Your parcel is sitting at a customs office. Here is what the card in your mailbox actually asks for — and what to bring so you do not have to go twice.
The Zoll is the German customs administration. It checks goods entering Germany from outside the EU, and when a parcel needs paperwork or duty it is held at a Zollamt and you get a card in the post. Since 1 July 2021 there is no small-value exemption any more: import VAT applies from the first cent, and customs duty is added on top once the goods themselves are worth more than €150.
The classic card: your parcel is at a named Zollamt. Bring the card, your ID and proof of what you paid (order confirmation, invoice, PayPal receipt). Parcels are only held for a limited time before going back to the sender.
The bill: import VAT of 19 % (7 % for books and some goods), plus customs duty if the goods are worth more than €150. It states the amount, how to pay and by when.
Customs cannot see what is in the parcel or what it cost. Send the invoice — without it they estimate the value, and the estimate rarely works in your favour.
Goods were seized: suspected counterfeits, prohibited items, medicines, weapon parts. You are asked to consent to destruction or object within a short deadline — and with counterfeits the rights holder is informed.
You are asked to declare the shipment before it is released, increasingly through the online customs portal rather than in person. Straightforward once you know which form is meant.
Most customs mail is boring: come by, bring the invoice, pay €12.40. But the same envelope is used to tell you that your order was seized as a counterfeit — and that letter asks you to sign something. Working out which one you are holding takes ten seconds with a scan, and an afternoon without German.
xPlainly explains what your notice says. It is not legal or customs advice. For a seizure notice, or a duty assessment you believe is wrong, the customs office named on the letter and a lawyer are the right addresses.
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