Topics about TAX

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 Seno, 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 in 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 "threshhold") 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 in 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. 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.