17 August 2023 | Background

Beri & Jasmine on Tour: What does our Invoicing Customs Clearance team do?

The invoicing department for import and export customs clearance, also known as ‘Invoicing Customs Clearance’, is an important part of the Billing & Collection team, which is led by Ibrahim Bilen. In this blog article we will give you an overview of this department’s tasks and explain how the invoicing procedure for import and export shipments works.

 

What is Invoicing Customs Clearance?

Invoicing Customs Clearance is the team that handles the invoicing of import and export shipments. As soon as data is received that was used to create a customs clearance, the department can begin the invoicing procedure and issue invoices to shippers, consignees or shipping depots abroad. The department is responsible for ensuring that, on the one hand, all prepaid duties (VAT / customs duties) and also all services performed are correctly invoiced.

The team is also responsible for processing all enquiries relating to the invoices. Employees are thus in contact with shippers and consignees every day by telephone or in writing in order to satisfactorily resolve concerns.

 

Using SAP S/4HANA:

We use the SAP S/4HANA tool for invoicing. This enables us to efficiently and accurately generate invoices that include all the relevant information and cost items.

 

Customs departments:

DPD (Schweiz) AG has various customs clearance locations. Customs clearance for cross-border shipments is carried out at these locations. We are therefore obligated to declare every exported shipment from Switzerland to another country and every imported shipment from another country into Switzerland. The commercial invoice enclosed by the shipper is the determining factor for customs clearance. Customs clearance is thus carried out by the customs clerk on the basis of the commercial invoice.

 

Assessment notices:

Once customs clearance has been completed, customs receipts are issued. On the Swiss side, these documents are called Veranlagungsverfügung Zoll (customs assessment notice) and Veranlagungsverfügung MwSt. (VAT assessment notice) for an import shipment. From these, you can read the basis of the customs clearance and furthermore, the documents are also proof of proper customs clearance.

In the case of an export shipment, assessment notices are also issued by the Swiss customs office. These ‘export documents’ confirm that the shipment has been duly declared for export customs clearance at the Swiss customs office. For imports to Germany, for example, the German customs authorities also issue another customs document, the so-called Einfuhrabgabenbescheid (notice of import duties). This serves as confirmation that the goods have been declared for import at the German customs office.

 

Invoices and costs:

An import or export invoice contains various cost items, which we would like to explain below. It is important to note that the exact costs and procedures for import and export invoices can vary depending on the type of customs clearance, delivery conditions or the type of consignee (business or private person). We therefore recommend that you contact our expert team directly if you have any questions.

 

  1. Administrative costs:

These costs are incurred each time a shipment is invoiced. They cover the costs of data transfer between the customs clearance office, customs authorities and the DPD invoicing department.

 

  1. Disbursement fee of min. CHF 8.00:

These costs cover the advance payment by DPD (Schweiz) AG for government charges such as VAT and/or customs duties.

In the case of imported shipments, we therefore pay the declared duties via our own ‘ZAZ’ customs account in advance and then charge it – depending on the delivery conditions – to the importer or the shipper. If the importer has their own ZAZ customs account and has informed us of this, we could also debit the duties directly from their ZAZ customs account (depending on the delivery conditions). In this case, the disbursement fee will not be charged.

The situation is similar with an export shipment if we report the shipment with the German customs authorities for import. In this case, DPD (Schweiz) AG has a deferment account which allows the declared duties to be paid directly to the German customs authorities and then, depending on the delivery conditions, the duties can be charged to the Swiss shipper or the foreign importer plus the disbursement fee. Here, too, this fee does not need to be charged if the importer has their own deferment account and has notified us of this in advance. This allows us to debit the calculated taxes directly from their deferment account.

 

  1. Customs clearance fees:

These costs cover the customs clearance service. As a business consignee, the customs clearance costs for an imported shipment are CHF 33.00 per case of customs clearance (regardless of the number of parcels). As a private consignee, the customs clearance costs for an imported shipment are CHF 18.00 + 3 % of the value of the shipment (regardless of the number of parcels), up to a maximum of CHF 200.00.

 

  1. Customs tariffs:

The above-mentioned customs clearance prices include up to three different customs tariffs. However, if a case of customs clearance consists of more than three different customs tariffs, an amount of CHF 4.00 is due for each additional customs tariff number. Private individuals do not pay for this, as it is included in the customs clearance price of CHF 18.00 + 3 % of the value of the goods.

 

  1. Value added tax:

VAT in Switzerland is 7.7 % or 2.5 % for goods with the reduced rate. In accordance with the Value Added Tax Act (Mehrwertsteuergesetz – MWSTG), transport, customs clearance and any ancillary costs must be included in the assessment basis. If customs duties are declared on the shipment, these are also subject to the VAT calculation.

 

Duty:

If the goods do not qualify for preferential treatment, customs duties are levied on the shipment (Switzerland knows the weight duty), depending on the customs tariff number. If you know the customs tariff number of your goods, you can check for yourself at www.tares.ch to see how high the duty rate will be.

 

Exemption limit and upper limit for goods:

The exemption limit of CHF 300.00 applies to travel only. When importing goods from abroad, the Goods Traffic Act (Warenverkehrsgesetz) applies. No customs duties or value added tax will be levied if the calculated amount is less than CHF 5.00 per customs declaration. Goods purchased on the internet are subject to duty in accordance with the general regulations.

 

The upper value limit for goods (incl. transport costs) for a VAT-exempt import is:

 

  • CHF 65.00 for shipments with 7.7 % VAT

  • CHF 200.00 for shipments with 2.5 % VAT (reduced rate)

 

Possible delivery conditions (billing terms):

The delivery conditions or billing terms are selected by the shipper and affect how the incurred costs will be shared. Basically, we work with four different terms, which are as follows:

Franking

TransportCustoms clearanceDutyVAT
DAP clearedShipperShipperImporterImporter
DDP excl. VAT ShipperShipperShipperImporter
DDPShipperShipperShipperShipper
DAPShipperImporterImporterImporter
Transport
DAP clearedShipper
DDP excl. VAT Shipper
DDPShipper
DAPShipper
Customs clearance
DAP clearedShipper
DDP excl. VAT Shipper
DDPShipper
DAPImporter
Duty
DAP clearedImporter
DDP excl. VAT Shipper
DDPShipper
DAPImporter
VAT
DAP clearedImporter
DDP excl. VAT Importer
DDPShipper
DAPImporter

Case studies:

To illustrate the procedure of invoicing import and export shipments, let’s look at the following case studies:

 

Import:

  1. Maja lives in Switzerland and ordered a new handbag from a German website.

  2. The online shop works together with DPD Germany.

  3. The shipper sends the parcel to Switzerland and encloses a commercial invoice.

  4. The customs clerk performs import customs clearance at the Swiss customs office. The customs clearance is based on the shipper’s commercial invoice. Here, the clerk also specifies which ZAZ customs account is to be used to settle the transaction.

  5. The Invoicing Customs Clearance team prepares the invoices based on the customs clearance.

  6. Depending on the delivery conditions, the costs are charged either to the shipper, to Maja or, if applicable, to both parties (sharing of the costs).

 

Export:

  1. Lars from Munich would like to order something from our customer in Switzerland.

  2. DPD Switzerland collects the parcel from the customer (shipper) including the commercial invoice, which the shipper must provide with the shipment.

  3. The customs clerk performs the export customs clearance and import customs clearance to Germany at the same time. The customs clearance is based on the shipper’s commercial invoice. Here, the clerk also indicates which deferment account should be used for settlement.

  4. The Invoicing Customs Clearance team prepares the invoices based on the customs clearance.

  5. Depending on the delivery conditions, the costs are charged either to the Swiss shipper, to Lars or, if applicable, to both parties (sharing of the costs).

 

We hope this article has given you a clear overview of the Invoicing Customs Clearance team and the invoicing procedure for import and export shipments. If you’ve got any questions or would like more information, please get in touch with us.