Apply for a refund or to pay fees

If you believe that you have paid too much in customs duty or VAT to the shipping company that declared the goods that you ordered online, you can request a review of the customs duty and VAT decision. Swedish Customs can correct the decision if you have applied within 3 years of the date when we received the customs declaration.

A gift a consignment that is sent from one private individual to another. You are not required to pay VAT for gifts that are worth SEK 600 or less.

If you believe that you have received an incorrect VAT demand that you have not yet paid, you should contact PostNord or the company that transported your goods.

If you have already paid an incorrect amount of VAT, please submit an amendment request to Swedish Customs.

Sending or receiving a gift

Once you or your shipping company have returned a product you bought online, you can get a refund of customs duty, VAT and possibly other charges.

To get the refund, you need to:

1. Send the goods back (the goods must leave the EU).
2. Apply to have your customs declaration voided by sending a letter to Swedish Customs stating the reasons for voiding the declaration. Add your signature and send it to:
   Tullverket
   Uppbördsbevakning Syd
   Ändring Import
   Box 31007
   200 49 Malmö
   (If you used a representative, e.g. Postnord, you can contact them and request to void the declaration.)
   
3. Apply for a refund using this form (in Swedish): Ansök om ändring och/eller återbetalning.

Your application needs to reach us no later than 90 days from when we received the customs declaration for the goods.

Check your customs declaration to make sure that there are no other goods listed under the item that includes your goods. You cannot recover duties for part of a consignment.

If you received new unit, e.g., to replace goods that were broken in transit, you are also required to pay customs duty and VAT for the new unit.

You can request a refund of any customs duty and VAT that was paid for the original unit.

To get the refund, you need to:

1. Send the goods back (the goods must leave the EU).
2. Apply to have your customs declaration voided by sending a letter to Swedish Customs stating the reasons for voiding the declaration. Add your signature and send it to:
   Tullverket
   Uppbördsbevakning Syd
   Ändring Import
   Box 31007
   200 49 Malmö
   (If you used a representative, e.g. Postnord, you can contact them and request to void the declaration.)
   
3. Apply for a refund using this form (in Swedish): Ansök om ändring och/eller återbetalning.

Your application needs to reach us no later than 90 days from when we received the customs declaration for the goods.

Check your customs declaration to make sure that there are no other goods listed under the item that includes your goods. You cannot recover duties for part of a consignment.

You can apply for a refund and get back the duty and VAT you have paid. In order for the mobile phone to be exempt from customs duties and VAT, you need to submit documents to Swedish Customs proving that you owned the mobile phone before you left the EU.

You should attach supporting documents to your application, such as:

• Bank statements from your bank account or from Paypal, for example, showing the amount you paid for the goods.
• Proof of purchase of the missing item.
• Travel bookings for travel outside the EU.
• Correspondence with the party returning the goods.

The description of the goods in the import declaration must be detailed so that the information on the goods in the declaration can be linked to the information on the goods in the accompanying supporting documents.

We will reimburse you provided you can prove that the goods did not arrive in the EU. For goods that have disappeared within the EU, Swedish Customs will only refund if there is proof that the goods have left the EU.

For questions about lost parcels, you should contact your carrier.

If, as a private individual, you own a broken article that you want to send to a country outside of the EU to be repaired, processed or exchanged, you may be eligible to pay reduced customs duty and VAT for the article when it returns to you. In some cases, you may be completely exempt.
This is known as “outward processing”. For outward processing, you need authorisation from Swedish Customs.

Am I required to pay any customs duty or VAT at all?

If the repairs are covered by the goods’ warranty, you are not required to pay anything as the goods return.

If the repairs are not covered by the warranty, you will be charged:

• Customs duty for the cost of the repairs and customs duty for shipping and insurance expenses as the goods are returned to the European Union.
• VAT on the cost of the repair, customs duties and any other taxes and charges.

If your goods are duty-free, i.e., the rate of customs duty is 0%, you only pay VAT on the costs for repairs, shipping and fees.

How to apply for outward processing

Retain the receipt that you are given as you send your goods. This receipt is your proof of export. When the goods return to you, the transport undertaking (which may be PostNord or any other forwarding agent), will often submit your import declaration and collect any customs duty or VAT from you. To avoid this charge, you must inform the transport undertaking that you intend to reimport the goods after outward processing. The transport undertaking will then apply for outward processing in your customs declaration. The transport undertaking may want to see your proof of export and a copy of an invoice or a similar document from the company repairing the goods, where it is stated that the document refers to repairs, as well as the amount paid.

If, as a private individual, you send an article to be upgraded or otherwise improved, you may be eligible for a reduced rate of customs duty or VAT when your article returns. Examples of improvements include refitting jewellery with new stones, renovating musical instruments and upgrading functions in cameras and watches.

Improvements of this nature are known as ‘works’ and are included in the outward processing customs procedure. For outward processing, you need authorisation from Swedish Customs.

What am I required to pay?

You are required to pay the following when sending an article for improvements:

• Customs duty on the cost of the works
• VAT (calculated based on the cost of the works + customs duty)
  If your goods are duty-free, i.e., the rate of customs duty is 0%, you only have to pay VAT on the costs of the works.

How to claim a reduced rate of customs duty and VAT

Retain the receipt that you are given as you send your goods. This receipt is your proof of export.

When the goods return to you, the transport undertaking (which may be PostNord or any other forwarding agent), will often submit your import declaration and collect any customs duty or VAT from you. To avoid this charge, you must inform the transport undertaking that you intend to reimport the goods after outward processing. The transport undertaking will then apply for outward processing in your customs declaration.

The transport undertaking may want to see your proof of export and a copy of an invoice or a similar document from the company repairing the goods, where it is stated that the document refers to repairs, as well as the amount paid.