Tariff experience from Belgium (or lack thereof?)

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ccranium		#1 Posted : 27 January 2026 23:36:48(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 30/11/2011(UTC) Posts: 166 Location: Seattle area		I bought an item on eBay from Mrail Trainshop in Schoten, Belgium on Jan 7, 2026 and it arrived today. I messed up and didn't ask for an invoice before paying, so I had to wire extra funds due to the shipping price for shipment to the USA. It left their shop on Jan 9. 18 days total and I'm quite satisfied. The item sold for 15.50 Euros and the shipping cost was 29.85 (ugh, but I really needed/wanted the item...) with VAT (BTW) of 3.12; so total was 48.47 Euros. The CN23 Customs Declaration described it as a "modeltrain signal" with HS #9503000040 and country of origin Belgium with value of 16 Euros. It was mailed via PostNL (why not bpost? No idea.) I kept getting eBay notices that I'd have to pay duties before or upon delivery, yet it arrived today with nothing due, and the carrier said there wasn't any due. All I can assume is I paid any duties as part of the shipping cost for PostNL, or they weren't collected. 15% of 16 Euros would have been US$2.89. I'm finding that some sellers won't hassle with it, and others will ship to the US as long as you're paying attention to their shipping instructions and are willing to pay them. Not sure if or how this helps any of you, but I hope somehow it can. At least the ability to buy isn't completely shut down! Back to wiring... Brian


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rhfil		#2 Posted : 28 January 2026 01:25:17(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 05/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 835 Location: NEW HAMPSHIRE,		Why were you charged a VAT? My understanding is the VAT only applies to ECM members. I have never been charged a VAT and I regularly purchase items from a Dutch auction house.


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ccranium		#3 Posted : 28 January 2026 02:21:48(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 30/11/2011(UTC) Posts: 166 Location: Seattle area		Originally Posted by: rhfil Why were you charged a VAT? My understanding is the VAT only applies to ECM members. I have never been charged a VAT and I regularly purchase items from a Dutch auction house. Great question. I have no idea other than I know eBay requires VAT compliance by Sellers. The invoice has a note in French, translated: "The delivery is subject to the specific margin taxation rules - VAT not deductible, it concerns used equipment."


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hermanvk		#4 Posted : 28 January 2026 03:43:08(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 15/11/2023(UTC) Posts: 62 Location: Alberta, Calgary		Originally Posted by: ccranium The item sold for 15.50 Euros and the shipping cost was 29.85 (ugh, but I really needed/wanted the item...) with VAT (BTW) of 3.12; so total was 48.47 Euros. [...] 15% of 16 Euros would have been US$2.89. Brian Well if it is Belgium and VAT (BTW) was included: it is 21% ...

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rhfil		#5 Posted : 28 January 2026 15:13:56(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 05/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 835 Location: NEW HAMPSHIRE,		My VAT for used trains Through Catawiki would add up to thousands of dollars. The tax is based on where the product ends up. If outside the ECM there is no tax.


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kiwiAlan		#6 Posted : 28 January 2026 15:49:17(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,700 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot		Originally Posted by: rhfil My VAT for used trains Through Catawiki would add up to thousands of dollars. The tax is based on where the product ends up. If outside the ECM there is no tax. Not true - ebay has committed to collecting relevant VAT/Sales Tax for the destination of the sale and adds it to the final sale price - without declaring it as tax. EBay then remits the appropriate amount to the destination country. It does this for all sales from outside the UK and adds 20% to the final price that it then forwards to the UK Government. Sales into the EU get the same treatment.


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rhfil		#7 Posted : 28 January 2026 16:21:53(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 05/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 835 Location: NEW HAMPSHIRE,		" ebay has committed to collecting relevant VAT/Sales Tax for the destination of the sale" Exactly what I said. The destination of the sale determines the tax.

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ccranium		#8 Posted : 30 January 2026 18:25:40(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 30/11/2011(UTC) Posts: 166 Location: Seattle area		Another wrinkle in the EU-to-USA tariff world... I bought some items from Lippe on December 18, they were shipped FedEx and delivered Dec 26. Yesterday, I got an invoice in the mail from FedEx for the 15% tariff for which they'd billed my credit card on Jan 26. So a few new things learned: 1) in this instance, the consumer (me!) definitely and directly paid the 15% EU tariff to the US Treasury, albeit through a freight forwarder. The invoice says in part "It is the policy of FedEx to pay the broker on behalf of our customers for the duty and tax fees assessed on shipments. This agreement was made with our Broker to avoid service delays." 2) the tariff was not included in the shipping cost (as I'd originally assumed) quoted by the seller (ouch, but not their fault; I didn't ask) 3) overall it was an easy albeit not cheap transaction for some LUX-Modellbau items I couldn't find in North America. 4) Even though I didn't provide it to the seller, FedEx correlated my name and address to my FedEx account #. FedEx then billed the credit card I have on file with FedEx without asking first. Grrrr. I know I owe the money and would have agreed to pay it (US$7.05), but it would have been nice to know beforehand... Still learning but also intrigued how this is all working. It certainly was convenient, but overall it increased the total cost (items + shipping) by another 8.9%. With the glass half full, I can better keep my tracks and catenary clean in the long run! Brian

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rhfil		#9 Posted : 30 January 2026 21:24:30(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 05/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 835 Location: NEW HAMPSHIRE,		Trump's tariffs have always been a sales tax on Americans in spite of all the lies about them. In some cases the tax has been absorbed by retailers but that is about to end. Interesting that FedEx chose to collect the tax the way they did. One of the problems has been that shippers who have been obligated to collect the tax have in many cases refused to deliver items without payment which addressees have refused to pay. That is why the entire system was shut down.

3 users liked this useful post by rhfil		dickinsonj, Willem99, marklinist5999
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dickinsonj		#10 Posted : 31 January 2026 01:01:01(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 05/12/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,883 Location: Crozet, Virginia		Originally Posted by: rhfil Trump's tariffs have always been a sales tax on Americans in spite of all the lies about them. Yes, a sales tax wrapped in lies. Retailers are not going to keep on absorbing these taxes and we are all going to get hit, whether from MSL or from a US dealer. It has always been tough to be a US Marklin collector and this just makes it more expensive. Less for me and more for the feds, ain't that great?
		Regards, Jim I have almost all Märklin and mostly HO, although I do have a small number of Z gauge trains! So many trains and so little time.

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