Customs fees in France
Summary: stephchar expressed frustration at no longer being able to sell in France because of high customs fees imposed on his low-value products. Although he follows customs procedures by including the IOSS number, his French customers still continue to run into additional charges. flashs92 explained that these fees can be caused by carriers and suggested ways for customers to refuse to pay by showing their invoices. The problem seems to persist despite correctly following the customs rules.
Hello everyone, I'm a Quebec seller and I unfortunately had to remove France from the countries where I sell because my French buyers were being charged disproportionate customs fees by the French post office when the package arrived in France. However, I sell low-value items (used CDs and cassettes). France is the only EU country where I have this problem, and Canada does not charge me customs fees when I buy CDs of equivalent value in France. This problem started about 1 year ago, I would say. Before that there was no problem at all. Does anyone know more about this situation? I find it really unfortunate not to sell in France anymore, given our shared belonging to the cultural Francophonie. Thank you!
francexpressdeal
·3 years agoHello @stephchar
when you were sending shipments to France, did you make sure to include the IOSS number on the shipment?
stephchar
OP3 years agoYes, always, in the address on the package as well as on the customs declaration stuck on the package.
flashs92
·3 years agoThe problem with the post office and the other carriers is that they charge relatively high fees for their service, regardless of the amount of VAT they collect on behalf of the tax authorities.
If, on your side, you have charged VAT to your French customer and it appears on your invoice, they must refuse payment by showing and giving the invoice to the delivery person.
If the delivery person refuses, which is usually the case because they are increasingly subcontractors, they must refuse the package, have a delivery notice handed to them as if they were not present at the time of delivery, and go the next day to the post office with the invoice, and their package will be handed over without payment.