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A producer of some electronic hardware did not allow for delivery to a non-EU country. I therefore sent it to Germany and it will be forwarded to me by my relatives.

However, there are taxes on importing the product to Germany "Einfuhrumsatzsteuer" and "Kapitalbereitstellungsprovisionen" (whatever that is). Is there a way to receive a refund upon "exporting" the product again? Is there anything I should do before receiving/ordering the hardware?

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    I think you would have to have it packaged in a way that customs can ‘seal’ it, and when re-exporting, if the seal is still good, you get the money back (or you never pay it); this is how companies handle it. However, for a one-shot activity, the overhead cost is probably not worth it, unless you ship 10k€ or more in goods. Not an answer because I have no sources or personal experience. – Aganju Nov 20 '17 at 14:48
  • Assuming that all of this is a consumer purchase, it is likely that you'll not get the duties back. That will be an additional cost you'll have to pay to get your goods to where you want them to go. My advice would be to determine final cost including all shipping and all taxes and fees. Then see if there is another seller of that hardware who can beat that price shipping directly. – Xalorous Nov 21 '17 at 15:04
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    An alternative would be looking for mail forwarding service, that are in business of doing exactly what you are trying to do and are willing to spend all the effort to cut costs. – n0rd Nov 21 '17 at 15:38
  • The Kapitalbereitstellungsprovision is a fee (essentially interest) of the freight carrier, who paid customs and taxes in advance on your behalf. The alternative would have been to deliver the parcel to a customs office, where you or your relatives would have had to pick it up (and pay the duties directly). – chirlu Apr 9 '18 at 9:41
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If the item is delivered to a private person in Germany, it is imported, and various import taxes will have to be paid. As far as German customs is concerned, that's the end of the story. It's imported, it cannot be unimported. You won't get any import taxes back.

Companies within Germany may have means to transfer the item to another country without ever being imported, but that would be highly specialised businesses. They will charge for their service, and it's quite possible that there are import taxes in your own country anyway that you can't avoid.

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  • In fact, it’s very easy for any company that has a VAT ID to get the VAT refunded when re-exporting. It may be more complicated to get back any tariffs. – chirlu Apr 9 '18 at 9:45
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It depends on the local law in Germany how and when they would offer refunds. Assuming your customs fees are VAT.

A quick google search came across this:

https://www.berlin.de/en/tourism/travel-information/1741381-2862820-value-added-tax-vat-refund.en.html

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  • Sorry, this link does not address the question. There is no shop in Germany where the receipt can be returned and there is no airport involved either as the package is forwarded by mail. – HRSE Dec 12 '17 at 6:01

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