General Rules To Be Aware Of Prior To Shipping

Spain is very attractive for exporters and the fact that it is part of the European Union and the World Trade Organization makes it easy to work with. Whether you are sending commodities by air or by sea, you will face the problem of filling some paperwork and checking if your product is allowed in the country you are sending it to. All the hard work should be done before shipping to Spain in order to avoid problems at the customs. There are two types of possible shipments and sometimes the customs decides if it is of one type or the other. The first type is the private shipment for which there is a limit of 150 euro and duty will not be applied although you will pay a VAT for products valued over 22 euro.  For products over 10 kg duty and tax may apply and also for alcoholic beverage, tobacco or perfumes. Commercial shipment at the same value will be rather the same except the fact that they will need to be accompanied by an invoice and a certificate of origin. You can send gifts that are valued less than 45 euro and not heavier that 5 kg and you will not pay duties or tax but you still cannot send alcohol or tobacco without paying a tax.The bill for the shipment can be paid by the sender, the receiver or even by a third party. The receiver can pay even the duties and taxes. It is good to know these things before shipping to Spain so you can establish the details with the person you are sending to. Be sure to check the size and weight limits of the package you are sending before starting to fill the papers or packing the products to avoid unwanted surprises. In addition, you should realize that shipping to Spain could be different depending on the area you are sending to. Shipment to the Canary Islands or Ceuta and Melilla fall under different rules as they are not considered part of the EU territory although they are under Spanish sovereignty. If you check everything twice and ask for the help of the shipper, everything will be fine.