How do I do the right thing when importing an online order?
Everything you need to know about import.
Import is the release of goods into free circulation and it is an action by which the customs authority enables the disposal of the goods for the purposes determined by the customs procedure in which they are placed. The person who carries out the importation is called the importer.
Wondering how your order is arriving from abroad? Follow the whole process.
Click here to download the document with the import process in North Macedonia.
Place of customs clearance
The ordered shipment arrives at certain places for the inspection of the goods by the customs authority (declaration of the goods) and for its customs clearance – Post Skopje customs office, or if it arrives by air transport – Airport Skopje customs office.
Customs declaration
The shipment is taken care of by companies that perform fast or regular delivery – based on the declared data in the shipment, it is determined whether the shipment is subject to import customs clearance and collection of customs and import duties or is exempt from customs clearance and payment of customs duties and import duties.
It is necessary to distinguish between the invoice value of the goods and the customs value of the goods. The customs value is the value of goods that is applied during customs clearance and includes the invoice value together with shipping costs (postage) and handling costs.
Shipments that have a value of 22 euros (including transport and handling costs) are released immediately after the shipment arrives; there is no obligation to submit a customs declaration for them.
For all other shipments that have a value above 22 euros (including transport and handling costs), there is an obligation to submit a customs declaration.
This customs declaration can be submitted by the carrier of the shipment (post or express mail) or another customs agent. It can also be submitted by a natural person who receives the shipment.
This is a matter of choice of the importer (legal or natural person) – it should be decided independently who will submit the customs declaration.
- goods sent by natural persons from abroad to natural persons in the Republic of North Macedonia,
- whose value per shipment and per declarant does not exceed a value of 800 euros in Denar equivalent and a net mass of up to 1,000 kg,
- the shipment should not be part of a regular series of similar shipments,
- not to be transported by an independent carrier as part of a larger cargo transportation,
- when it comes to goods of insignificant importance in cases where it is approved by the customs authority.
If these conditions are not met, it is mandatory to submit a customs declaration in a regular customs procedure. This declaration can be submitted by the importer (individual or legal entity), customs agent – freight forwarder or by the post or express mail.
This type of customs declaration is submitted for all shipments containing goods sent from abroad by legal entities, as well as all shipments subject to purchase and sale, for goods subject to restrictions, prohibitions and other import formalities.
- Postal customs declaration: if the value of the goods in the shipment is less than EUR 800 in Denar equivalent. When the sender is a natural person, a single customs rate of 15% and a VAT rate of 18% or 5% is applied, depending on the type of goods. When the sender is a legal entity, that is, it is a shipment ordered via the Internet, the rates according to the Law on Customs Tariff are applied when calculating the customs duties. The customs declaration is completed by the customs officer, and the duties are paid upon receipt of the shipment, and
- Single customs declaration only in electronic, paperless form: if the value of the goods in the shipment is greater than 800 EUR or the recipient of the shipment has declared that he wants the goods to be cleared at a rate according to the Law on Customs Tariff, in this case the declaration is submitted according to the existing regulations provided by Article 72 of the Customs Law, and Article 115 of the Decree on the Implementation of the Customs Law, as well as the Rulebook on the manner of filling out the customs declaration and the code of codes used in the customs procedure, usually through a customs agent (forwarder)
Documentation
Most often, from where the shipment is ordered, they mark it with a declaration that says what it contains, what its value is and where it comes from. This declaration is valid evidence describing the goods ordered.
If other documentation is required, the responsible person from the carrier of the shipment or from the customs office contacts the recipient. If it does not provide the necessary data, the value for which the order should be cleared is calculated by the customs officials.
If the person does not agree with the determined value, he has the right to submit an objection to it.
In the case when a shipment is sent from a natural person to a natural person, the sender should be careful to indicate the value of the goods, in order to more easily determine whether it is subject to regular customs clearance and payment of customs and import duties.
Additional costs
Costs that are included in the customs value for which an order should be subject to customs duty include the costs of postage (transportation) that occur outside of North Macedonia.
This means that if the order is 50 euros, and the postage (transportation) for it to arrive costs 10 euros, the total customs value of the order is 60 euros.
The customs value does not include other possible additional costs incurred in our country, which are calculated and charged by the Holding TAV Airports, or the Public Enterprise Macedonian Post.
After the customs value of the shipment is determined, the customs officers calculate the amount of duties that should be sent (customs, VAT and other import duties).
If the customs value of the shipment is less than 22 euros, it is exempt from customs and VAT. This does not apply if the shipment is an alcoholic beverage, tobacco product, perfume or toilet water.
If the customs value of the shipment is over 90 euros, then import duties, i.e. customs and VAT, must be paid. In this case, additional costs for handling and manipulation are paid, which are sent by the Holding TAV Airports and the Public Enterprise Macedonian Post Office.
These handling and manipulation costs are often charged for shipments that are exempt from paying customs duties and VAT upon importation, and citizens often think they are customs duties.
* This applies only if the shipment is sent by a legal entity, and does not apply if the shipment is received from another natural person.
Arrival of the shipment
At the moment when the shipment arrives on the territory of N. Macedonia, as long as no treatment is determined with it, it is under customs supervision and is treated as temporarily stored goods in a room for temporary storage or in a public customs warehouse.
After the completion of the whole process, the shipment arrives at your address!
How do I do the right thing when exporting an online order?
Everything you need to know about export.
With the export procedure, the customs authority approves the export of domestic goods from the customs territory.
Exporting involves the application of export and export formalities and trade policy measures. The seller or shipper of such goods is the exporter.
Wondering how shipping a product outside of your country works? Follow the whole process.
Click here to download the document with the export process in North Macedonia.
Preparation
The shipment to be sent outside the borders of our country is prepared in appropriate packaging for international transport.
Documentation
Along with the product, documents are prepared, the most important and mandatory of which is the commercial invoice. In addition to the invoice, depending on the requirements of the importing country, a packing list/delivery note and/or proof of product origin may be required.
- Name and address of the exporter (legal entity or sole trader)
- Name and address of the importer (distribution partner, intermediary or end user)
- Shipping address
- Net and gross mass, packaging dimensions
- Accurate description of the goods
- Quantity of goods, number and type of packages
- Price
- Terms of delivery and payment
- Country of origin
In addition to the invoice, in certain delivery countries with which North Macedonia has concluded free trade agreements, and in order for the buyer not to pay customs, it is necessary to prepare proof that the products are of Macedonian origin.
This can easily be done by filling in a declaration of origin in the commercial invoice, which can be done by any exporter for goods whose value does not exceed an amount of EUR 6,000 per individual shipment.
Customs declaration
In order for the shipment to be able to leave the customs territory of North Macedonia, a customs declaration must be submitted.
The customs declaration can be submitted by the e-merchant, but it can also be submitted by a customs agent – freight forwarder or by the sender – Macedonian Post or express post.
Also, the customs declaration can be submitted in a regular or simplified customs procedure.
Regular or simplified customs procedure
In the regular customs procedure, the export customs declaration has to be submitted for each shipment at the time of dispatch/export of the shipment, which considering the speed and costs is not advisable for e-merchants.
In simplified customs procedures, the e-merchant has the possibility to submit one customs declaration for all shipments sent during one day, regardless of the number of shipments and the number of buyers. For something like this, approval from the Customs Administration is required. This procedure is recommended for e-merchants who have a higher volume of work.
- The declaration is signed with a digital certificate
- Contains all necessary data
- The e-merchant has attached all the necessary documents (Article 73 of the Customs Law)
- The goods have been submitted for inspection by the customs authority (Article 73 of the CL)
If the shipment is exported by post, the customs authority at the exit is the one in which the shipment is taken over under a transport contract for transport to another country by the postal services.
Sending of the shipment
In order to send a shipment, the e-merchant can use the services of Macedonian Post, which has an approval for simplified customs procedures, and the whole work can be completed in any branch of Macedonian Post on the territory of the country. The forwarding agency of the Macedonian Post should be contacted beforehand. They can take over the shipment or it can be taken to any branch of the post office and be cleared for export by the Macedonian Post upon its receipt.
The shipment can also be handed over to express post companies, which can perform export customs clearance of the shipment at any time.
If the e-merchant wants to send the shipment independently, he should independently submit an electronic paperless customs declaration. This declaration is submitted to the competent customs office for export – it is the customs office Posta Skopje, based on the receipt of the shipment for export issued at the counters of Macedonian Post. This declaration is submitted through the Merchant Export Portal or by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) through web services, and a Movement Reference Number (MRR) is used to identify the export operation.
The e-merchant has the right to choose whether he wants to use a regular export customs procedure or a simplified export customs procedure – but one thing is mandatory – he has to submit a customs declaration.
After completing the whole process, your shipment arrives at the end buyer!
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