the shipping paperwork with ESGREEN before the goods are sent out. We will follow your instructions for customizing the shipping documentation according to your requirements, and you, as the importer, bear full responsibility for any exception arising from this paperwork.
Tax Liability
The importer is solely responsible for all import taxes, sales taxes, and any other customs-related charges.
ESGREEN accepts no liability for any such charges. Importing taxes and charges cannot and will not be quoted/predicted, and they cannot be reimbursed to you under any circumstances.
If an importer refuses to pay taxes or otherwise refuses to comply with requirements of the importing or customs clearance process, the goods will usually not be delivered successfully. In such cases the goods could be seized by customs, destroyed, or returned back to China. In any such cases you, the importer, bear sole responsibility provided no error has been made by ESGREEN in following your order requirements.
Getting More Information About Taxes
Please undertake your own research about import regulations and taxes in your country.
We can offer informal pre-sales advice, but we will not offer any formal advice or guarantees due to this issue being beyond our control.
After you have placed your order from ESGREEN, make sure you get in touch with us to confirm details of any customization that you require for your shipping invoice declarations.
After your packets have been sent out from our warehouse, we will stay in touch with you and help you with any further importing process steps.
Can you help me by declaring the goods at [VERY LOW VALUE]?
First, we will do our best to help you with import regulations. If you have special instructions for the waybill and invoice declaration on your orders, you need to tell us these instructions every time you order, using the online checkout comments box. One such example is instructing us to declare the value below a certain value.
Can we always declare low? Like, under $30?
The answer is NO... because your order value may be much higher than this and declaring that low value would not be feasible.
If you need advice about whether a particular declared value is deemed possible, before you pay, you can check out an order and submit a ticket with your order number. We will then look at the contents of your order and your country and assess what declared value is sensible.
Why I was asked for "CPF" number?(Brazil Customers)
Our customers in Brazil have informed us that companies importing anything to Brazil are supposed to state their "CNPJ" number, and individuals are supposed to state their "CPF" number on invoices. So if you want us to ship your order to Brazil, please make sure you give us the correct "CNPJ" or "CPF" number, so the package can go through customs smoothly.