The duty exemption rules have not changed. Accordingly, the VAT exemption for gift items worth up to 45 euros* can also be applied.

*See also: "What is the duty exemption threshold?"

Yes, all shipments from outside the European Union go through a mandatory customs procedure after arrival in Hungary, since the VAT exemption for shipments under 22 euros ceased in all countries of the European Union as of July 1, 2021. The parcel cannot be delivered to the addressee without release for free circulation by the customs authority.

According to the applicable duty exemption rules, only such items can be treated as gifts without VAT, which are sent as a gift from a private sender to a private recipient, i.e. on an occasional basis and without commercial intent, the total value of the products placed in the parcel does not exceed 45 euros* and does not contain excise goods (tobacco, alcohol).

If there is only one excise product in the gift parcel, for which the recipient does not have an import permit* for the product at the customs authority, customs clearance cannot be carried out. The parcel will be returned to the sender and at the same time recipient will be notified.

Although tobacco and excise goods are included in the duty exemption decree, their import into Hungary is not possible without an excise permit.

Tobacco and excise goods may be brought into the country duty- and VAT free only in personal luggage.

*More information on licensing conditions for products subject to excise regulations can be found at https://nav.gov.hu/. If you would import an excise product in the future, on the preliminary customs clearance order to be submitted to Magyar Posta, it is necessary to name the licensed service provider carrying out the customs clearance, given that the Post does not clear excise products. Businesses licensed to import excise products can be found at https://nav.gov.hu/ado/jovedeki_ado/tajekoztatok_informaciok/jovedeki_engedellyel_rendelkezok.

You do not have to pay VAT, if the authority approves the customs clearance of a parcel with a value of up to 45 euros*, received as a gift between private individuals.

A customs clearance service fee has to be paid even if the result of the customs clearance does not establish a VAT payment obligation. Customs clearance as a gift can be initiated with the chargeable* ordered postal customs clearance service.

*The tariff is available HERE.

No, because the application of a duty exemption title (e.g. gift) is an option, not mandatory. Accordingly, the customs clearance of the shipment is possible both by ordered and automatic postal customs clearance methods.

The condition for customs clearance as a gift is the use of ordered postal customs clearance, which can be initiated with a previously submitted Import customs clearance order and with a gift declaration from the sender.

If you do not wish to arrange customs clearance in advance, in the absence of a prior order, Post will handle the shipment in the framework of automatic postal customs clearance.

In the case of a shipment of lower value, it is worth considering which customs clearance procedure to use:

a) In the framework of ordered postal customs clearance, customs clearance as a gift, in the case of an exemption request accepted by the authority, the package is free of duty and VAT up to a shipment value of 45 euros, but at the same time, the fee of the ordered customs clearance service has to be paid.

b) During automatic postal customs clearance, the shipment is charged with 27% VAT calculated on the total value*, however, due to the lower customs clearance fee determined by the value of the shipment, the total amount to be paid may be more favorable overall than in the case of ordered postal customs clearance**.

*The total value, i.e. the VAT base, is the sum of the value of the shipment and the international shipping fee.

**The tariff is available HERE.

What documents are required for customs clearance asThe import customs clearance order submitted before the shipment arrives in Hungary is a condition for clearance as a gift, of a shipment from a private sender to a private recipient, the value of which does not exceed 45 euros.a gift?

The gift declaration from the sender must be sent as an attachment to the preliminary customs clearance order, that contains the sender and recipient's data, tracking number, detailed content, value, quantity, and confirmation that the parcel was intended as a gift.

There are no formal requirements for the gift declaration, it can be done on the form available HERE or email is also suitable.

Under different conditions it is possible, yes. First of all it is important, to send a preliminary Import customs clearance order to Hungarian Post, so before the item arrives in Hungary.

Duty exemption on the basis of items containing objects for the personal use of a foreign nationality student or pupil, who attending full-time course. Required documents to send:

• import customs clearance order
• the certificate of school attendance.

Please note that:

• VAT shall be payed on computers, computer accessories.
• This duty exemption shall not be applied to food content.
• Food content may be customs cleared as gift (please find details in above questions and answers), but for one parcel only one kind of duty exemption can be applied (e.g. goods of personal use and gift can not for the same parcel).

To make a customs declaration click here!

The duty exemption threshold is set out in the Customs Exemption Regulation, expressed in EUR. However, in the Hungarian customs clearance process, the value of consignments is declared in HUF, which is not a fixed amount due to the fluctuation of the exchange rate.

For this reason, taking into account the provisions of Article 127 of the Customs Exemption Regulation, Article 48(3) of the VA and taking into consideration the regulation of Article 138. § (3) of Act CLII of 2017 on the implementation of the EU Customs Law, the Customs Authority shall also fix in HUF the equivalent of the amounts expressed in EUR each year, with annual validity.

In case the calculated HUF amount of the consignments exceeds these thresholds during customs clearance, then customs duties and VAT must also be paid.

Due to the change of the European Union regulation on July 1, 2021. In all countries of the European Union, including Hungary, the VAT exemption for shipments under the value of 22 euros from outside the EU has ended, so all shipments from outside the EU must be processed by customs. VAT and customs duties above 150 euros must be paid for shipments. A postal customs agent service fee is also payable for carrying out customs clearance or participating in it.

On the https://posta.hu/postal_customs_agent_service page, we have collected the most important decrees and regulations related to customs clearance under “Other information, additional useful information”.

Automatic customs clearance means that the forms to be submitted to Customs Authority are filled in by the Post Office on the basis of data received electronically from abroad, i.e., in the absence of any other customer instructions, the clearance of consignments sent to private individuals is carried out without the involvement of the addressee.
Automatic clearance can be done in case of consignments for which all the necessary data are available to complete the customs declaration, to carry out the customs procedure, and the value of the contents does not exceed EUR 150 and also the contents are not excise goods, perfume, or cologne.

When ordering, please give your exact details! When entering your personal data, always enter your full, real name, make sure you give the nearest address as detailed as possible (street, house number, floor, door, etc.), pay attention to entering the correct postcode, and giving your email address and phone number accurately. For shipments under €150, there is no extra work for you to do - the Post will perform the customs clearance automatically and will only notify you of the customs clearance and payment of the fee.

Customs clearance is carried out by the Post Office on the basis of the electronic data automatically sent in advance by the webshop or the foreign post office, however the NAV may request confirmation of the content and value of the consignment.

1. the value of the goods exceeds EUR 150
2. the consignment contains excise products (e.g., tobacco, alcohol) or perfume/cologne
3. the consignee requests customs clearance of the consignment as a company or organisation
4. customs clearance is requested as a gift, because the consignment was sent by an individual and the contents are a gift of less than EUR 45
5. the consignment contains other duty-free contents and the consignee requests clearance accordingly
6. the consignee requests the consignment to be cleared through a different VAT rate calculation
   

The order must be given in advance, before the consignment arrives in Hungary and the consignment identification number must be known. Details can be found at https://posta.hu/postal_customs_agent_service.

Customs clearance orders can be submitted only on a case-by-case basis per each consignment. Transit orders can also be issued on a case-by-case basis only. The new mandate form can be downloaded from https://www.posta.hu/ugyfelszolgalat/nyomtatvanyok_urlapok

There is no personal customer service available for customs clearance.

Without a customs clearance order sent to the Post Office in advance, all shipments under EUR 150 are cleared automatically by the Post Office as addressed to a private individual. We recommend that if you are expecting a consignment on behalf of a company, you should arrange for company customs clearance in advance before it arrives to Hungary. For details on how to give advance clearance, please visit https://posta.hu/ugyfelszolgalat/vam.

The Post Office performs customs clearance based on the detailed shipment data sent electronically by the online shops/foreign post offices to an international postal IT system. The Post Office is not obliged to examine the parcel data; however, the NAV might request verification of the content and the value of consignment. The Post Office receives electronically the sender's and consignee's details, the weight, content and value of the consignment and the international postal delivery fee. If all the data is available, the Post Office will automatically clear low-value shipments from outside the EU. If all the necessary data for customs clearance have not been received electronically, the consignee will be notified by SMS/email or letter and further information about the consignment will be requested.

The Hungarian Post automatically carries out the customs clearance for consignments containing goods with a value of less than EUR 150 within the framework of a special customs clearance procedure established jointly with the NAV on the basis of a legal authorization. Customs clearance is carried out without a separate addressee order, speeding up and simplifying the presentation to customs of consignments of goods from third countries. If the post office receives all the data electronically from the sending post office / webshop, the customs clearance will take place automatically and the recipient will only be notified of the payment of the VAT and customs clearance fee. If the consignee does not wish to have customs clearance carried out by the Post Office, he/she can arrange it before the arrival of the consignment.

The Hungarian Post receives the details of the consignment electronically in advance, including the data of the sender and recipient, the value and content of the consignment and the international delivery fee from the sender's webshop/foreign post office via an IT system dedicated for this purpose.

In most cases customs clearance is automatic, electronic data based and quick. When the addressee receives a notification as any data or document is missing, it takes longer and depends on the response time of the addressee as well. Post sends a second notification if no reply arrives but parcels and letters which are subject to customs clearance are not longer held than 20 days. After storage period is over items are sent back to sender.

No. The content of a parcel can not be modified for the request of the addressee. The whole parcel has to be customs cleared or the whole will be sent back to sender.

There is no obligation to pay customs duties and VAT in case of goods arriving in Hungary, purchased from EU member states. EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. For the time being, Northern Ireland remains part of the EU VAT zone, so goods from Northern Ireland will not be subject to VAT until 2024.
At the same time, goods from third countries may arrive in Hungary from an international distribution centre in the EU where they have not yet been cleared (VAT, customs duties). The customs clearance of items arriving from such European distribution centres is performed at the International Postal Exchange Centre of the Hungarian Post (NPKK), in the same way as for consignments from outside the EU.

Northern Ireland enjoys a special status until 31 December 2024, according to which in case of the sales of goods it will be treated as an EU Member State and EU customs, VAT and statistical legislation will continue to apply.

We need accurate data because we present the received consignments to customs on the basis of the data provided when ordering. Furthermore, it is important that an accurate name, street address, email address and mobile phone number are always provided when ordering to ensure that we can contact the recipient if they have to do anything during customs clearance.

The price of products ordered with free shipping typically does not include the international shipping fee, it is provided by the web store as another discount, within the framework of an individual promotion.
The online shop pays the delivery fee, which is also included in the electronic customs data. Customs clearance is initiated by the Post Office on the basis of the electronically sent shipment data, and the VAT is thus based on the value of the shipment and the amount of the international shipping fee.

Most major online platforms and web stores are registered into IOSS. If the price includes VAT when purchasing the goods on the online interface, that is, you must also pay the VAT, then we can talk about an IOSS registered online store.

We recommend that you contact the customer service of the online store for more information regarding IOSS registration.

Based on the VAT Act (§ 253/P, § 12/B § (2) aa) and ab)), it is not possible for companies with a tax number to release items arriving via distance sales into free circulation taking into account the IOSS identifier. We cannot comply with the import customs clearance orders submitted in this regard, because the customs procedure can only be completed by paying the value added tax established by the customs authority. The online sales platform is responsible for refunding the amount of tax paid at the time of purchase.

You can submit your customs declaration via the NTCA (NAV) eVám interface, where you can also settle the VAT and any customs duty. In this case, the Post participates in the customs clearance of its consignment as an intermediary, for which it charges an intermediary fee. You can pay the fee when the shipment is delivered or when you receive it at the post office.

During the customs procedure, a customs declaration must be submitted to NTCA (NAV) for all consignments containing goods ordered from outside the EU, regardless of whether VAT has already been paid in advance in the foreign online store. Post charges an intermediary fee for customs clearance as set out in the General Terms and Conditions for Postal Services.

Yes, as of 1 July 2021, in the case of items with an internal value not exceeding EUR 150, NAV will also charge an amount of VAT of less than EUR 10.

VAT is payable on the value of the consignment plus the shipping costs.

During the automatic postal customs clearance, the applied VAT rate will be uniformly 27%. By submitting a prior declaration (or requesting a subsequent review), it is possible to have the customs clearance carried out at a different rate. Please note that the fee for postal customs clearance on the basis of a prior declaration (Contract Postal Customs Clearance) and, in the case of a subsequent review, the review fee differs significantly (higher) from the fee newly introduced on 1 July for automatic postal customs clearance.

You will receive a link and an access code via email or SMS about the amounts to be paid. By clicking on the link, you can pay the amount online by credit card and download the document stating the successful clearance and the customs charges by entering the postcode of the consignment. Once the payment has been made, the e-invoice will also be available on the same online interface. In case of cash on delivery payments, you will receive the access code required to download the e-invoice upon delivery. The e-invoice and the document stating the successful clearance are available for 60 days.

VAT is regulated by the current VAT Act (§ 74-76), according to which the VAT base also includes the international shipping fee.

VAT is regulated by the current VAT Act (§ 74-76), according to which the VAT base includes the international shipping fee. Regardless of whether the recipient has paid a delivery charge to the online shop or has been able to order free of charge, the sending online shop has paid a delivery fee to the foreign post office, which is an amount that increases the VAT base and must be taken into account when calculating VAT. The shipping fee is also added to the value of the shipment when calculating VAT. The Post Office will take the international shipping fee into account in the VAT calculation if the sender has explicitly stated this in the customs data.

In this case, the Post Office is involved as an intermediary in the customs clearance of your shipment, for which it charges an intermediary fee.

If your low-value consignment arrives from a country outside the EU, VAT and postal clearance fees will be charged. The VAT rate is 27% of the value of the goods plus the shipping costs. In major online shops registered in the IOSS system you can pay VAT in advance at the time of ordering, together with the value of the goods and the shipping costs, so that you only have to pay a postal clearance fee for customs clearance in Hungary. The customs clearance fee is determined by a banded fee based on the value of the shipment, which you can pay online (if you are notified of the online payment option when the goods arrive in Hungary) or when the shipment is delivered.

Major foreign webshops are already registered in the IOSS system, which allows them to collect VAT on the goods ordered at the time of ordering. In such cases, the Hungarian Post receives a special code from the foreign postal service together with the electronic shipment data, which confirms that VAT has been collected in advance on the shipment. If the code is correct and the NAV confirms this during customs clearance, the consignment will no longer be charged VAT. It may occur that the special IOSS code is not correct, in which case the recipient will be liable to pay VAT. Due to the double VAT payment, the recipient can claim back the VAT paid at the time of purchase from the webshop.

If the goods from a third country arrive in Hungary from an international distribution centre in the EU (e.g., the Netherlands) where the actual customs clearance and the payment of VAT and customs duties have not yet taken place, the incoming consignment must be cleared at the International Postal Exchange Centre of the Hungarian Post in the same way as consignments from outside the EU.

The shipment identification number will be provided by the sender along with the order confirmation email. Accordingly, the content associated with the ID can be retrieved.

As of 1 July 2021, VAT exemption for shipments under EUR 22 has been abolished and so all shipments are subject to VAT, customs duty is also payable on shipments over EUR 150, if they come from outside the European Union.
The general steps in the customs clearance process are as follows:
1. For shipments below EUR 150, customs clearance takes place automatically without notification to the consignee. In case all the necessary data for customs clearance is not available, a notification will be sent requesting the data for automatic customs clearance.
2. After customs clearance, the consignee will be notified of the possibility of online payment, the amount of VAT and postage to be paid, via the contact details indicated on the shipment (email or SMS).
3. We will forward the shipment to the delivery post office. If payment has not been made online, we will collect the amount upon delivery.

You have 48 hours from the date of notification to pay online with your credit card. After that, you can only settle the imposed customs charges and postal customs clearance fees by cash on delivery.

The contact details, including electronic contact details, are provided to the Post Office by the webshop/foreign post office via an IT system. If the electronic contact information has not been uploaded in the shipment details, or it has been entered in the wrong format, the Post Office will not be able to send an SMS or email. The Post Office strives to receive all consignment data in advance and in the correct format, therefore it constantly monitors incoming data and coordinates with foreign postal services.

The contact details, including electronic contact details, are provided to the Post Office by the foreign post office/webshop via an IT system. During the automatic customs clearance and for the online payment notifications, the Post does not check what information is on the address label of the consignment. The automatic customs clearance and the sending of the fee payment notification are carried out by the Post on the basis of the electronically available data.

All shipments from outside the EU must be cleared through customs, regardless of whether VAT was paid at the time of ordering. If goods arrive in Hungary without having been cleared in another EU country, they will be cleared by us, for which the Post charges a service fee.

Please contact our Customer Service as soon as possible.

Our delivery staff, who deliver ordinary and registered mail, do not have a credit card terminal, so unfortunately you cannot pay by credit card. If the received item is picked up at the post office, it is possible to pay by credit card, as most of our post offices have POS terminals. (Postal couriers delivering domestic and international parcels, sometimes large, registered letters, are usually equipped with a credit card accepting terminal, so you by them can pay for customs clearance by credit card.)

The delivery rules have not changed. If an ordinary international parcel, sent as a letter, cannot be delivered by letterbox due to its size, the recipient will be notified by the post office electronically or by paper notification, based on the information on the parcel. The received shipment can be collected within 15 days from the date of notification at the post office indicated in the notification.

In this case, we recommend trying to pay again at a later date. You have 48 hours from the date the notification is sent for online payment.

Excise products are those goods that are classified here by the Excise Act, and are therefore subject to excise tax, and their delivery and sale are subject to a special permit.

In postal traffic, the following excise products are most often sent as shipments:

• category of tobacco products (with the exception of electronic cigarettes): cigars, cigarillos, fine-cut and other consumer tobacco, refill liquid (for electronic cigarettes), smokeless tobacco products or nicotine-containing products that replace smoking
• category of spirits: spirits, wines, beers, alcohol products.

In postal circulation, parcels from private persons to private persons, with a value of up to 45 euros and arriving as gifts*, with contents corresponding to the exemption quantity limit, can be processed by customs.

*Customs clearance as a gift requires the use of postal customs clearance, which is done by submitting a preliminary import customs clearance order, and the gift declaration from the sender must also be attached.

The quantity limit is determined by Article 27 of the regulation of reliefs from customs duty (Regulation 1186/2009/EC), according to which the quantities that can relieve from import duties are as follows.

In the case of tobacco products:

• 50 cigarettes
• 25 cigars
• 10 pieces of cigars (weighing a maximum of 3 grams per piece)
• 50 grams of consumer tobacco
• or proportionate amounts of these products mixed together.

In the case of alcohol and alcoholic beverages:

• 1 liter for distilled spirits and spirits with an alcohol content exceeding 22% by volume
• 1 liter of undenatured ethyl alcohol products with an alcohol content of 80% or more
• 1 liter of distilled spirits and spirits, wine or other alcohol-based aperitifs, tafia, sake or similar drinks, the alcohol content of which does not exceed 22% by volume
• 1 liter of sparkling wines, liqueur wines; in the case of several items, a proportionately appropriate quantity
• 2 liters for still wines.

According to the provisions of the excise law, the import of these goods is subject to a permit and subject to excise duty depending on the quantity. Only those individuals who receive such products as a gift in the mail or bring them in personally are exempt from paying the excise tax, and their quantity does not exceed the amount specified in the duty exemption decree.

Exceeding the quantity limit, service providers with an excise license are entitled to carry out import customs clearance of excise products. Magyar Posta does not have an excise permit, so it does not have the possibility to handle larger quantities of excise goods.

In each case, Post consults with the recipients of items containing excise goods about the contents of the parcel and examines whether the available data matches the recipient's information. If it is proven that the content exceeds the quantity limit and the recipient does not have a valid excise permit* or has not commissioned a company authorized to import excise products, the package cannot be processed by customs and must be returned to the sender, of which the recipient will be notified in writing.

*An important rule is that the authority does not issue excise permits to private individuals, due to its unique and special regulations.

Excise products arriving in commercial circulation can only be processed by customs upon presentation of a valid excise permit*. We recommend that after ordering alcohol or tobacco products from the online store - if you do not have an excise permit - you contact a company authorized to import excise products (the list of service providers is available on the website https://nav.gov.hu/) and organize the customs clearance of the products in cooperation with them. At the same time, notify Post of the involvement of the chosen importer with an excise license who participates in customs clearance, via the contact form "Preliminary customs clearance orders and provisions" available at https://www.posta.hu/postal_customs_agent_service by submitting an import customs clearance order.

*An important rule is that the authority does not issue excise permits to private individuals, due to its unique and special regulations.

In all cases, Post will contact the recipients of items containing excise goods. Customs clearance orders submitted in advance speed up the customs clearance process, but in the absence of a prior order, the supporting documents can also be sent upon notification of the Post. If the document confirming the customs clearance of the excise goods as a gift or in commercial circulation is not available, the package cannot be cleared by customs and must be returned to the sender.

The service is available to private individuals if the customs clearance of their shipment was carried out using an automatic postal procedure, but the subsequent modification (review) is justified by a different tax rate or a difference in value, and it is also available if the original procedure was carried out by ordered postal customs clearance.

The service is available for companies and other business organizations if the original procedure was performed by ordered postal customs clearance, and is also available if the basic procedure was performed by automatic postal customs clearance and the purpose of the subsequent procedure (review) is to conduct a procedure ending with a customs administration decision establishing a payment obligation; in such a way that the party indicated as the declarant on the decision will not be a customer of Magyar Posta (the applicant) but Magyar Posta Zrt. The reason for this is that it is not possible to change the status of the declarant-representative, and as a result, a VAT certificate in the name of the customer of Magyar Posta is not issued.

Yes. The subsequent amendment involves the submission of a new customs declaration, the conduct of a new customs procedure, for which the Post charges a fee.

When goods received from a non-EU country are returned to the sender, it is possible to reclaim the customs burden paid upon importation. In order to receive a refund, arrangements must be made before the item is returned.

When sending items for which the customer requests a refund of customs or other charges (since the entry into force of the new Union Customs Code on May 1, 2016), an Export Accompanying Document must be attached to the CN22/CN23 postal customs declaration, regardless of whether the value of the goods reaches 1,000 euros or not.

Post issues the Export Accompanying Document and presents the goods to customs upon request, based on the written Export Customs clearance order. Reclaiming the paid customs burden and conducting export customs clearance are chargeable services.

For the export customs clearance of postal items under the value of 1,000 euros, it is sufficient to fill in the CN22 or CN23 postal customs declaration form, there is no need to carry out the export customs clearance procedure.

From a consignment value of 1,000 euros, the export customs clearance of the consignment must be carried out. At the sender's request, the Post issues the Export Accompanying Document and presents the goods to customs on the basis of the written Export customs clearance order. Carrying out export customs clearance is a fee-based service.