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Gifts sent from foreign countries
Gift from a country outside the EU
You may receive a gift from a private individual outside the EU without paying duty or value added tax (VAT) if:
- the gift is a single consignment intended for your personal use, or that of your family, and
- the value of the consignment does not exceed 400 SEK.
If the consignment includes gifts to various members of the same family, you may be exempt from paying customs duty and VAT even if the total value of the consignment exceeds 400 SEK, provided that
- all gifts from each giver to each recipient have a maximum value of 400 SEK and
- the giver and the recipient of each gift are clearly identified, e.g. using address labels on each gift
Example:
Aunt Sara (living in the USA) sends a package to her sister Elisabeth in Sweden. The package contains gifts for Elisabeth and her children, Linda and Thomas. Sara has specified the contents of the package as follows:
- Linda gets a pair of jeans worth 400 SEK and a camera worth 500 SEK.
- Thomas gets a pair of binoculars worth 400 SEK and a shirt worth 450 SEK.
- Elisabeth gets a glass vase worth 800 SEK.
The jeans and the binoculars are exempt from customs duties, as they are within the value limit. The total value of the camera, the shirt and the glass vase is 1,750 SEK.
- Customs duty would be charged at a flat rate of 2.5 percent based on 1,750 SEK, (43 SEK).
- The VAT of 25 percent would be calculated based on 1,750 SEK plus 43 SEK, for a total of 448 SEK.
- The total amount due would be 491 SEK (43 SEK plus 448 SEK).
If the total charges for the entire package are under 100 SEK, no payment is necessary.
Please note that freight and insurance charges should be included in the value used for calculation of customs duty and VAT when the value of the goods exceeds 400 SEK.
For consignments that do not meet the above requirements for tax or duty relief, we use a flat rate to calculate customs duties. The standard flat rate for customs duties is 2.5 per cent plus tax. This customs rate is only used for consignments whose total value is less than 7, 000 SEK. The standard flat rate for customs duties may not be used for consignments containing alcoholic beverages or tobacco products.
If the value of the consignments exceeds 7, 000 SEK, however, customs duties will be charged according to the customs tariff plus tax. The customs duty rate may vary from 0 to 20 per cent depending on the type of goods in question.
Certain goods may not be received duty free, even as gifts. Examples of such goods are alcohol and tobacco.
Remember, you must be 20 years of age to receive alcohol products and 18 to receive tobacco products.
Gift from another EU country
Gifts from other EU countries are not subject to any customs charges. However, there are special regulations in place for certain goods, with regard to environmental protection and public health and security. Below you will find examples of such goods.
