Country Information

Capital: Berlin

Language: German

Time Zone: UTC +1

Calling Code: +49

Currency: Euro €

Unit of Measure:Centimeter and Kilograms

Customs Information

Government Body: Der Zoll – Grenzenloser Einsatz für Deutschland

Website: http://www.zoll.de/DE/Home/home_node.html

Contact Number: +49 22 899 6807584

General Information

All shipments are subject to import duty and taxes when imported from outside the EU, this applies to private and commercial. Duty is calculated on the total value of the goods, shipping and insurance.

Germany customs offer a minimum threshold for duty and tax. If the total value of the goods does not exceed €150 duty will not be charged, If the value of the goods is below €22 VAT will not be charged. If the value of the item is below €5 both duty and VAT are not charged.

When importing and or exporting within Germany as a commercial entity you are required to have an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number. This was introduced after September 11 2001 and is used as a mechanism to establish secure trade. The same EORI number can be used throughout all European Union (EU) countries.

Germany customs are know to have very stringent customs procedures, when sending anything to Germany it is highly advised you do extra research make sure all rules and regulations are followed. E.g. double check all shipping documents are 100% correctly completed, if any information is missing or incorrectly entered the shipment may be rejected and returned to origin.

If you are looking to ship personal and household items to Germany it is possible to import them duty free however you must meet the following criteria.
-You have left your previous residence
-Have lived in the country of origin for at least 12 consecutive months
-Planning to become an office resident in Germany
-Goods are intended for personal usage
-Complete a C3 Customs form