Being a novice in Croatia,

[edd]

I bought bathroom fittings here, in the UK, and shipped them out to Croatia via FedEx. They were held up in Croatian Customs until taxes and duties amounting to 2,000 kuna were paid. I had put a value of £500 on the package which was what I paid for the contents. This means that the taxes and duties added 40% to the cost - not including the price of shipping! Am I a mug? Having already paid VAT here does anyone know of any way I can recover any of these taxes/duties?

[alsdoubles]

Interesting. I sort of burned bridges coming to Croatia from UK. Paid zero duty on anything and everything. I brought here 3 large boxes and 4 suitcases. Gave away virtually a house full in the UK. Car etc....Thinking I will 'do' Croatian. And I have done Croatian. I really don;t know but, if it was a one way trip with no end product...(profit) I would suggest they had no right to tax you whatsoever. How you get it back. No idea. As a 'novice' here, you just pay out, all the time. Do you have anyone who can speak the language?

[susie]

It seems absurd that they can whack on random import duties, and slap on their PDV (VAT) at 22%, when you've already paid 17 1/2% in England. This they charge whether goods are brand new, or 50 years old!! Any chance to make money out of you. I guess the import duty is understandable as they want to discourage you buying nice bathroom taps in England, and want you to choose from their selection of half a dozen here. If you can produce a VAT receipt from England, they should only charge you the difference - i.e. 4 1/2% - and ONLY on new stuff. Sadly, I don't think you'll get a diddlysquat back from the Croatian end, but I think if you can produce a VAT receipt less than 3 months old, you can claim the tax back in England as it was bought for export.

I hope your bathroom will give you much pleasure

[joe]

I paid 400kn on a sushi knife worth 6o€

[Karl]

Edd, Unlikely that you will get any tax back from the UK gov. In future if you want to ship small items from the UK get it shipped to Slovenia and pick it up. Slovenia is in the Eu, hence no duty to pay

Susie, Croatia is outside the EU hence the various charges. Its not about making money out of you its about protecting the Croatian economy excatly the same way as the rest of Europe did before the Trade barriers came down. There are various LEGAL ways around these import laws and if anyone is thinking about importing possesions into Croatia please feel free to give me a call to discuss.

Regards

Karl

[gintwins]

What a laugh

I pitched up at the border at midnight with a van so full of stuff it was nearly bursting. the customs guys had been drinking, and where a bit fed up I was there. Anyway they asked to open a few small boxes, poked at the beds and TV etc. I told them that I had no documents/receipts so we all agreed that the value of contents was 1000 Euro. They asked for 350 in tax so I paid and ran. I can not have had less than £8000 of goods in the van. Look of the draw I suppose

[Ribaric]

Vot iss yur name and address?