Customs in Germany

General Topics
1

Hello! I know that ordering things from the US to Germany can get very expensive due to customs.
Does one have to pay customs when having the laptop shipped to Germany? Is it covered by Framework or does Framework have warehouses in the EU?

2

The laptops ship from Taiwan, not the US. Unless you’re buying in US and having it forwarded to Germany, you shouldn’t have to pay any fees beyond the price when you order.

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3

Since Framework has set up an EU storefront in which it uses EUR currency and VAT (Sales Tax) is included in the price, you won’t have to pay any customs fees or tax when ordering from there.

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4

@feesh @Nandor_Hulverscheidt Thanks, I was worried that I will have to pay almost a 4th of the price for customs if it were shipped from the US.

5

Happy to help, though to clarify, IF you had ordered from Framework’s US website, e.g. using freight forwarding, you should expect to be charged a customs fee.

(Edit: I’m dumb, first comment to your OP already said as much.)

6

Support says they ship from US to Germany. They dont know about additional taxes or import fees to be paid by the customer. Clueless guys.

7

Framework has publicly stated that the laptops will ship with taxes paid, and indeed on the order page it clearly states VAT Included.

I don’t know where the answer that they ship from the US to Germany came from. Framework have never said that publicly that I know of, they have said they will go to Europe direct from Taiwan. Either way, it shoudn’t make a difference as long as they use a competent carrier and are prepaying all taxes and charges…

What they haven’t clarified yet is whether they will be shipping individual orders directly from Taiwan, or whether they will be bulk shipping to Europe for onward distribution. I’ve directly tagged @nrp to respond on that on a different thread, but he hasn’t.

Either way, they say their prices are VAT included so there should be no expectation of anything else to pay.

That assumes you order from Framework directly, on their GB/FR/DE website, and pay in GBP or EUR. If you order from Framework’s US or Canadian website and use a freight forwarder, then obviously you’re liable for any extra costs and you won’t get warranty coverage.

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8

I have send a mail to their support contact. Maybe the support people need some training about it.
They don’t state how much VAT is paid, so we don’t know for sure. Import would need to pay Einfuhrumsatzsteuer and not Mehrwertsteuer as stated at the web page. Sure, both have same rates in Germany, but I am German :wink:

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9

Can anyone here from Germany who has already received the laptop please confirm that no customs duties need to be paid?
Just ordered a laptop before I knew it was being sent from Taiwan…

As I understand it, I don’t have to expect any fees. The duty rate for laptops is 0% and the import tax should have been paid already.
Just want to make sure, otherwise it will be a bit expensive…

And to set the record straight here. It’s not just about whether it’s shipped from the US. It’s more about whether it’s being shipped from outside the EU - which is the case with Taiwan.

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10

You, the customer, are not expected to pay for customs in Germany:
Recent Customs Issues with Framework Laptop Orders (UK, FR, DE) - Framework Team / Customer Experience Updates - Framework Community

and here:

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11

Thanks @Second_Coming!
I have completely overlooked this thread - sorry.
I can look forward to my laptop then!