POSTAL CUSTOMS AGENT SERVICE

Ordering online from abroad? You need to know this if you are receiving a postal item from outside the EU. Watch our short summary video:

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Our postal customs agent service provides customs clearance for the import and export of postal items containing customs goods from or to outside the EU for individuals and organisations. Postal customs clearance can be performed by automatic clearance or by contract customs clearance. The cleared postal item is delivered by the competent post office according to the place of destination. The goods can only be released after payment of the postal service fee and customs duty (VAT, customs).

Contact Forms

Customs clearance contact form

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General Information request about postal customs agent services

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Download electronic invoice and customs document

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Postal customer code request for companies, legal entities

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Declaration of electronically initiated customs clearance in the NTCA eVÁM application.

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IMPORT POSTAL CUSTOMS CLEARANCE

POSTAL CUSTOMS CLEARANCE FOR PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS

 

Customs duties and service fees for postal items from non-EU countries for private individuals EUR 0-45
(up to HUF 19,000)		 EUR 45.01-150
(up to HUF 64,000)		 Above EUR 150
Purchased goods VAT + postal automatic customs clearance fee customs duty + VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee
Perfume, cologne VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee customs duty + VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee
Excise goods (e.g. tobacco, alcohol products) excise duty + VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee customs duty + excise duty + VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee
Postal items arriving free of charge Gift (goods from a private individual to a private individual) free of VAT, postal contract customs clearance fee VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee customs duty + VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee
Other (e.g. personal items of full-time foreign students or repatriating individuals, goods received from warranty repair) postal contract customs clearance fee

VAT is based on the value of the postal item plus the international shipping cost. For items with value above 150 EUR, the duty imposed is also a VAT base increasing factor.

The value limits expressed in euro contained in the duty exemption regulation are also set by the Hungarian customs authorities in hungarian forint, with annual validity. The amounts for 2023 are shown here.

Automatic clearance of purchased goods, cases and procedures:

  • the value of the goods does not exceed EUR 150
  • non-excisable product
  • not perfume or cologne

In the case of automatic clearance (SA), the customs declaration is issued by and submitted by Magyar Posta to the National Tax and Customs Administration (Hungarian abbreviation: ‘NAV’). It may do so as a declarant, without any specific instructions from the addressee, provided that all the necessary information on the contents of the postal item is available to Magyar Posta. If Magyar Posta does not have all the information necessary to complete and submit the customs declaration, or if the NAV makes a further request after submission, Magyar Posta will contact the addressee (using one of the addressee's known contact details, by text message, e-mail or letter) for the provision of additional information. If NAV does not make any further request, the certificate of release for free circulation will be made available to Magyar Posta.

Automatic customs clearance will also be performed if the addressee has already paid the VAT amount together with the purchase price in advance in the foreign online shop (one-stop import clearance - IOSS). Postage can also be paid online, by credit card or on delivery.

In the case of automatic clearance, the VAT rate applied is 27%.

Have you received a notification for the provision of additional data during customs clearance? Click here!

Normal customs clearance of goods purchased or received (contracted), cases and procedures:

  • the value of the goods included in the postal item is at least EUR 150
  • the postal item contains excise goods or perfume
  • the addressee requests that the postal item be cleared as a gift because the postal item was dispatched by a private individual and its contents is a gift with a value under EUR 45
  • the postal item contains other goods covered by the exemption from customs duty and the addressee requests customs clearance accordingly (e.g. personal effects of a Hungarian citizen returning from abroad or a foreign student studying in Hungary, domestic returned goods sent back to Hungary, a postal item arriving in Hungary for warranty repair or replacement)
  • the addressee requests that the postal item be cleared through customs with a different VAT rate

For customs clearance, the addressee must submit a declaration that they entrust Magyar Posta with the customs clearance of their postal item. This can be done before the arrival of the postal item in Hungary or if the postal item has already arrived in Hungary and the nature of the postal item requires contract customs clearance. In this case, we will send a notification and ask you to provide the information required for customs clearance.

To make a customs declaration, click here!

Do you wish to submit a request for a review because you disagree with the decision of NAV (e.g. the amount of duty payable on your cleared postal item)? Click here! (Please note that a discrepancy regarding the content of the postal item alone does not require a review, as the VAT rate is the same for all goods under the automatic clearance procedure.)

If you do not entrust Magyar Posta with the customs clearance of your postal item (e.g. you initiate the customs clearance of your postal item via the NAV eVÁM interface or you entrust the customs clearance to another customs agent), you must declare this in advance, before the goods arrive. If you are initiating customs clearance via the NAV eVÁM interface, click here to make the declaration. If you are using another customs agent, click here.

 

CUSTOMS CLEARANCE OF POSTAL ITEMS FOR COMPANIES AND ECONOMIC ORGANISATIONS

Customs duties and service fees for postal items from non-EU countries for organisations EUR 0-150 Above EUR 150
Purchased goods VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee customs duty + VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee
Excise goods excise duty + VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee customs duty + excise duty + VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee
cologne, perfume VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee customs duty + VAT + postal contract customs clearance fee

VAT is based on the value of the postal item plus the international shipping cost. For items with value above 150 EUR, the duty imposed is also a VAT base increasing factor.

Organisations may submit a customs clearance order to Magyar Posta on a case-by-case basis, either electronically or on paper.

To submit a customs clearance order in advance, click here.

Please note that a company order can only be submitted if a postal customer code is available. If you do not yet have a postal customer code, click here to apply for yours!

Customs clearance with the assistance of a customs agent

You can also initiate customs clearance of your postal item with another customs agent, which means customs clearance in electronic form at the NAV Airport Directorate. In this case, a prior declaration must be made. To submit a declaration, click here!

Magyar Posta will charge a fee for the customs clearance of the postal item on arrival, payable on delivery. Magyar Posta forwards the postal item to the addressee as soon as it receives a certified notification of the final customs decision from the addressee or the proceeding customs agency.

Transit customs procedure

In the case of transit customs procedures, Magyar Posta forwards the postal item to the delivery post office of the economic organisation's delivery address after the postal item arrives in Hungary. To submit a declaration, click here!

The CN23 customs declaration can be used to initiate the customs clearance of the postal item at the competent National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) directorate. Following customs clearance, the item can be taken over at the delivering post office with a copy of the CN23 customs declaration certified by NAV. For the assistance with customs clearance, Magyar Posta charges a service fee, which is payable at the time of delivery.

Delivery of international postal items cleared through customs by Magyar Posta

If the electronic contact details of the addressee are available, Magyar Posta will notify the addressee of the customs duty and the postal customs agent service fee based on the certificate of release for free circulation. In the case of clearance by Magyar Posta, the addressee can pay the customs duties and postage online by credit card within 48 hours of the notification. Once the payment has been made, Magyar Posta will attempt to deliver the postal item or, if the dimensions of the postal item do not allow delivery by letterbox, will notify the addressee of its arrival. If the addressee fails to pay the combined amount of the customs duty and the postal customs agent service fee within 48 hours of notification by Magyar Posta, or if the Postal Service does not have the electronic contact information of the addressee, Magyar Posta shall attempt to deliver the postal item by personal delivery at the place indicated in the address or, in the case of a non-booked postal item that cannot be delivered by letterbox because of its size, shall notify the addressee of its arrival. In this case, Magyar Posta will collect the customs clearance costs upon delivery.

If delivery is unsuccessful, the postal items may be collected from the post office for 15 days, after which they will be returned to the sender.

CUSTOMS CLEARANCE FOR EXPORT

Postal items address to European Union (EU) member states are considered domestic postal items for customs purposes, therefore they are not subject to customs clearance in Hungary or in the country of destination. Postal items to destinations outside the EU are subject to export customs clearance. There is no customs duty for export customs clearance.

For postal items sent to non-EU countries, a distinction is made on the basis of the value of the contents inside the postal items. Items with a value of less than EUR 1,000 and items with a value of more than EUR 1,000 are subject to different customs procedures, details of which can be found by clicking this link.

 

RELATED INFORMATION:

OTHER INFORMATION, ADDITIONAL USEFUL INFORMATION