It’s been an interesting year for the Algarve Express team post-Brexit, and whilst as a transport and removals company they do local (Portugal) and EU moves, a lot of their clients are UK based. They had to come to grips with the new import/ export regulations pretty quickly, and feed this information and requirements back to their clients. At the start of the year, it seemed like the authorities didn’t really know themselves what to do, but as time has gone on, it’s now a relatively simple process, albeit with more paperwork and more costs.
The higher costs have made the smaller consignments and parcels no longer cost-effective but for anyone wanting to ship over anything upwards of say 2-4 m3 (let’s call that a washing machine and a couple of large suitcases) it’s still perfectly viable.
A frequent question asked though is “Do I really have to pay Import Duty and VAT, I’ve owned these things for years?” The simple answer is yes, post-Brexit you do. You need to tell us the value of these goods and Customs will charge you a certain percentage of that value. So, if you value your goods at say € 1,000 you will be charged 23% of that value (i.e. € 230) plus the customs import duty, the amount of which will depend on what it is you are shipping over. You can get an idea of these numbers here.
There is however an exception to this rule and that is if you are relocating to Portugal (or say back to the UK). The authorities will ask you to prove that you have left your current home country but, if that is the case, you can then apply to have your contents transported free of any duty and VAT.
Sounds complicated or too much like hard work, right? Don’t stress, it’s Algarve Express – they will help you through it. Contact Ian & Rob on:
PT: (+351) 289 393 707 | (+351) 968 807 244
UK: +44 (0) 1268 723601| +44 (0) 7989 417625
[email protected] | www.algarveexpress.com
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