Can a European customer recovery custom fees he paid if he returns a product purchased from USA ?

[storagecraft-gps]

We sell a repair part that has a 90% chance of repairing a buyer's automotive Navigation System.  Most of our international customers don't attempt a return or refund when the part doesn't solve their problem.   But, if an internatinal customer decides to return the product for a refund, is it possible for them to recover fees they paid to customs in their country ?

[dhbookds]

I would imagine it would depend on the laws of the country......  certainly, no way is a seller responsible for refunding the duties or finding out how/if they can get the $$ back.........

[kensgiftshop]

That would be up to their country and their customs law.

The seller wouldn't have to pay it.

[lintbrush*]

This is what I found.  

https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/buying-goods-services-online-personal-use/buying-g...

I've also been able to find some specific country ones... like Ireland... where the consumer needs to write in to request a refund.

[a_c_green]

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@storagecraft-gpswrote:

But, if an internatinal customer decides to return the product for a refund, is it possible for them to recover fees they paid to customs in their country ?

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That's something they'd have to find out for themselves at their own post office. 

Given that there's a "Product Return" checkbox on the Customs form to indicate an international shipment that's being returned (which presumably means that duty charges should be waived on arrival in the seller's country), there might be a corresponding refund application that the buyer can file at the time he sends his package back, but I'm just generalizing here. Any actual procedure would have to be tracked down by the buyer; it's not your issue to solve. (OTOH, if you do find out anything specific to his country by investing a couple minutes of Googling, you should certainly pass that along. I know I'd spend a couple of minutes on that, just out of curiosity...)

[slippinjimmy · Accepted solution]

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@storagecraft-gpswrote:

We sell a repair part that has a 90% chance of repairing a buyer's automotive Navigation System.  Most of our international customers don't attempt a return or refund when the part doesn't solve their problem.   But, if an internatinal customer decides to return the product for a refund, is it possible for them to recover fees they paid to customs in their country ?

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Most countries have a system in place to apply for a refund of import duty/tax when an item is returned.

It's not allways simple to qualify, items have to "examined" and paperwork certified upon export and even when all the paperwork is done right the usual "handling fee" imposed by the Post Office may not be refundable (this fee can often be as much or more than the taxes if the value of the item is modest).

If items are shipped via eBay's GPS system then there is no way for the buyer to get a refund of import taxes if they return even if it's a SNAD claim (info for others since you don't appear to use GSP).

[pjcdn2005]

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@slippinjimmywrote:

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If items are shipped via eBay's GPS system then there is no way for the buyer to get a refund of import taxes if they return even if it's a SNAD claim (info for others since you don't appear to use GSP).

Buyers do receive a refund of the international shipping portion and import fees from PB if an item is snad or not received.  But if the item is returned for a buyer's remorse return, then they do not get back those fees. 

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