All Engines Go NEWS

Holy bank roll...25% Tax on imported personal purchases. 

And not just on imported personal purchases. On absolutely everything, imported or not. It's simple: if you buy a product, train, book (at a local store or online), or if you buy a car, company or a factory, or if you use any service (fix shoes or teeth) - 25% goes immediately to the state treasury. If you pay the bill (any bill), you also pay an additional 25% on the amount of the service or product you used (fixing windows, paying gas, electricity, etc.).

If you buy online, when shipping & handling is added to the product price, 25% VAT is added to the price already increased for shipping & handling on eBay, Amazon, AliExpress, etc. The value of goods and postage is added together, so you pay 25% VAT on all that. If you buy from an online seller who does not automatically increase the total price by 25% (like Plazajapan), then you pay for it at the post office (with an additional fee you pay to the ‘customs postal administration’, for their 'services') when you pick up the shipment.

This includes gifts sent to you by someone - in which case the local 'postal customs administration' determines the fee you pay according to the value indicated by the sender of the gift on the consignment, or - if not indicated - in a lump sum.

Just look at what would happen if I (God forbid) order one train from American Amazon, for example. VAT is charged on the amount increased by the huge postage (all postage from America has been incredibly high lately). The seller is Amazon.com, not a third party: