# Package recieved from USA stuck in Madrid



## gracegaldo

Hi everyone. 

I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this situation... 
The mother-in-law has sent our christmas presents here to our flat in Granada. We got a letter today from Correos saying that it was actually delivered to the Correos de Madrid Barajaras. Of course it was. 

With our still fairly rubbish Spanish, we can figure out that they want us to pay something to receive the package. It's hard to tell how we pay this, why we have to pay it or who we actually pay. We're dreading going to the post office here as it's usually an hour wait and most of the staff are rude and unhelpful. Has anyone on here ever had this issue with a package arriving from outside the EU? 

I think it might be import tax, but seeing as it is a gift, surely that should have been paid on the other end? 

With all the stresses over getting oil delivered for heating (mañana, mañana), waiting for the oficina to decide what my husband needs for residency and worrying if he can even leave the country next month, I refuse to be stressing over receiving a christmas present. Sorry Spain, but no. 

Sorry, got a little bit carried away there. Any help is much appreciated! The main title of the letter is :

AVISO DE LLEGADA DE ENVIO PIOSTAL PROCEDENTE DE CANARIAS, CUETA, MELILLA U ORIGEN INTERNACIONAL SUJETO A TRAMITES ADUANEROS


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## thrax

I'm certain we've something like this before on here which means that before long somebody will tell you what to do. I remember that it was sorted eventually but like many things here in Spain once red tapes sticks it's oar in, be prepared for a wait!!


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## xabiaxica

gracegaldo said:


> Hi everyone.
> 
> I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this situation...
> The mother-in-law has sent our christmas presents here to our flat in Granada. We got a letter today from Correos saying that it was actually delivered to the Correos de Madrid Barajaras. Of course it was.
> 
> With our still fairly rubbish Spanish, we can figure out that they want us to pay something to receive the package. It's hard to tell how we pay this, why we have to pay it or who we actually pay. We're dreading going to the post office here as it's usually an hour wait and most of the staff are rude and unhelpful. Has anyone on here ever had this issue with a package arriving from outside the EU?
> 
> I think it might be import tax, but seeing as it is a gift, surely that should have been paid on the other end?
> 
> With all the stresses over getting oil delivered for heating (mañana, mañana), waiting for the oficina to decide what my husband needs for residency and worrying if he can even leave the country next month, I refuse to be stressing over receiving a christmas present. Sorry Spain, but no.
> 
> Sorry, got a little bit carried away there. Any help is much appreciated! The main title of the letter is :
> 
> AVISO DE LLEGADA DE ENVIO PIOSTAL PROCEDENTE DE CANARIAS, CUETA, MELILLA U ORIGEN INTERNACIONAL SUJETO A TRAMITES ADUANEROS


yes, it's import tax

it depends what your mil put on the outside of the packet......

it might not be much...

if you're lucky


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## baldilocks

As Xbia says, it depends on what it says on the customs declaration. WE regualarly have packages from the US, both private and goods that we have bought, with no hassle at all, and have never had to pay any customs duty.


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## xicoalc

question to the OP… When you say you have received a letter you actually mean a letter in the post in an envelope that was delivered to you or do you mean one of those blue and yellow pieces of paper which are usually left when you are either not at home or when the postman can't be bothered to wait for you to come to the door?

Where I live although I have never had anything delivered from outside of the EU I know that there been occasions when stuff has to be paid for – for example with my previous health-insurance company they used to send books of vouchers and they were sent on a cash on delivery basis and I simply paid the postman. Likewise, totally off subject but I was very surprised once when I reported an item I sent to the UK is missing and after two months the postman knocked on my door to deliver me some cash that was my compensation for the missing item!

It probably is some kind of tax that you have to pay. Maybe if you put on the forum exactly what the letter says somebody can give you a little bit better advice? The other option would be to actually call the postal service. I am guessing that they have English-speaking advisers because their website does have an English section. A friend of mine had a laptop which he bought in America via a friend and had sent to Spain thinking that he would make a huge saving because the cost out there was a lot cheaper but unfortunately there was customs duty to pay Because although he was trying to be a little bit naughty his friend in America failed to mark the item as a gift. This was also received via the state postal system and I know that he had to make contact with them in order to pay the duty. I believe that he was able just to call them and pay over the phone – either that or he agreed to pay the delivery man.

Although the staff may not be particularly friendly in your local office generally I find them okay and I'm sure that if you call the customer services number they will tell you exactly what's going on. The main thing is that whatever your family have sent it has arrived in the country safely – you have something to be very grateful for


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## VFR

gracegaldo said:


> Hi everyone.
> 
> I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this situation...
> The mother-in-law has sent our christmas presents here to our flat in Granada. We got a letter today from Correos saying that it was actually delivered to the Correos de Madrid Barajaras. Of course it was.
> 
> With our still fairly rubbish Spanish, we can figure out that they want us to pay something to receive the package. It's hard to tell how we pay this, why we have to pay it or who we actually pay. We're dreading going to the post office here as it's usually an hour wait and most of the staff are rude and unhelpful. Has anyone on here ever had this issue with a package arriving from outside the EU?
> 
> I think it might be import tax, but seeing as it is a gift, surely that should have been paid on the other end?
> 
> With all the stresses over getting oil delivered for heating (mañana, mañana), waiting for the oficina to decide what my husband needs for residency and worrying if he can even leave the country next month, I refuse to be stressing over receiving a christmas present. Sorry Spain, but no.
> 
> Sorry, got a little bit carried away there. Any help is much appreciated! The main title of the letter is :
> 
> AVISO DE LLEGADA DE ENVIO PIOSTAL PROCEDENTE DE CANARIAS, CUETA, MELILLA U ORIGEN INTERNACIONAL SUJETO A TRAMITES ADUANEROS


That being the case I would go to another post office & show them the letter as they may well be more helpful & allow you to pay what is due (if anything) there.


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## donz

it may well have arrived in the country but that's not to say they won't send it back! I usually have no trouble with getting goods 'imported' as such but my last package went really wrong. It arrived into Spain via air from USA, customs then sent me a letter, which I received on the 5th November saying if they did not get a response from me by the 26th October (!) they would return the item.

When I called them to ask what the situation was, they said you're too late you should have responded by X date. On telling them the tracking on my package said it was still in Spain, I was told they still couldn't help. So I told the sender it was getting returned to them and could they advise mw when they received it so we could sort it out. On the 19th November the company that sent my package told me the tracking showed they had attempted to redeliver on the 18th Nov (!) and as it had failed it now said returning to sender....

Can't tell you how much more than fuming I was.....it cost me a further $80 to resend the package which I am still yet to receive!!


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## kalohi

gracegaldo said:


> Hi everyone.
> 
> I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this situation...
> The mother-in-law has sent our christmas presents here to our flat in Granada. We got a letter today from Correos saying that it was actually delivered to the Correos de Madrid Barajaras. Of course it was.
> 
> With our still fairly rubbish Spanish, we can figure out that they want us to pay something to receive the package. It's hard to tell how we pay this, why we have to pay it or who we actually pay. We're dreading going to the post office here as it's usually an hour wait and most of the staff are rude and unhelpful. Has anyone on here ever had this issue with a package arriving from outside the EU?
> 
> I think it might be import tax, but seeing as it is a gift, surely that should have been paid on the other end?
> 
> With all the stresses over getting oil delivered for heating (mañana, mañana), waiting for the oficina to decide what my husband needs for residency and worrying if he can even leave the country next month, I refuse to be stressing over receiving a christmas present. Sorry Spain, but no.
> 
> Sorry, got a little bit carried away there. Any help is much appreciated! The main title of the letter is :
> 
> AVISO DE LLEGADA DE ENVIO PIOSTAL PROCEDENTE DE CANARIAS, CUETA, MELILLA U ORIGEN INTERNACIONAL SUJETO A TRAMITES ADUANEROS


I have had this happen before. In the past few years the law has changed (la crisis...), and you are now have to pay to receive packages from outside of the EU. It doesn't matter if it's a gift or not. If the value of the contents is less than 150€ what you have to pay is VAT (21%) plus a 17.50€ handling fee, and if the value is more than 150€ you also have to pay customs duty on top of that. It's all explained on this webpage (but in Spanish so that wouldn't be much help to you I'm afraid). 

I have been able to pay at my local correos - but my packages have always been worth less than 150€. According to the webpage, if your package is worth more than 150€ you have to register online and then follow the instructions to pay into a state bank account. 

That paper that you got would say somewhere on it what your situation is. If you could give us a bit more information we could help you translate it so you know what you have to do. 

Sorry you are having such a rough time settling in. I agree, getting a Christmas package shouldn't be a stressful experience.


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## Sunhat

I am expecting a parcel from Australia, I will be sending it back if they ask me for 17.50€ handling plus vat!!


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## gracegaldo

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies. It seems I'm not the only with this problem!

It's strange because I have been ordering a lot of jewellery supplies on ebay, a lot of it coming from China, and so far everything has arrived with no problems. I think it's probably to do with the value my MIL put on the customs form like a few have already said. 

My husband went to correos here in Granada and they told him to visit the website, which we have done, but it's very unclear what we actually need to do. It seems we have to upload some documentation but it doesn't specify what documentation they want. My husband has called them with his broken spanish they have said we can upload an NIE number (or the DNI of "any spanish friend"), so we are trying that right now. They also said he has to ask his mother what value she put on the customs form on the package in the first place and exactly what is inside the package. Why on earth they would not already have this information I don't know and what a way to take the joy out of receiving a gift. 

A lot of the confusion is due to the language barrier and of course we only have ourselves to blame for that one, but it seems that this is overly complicated for even a native to figure out. It's just a simple christmas package from family, after all!


I've attached the scanned letter to this post if anyone would be so kind as to have a glance and see if they can make any sense of it. 

Thank you!


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## kalohi

gracegaldo said:


> Thank you everyone for your helpful replies. It seems I'm not the only with this problem!
> 
> It's strange because I have been ordering a lot of jewellery supplies on ebay, a lot of it coming from China, and so far everything has arrived with no problems. I think it's probably to do with the value my MIL put on the customs form like a few have already said.
> 
> My husband went to correos here in Granada and they told him to visit the website, which we have done, but it's very unclear what we actually need to do. It seems we have to upload some documentation but it doesn't specify what documentation they want. My husband has called them with his broken spanish they have said we can upload an NIE number (or the DNI of "any spanish friend"), so we are trying that right now. They also said he has to ask his mother what value she put on the customs form on the package in the first place and exactly what is inside the package. Why on earth they would not already have this information I don't know and what a way to take the joy out of receiving a gift.
> 
> A lot of the confusion is due to the language barrier and of course we only have ourselves to blame for that one, but it seems that this is overly complicated for even a native to figure out. It's just a simple christmas package from family, after all!
> 
> 
> I've attached the scanned letter to this post if anyone would be so kind as to have a glance and see if they can make any sense of it.
> 
> Thank you!


Basically it says that you have until Tuesday 18 Dec to fax (91 660 25 00) or email them (ADT POSTALES) the following:

the bottom part of the paper that you've scanned here - filled out, signed and dated. The info they ask for is a telephone number, email address, NIF and _???_ I can't make out that last bit. The scan is very small. 
a bill showing the value of the merchandise. BUT I've seen on the correos website that if it's a personal package (your case) you can send a sworn declaration stating the complete contents of the package and the value of each item.

Once you've done this, they'll email you telling you how much you have to pay, and how. Once you've paid, they'll send along the package.

So it appears that despite your husband's struggles with Spanish he got the right information. 

I hope that helps, and that you end up getting your Christmas package safe and sound!


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## gracegaldo

kalohi said:


> Basically it says that you have until Tuesday 18 Dec to fax (91 660 25 00) or email them (ADT POSTALES) the following:
> 
> the bottom part of the paper that you've scanned here - filled out, signed and dated. The info they ask for is a telephone number, email address, NIF and _???_ I can't make out that last bit. The scan is very small.
> a bill showing the value of the merchandise. BUT I've seen on the correos website that if it's a personal package (your case) you can send a sworn declaration stating the complete contents of the package and the value of each item.
> 
> Once you've done this, they'll email you telling you how much you have to pay, and how. Once you've paid, they'll send along the package.
> 
> So it appears that despite your husband's struggles with Spanish he got the right information.
> 
> I hope that helps, and that you end up getting your Christmas package safe and sound!


Fantastic, it seems much less daunting now! Thank you so much for the help!


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## snorkeler

So it sounds like on the customs page the sender should put 0 or $1 value. Is that what you recommend to avoid the charges?
A friend sent us Christmas presents. Not looking forward to all this.


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## kalohi

snorkeler said:


> So it sounds like on the customs page the sender should put 0 or $1 value. Is that what you recommend to avoid the charges?
> A friend sent us Christmas presents. Not looking forward to all this.


They don't stop all the packages. I just had two delivered that got through. So maybe you'll be lucky.

I wouldn't recommend that the sender put down 0 or $1 for the value. They aren't stupid in customs after all. They know that nobody would pay big bucks to mail something with no value. And sometimes customs opens the packages to inspect. Besides, it's fraudulent to lie on a customs form.


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## wiggytheone

kalohi said:


> I have had this happen before. In the past few years the law has changed (la crisis...), and you are now have to pay to receive packages from outside of the EU. It doesn't matter if it's a gift or not. If the value of the contents is less than 150€ what you have to pay is VAT (21%) plus a 17.50€ handling fee, and if the value is more than 150€ you also have to pay customs duty on top of that. It's all explained on this webpage (but in Spanish so that wouldn't be much help to you I'm afraid).
> 
> I have been able to pay at my local correos - but my packages have always been worth less than 150€. According to the webpage, if your package is worth more than 150€ you have to register online and then follow the instructions to pay into a state bank account.
> 
> That paper that you got would say somewhere on it what your situation is. If you could give us a bit more information we could help you translate it so you know what you have to do.
> 
> Sorry you are having such a rough time settling in. I agree, getting a Christmas package shouldn't be a stressful experience.


Just read your letter you posted, its for import tax kalohi is on the money here


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## gracegaldo

Just a quick update...after the help we got on here we managed to get all the information they needed to them and they have now said that the package is ready to pick up from our post office. We owe them 48 euros to collect it. When we go I'm going to ask what can be done about this charge and if there is not an exemption if it is a gift. It doesn't seem right to have to pay so much money to get a present! 


Thanks again for all the help. Merry Christmas everyone! x


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## kalohi

I'm so glad you got your package in time for Christmas! But, 48€  ! It really is so unfair to have to pay to receive a gift. I don't think you're going to have any luck convincing them that you shouldn't have to pay, though. It clearly states on the correos webpage that even gifts are subject to VAT. 

_¿Por qué tengo que pagar impuestos por los envíos que son regalos? 

Los regalos, si no son bienes personales usados, son considerados por la Aduana como una mercancía obtenida fuera de la Unión Europea y que va a ser consumida/utilizada dentro de la misma, por lo que estaría sometida a control aduanero de importación. Por tanto, los regalos están sujetos a los mismos trámites aduaneros que el resto de las mercancías.

Why do I have to pay tax on shipments that are gifts?

Gifts, if they aren't used personal items, are considered by customs to be goods obtained outside of the European Union to be consumed/used within the same, and so they are subject to import customs control. Therefore, gifts are subject to the same customs procedures as other goods._


I read somewhere online that they changed the law and now require VAT to be paid on gifts because of ebay. Lots of ebay sellers were marking their goods are gifts so that buyers wouldn't have to pay import tax, and customs suddenly started seeing a huge increase in "gifts" coming into the country. Since they can't tell what's really a gift and what isn't, they just decided to charge everyone. Might be true - or maybe it's just another sign of a cash strapped government trying to get money from whoever they can. Ho ho, merry Christmas.

Anyway, I'm glad you got your package. Have a nice holiday!


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