Import duty

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Under import duty , including import duty called, refers to charges related to goods , capital and services are collected. The import duty is one of the import duties; In addition to customs duties (in the narrower sense), these also include all other duties and taxes, in particular sales tax and consumption taxes. These taxes have to be paid by domestic consumers and companies as soon as the goods cross the borders of the respective customs area .

Impact and Goals

The main objective of the import tariff is to protect the domestic economy. An attempt can also be made to internalize external effects of imported goods in the price mechanism through tariffs . The tariff affects relative supply and demand. The more elastic the demand, the lower the import duty. The state thus has an influence on domestic demand.

If the import duty is now levied, fewer imports are made because the domestic price ( internal price ) is higher than the foreign price (external price). More of the respective goods are now being produced domestically (domestic industry achieves higher profits and unemployment is reduced with labor-intensive production). These changes in prices affect the welfare loss as well as the terms of trade , which are improved by lowering the foreign price . The welfare loss is the difference between the rising producer surplus and the falling consumer surplus in Germany. However, tariff collection only affects the terms of trade if it is a large country such as Canada and not a small country such as Luxembourg. Because a small country has no effect on the foreign price when it collects tariffs and would therefore not be able to improve its terms of trade.

The costs and benefits of customs can be seen from the consumer surplus and the producer surplus. A price increase in the importing country worsens the consumer surplus and at the same time leads to an improvement in the producer surplus at home. Due to the lowering of the price abroad, the consumer surplus there improves and the producer surplus deteriorates. The state collects funds through customs.

Import tariffs have an impact on income distribution. "They are intended to support indispensable applicable industries and serve to balance the balance of payments ."

Customs effects

Effects of the tariff on a "large country"

Point 1 ( Pw ) represents the equilibrium price for domestic and foreign countries, excluding customs. S and D are the respective supply curves and demand curves. If a duty is now levied, goods will only be imported if the domestic price is higher than the foreign price, i.e. H. Due to customs, the domestic price rises to Pi and the foreign price sinks to Pa .

As a result of this tariff collection, domestic prices rise, producers offer more and consumers ask less. As a result, the import demand drops to point 2 . The effect of the tariff collection abroad becomes clear through the falling prices, there is less supply and the demand increases, which at the same time the export supply drops to point 3 .

The result for rising domestic prices and falling foreign prices is reflected in the falling trading volume from Xw to Xia . The domestic price increase is less than the amount of duty due to the duty, which is partly in the export prices abroad.

Customs effects

Effects of the tariff on a "small country"

A small country is not able to change the foreign price. S and D represent the supply curve and the demand curve. Pw represents the point where price intersects supply and demand. These are the points that have not yet been charged. If a duty is now levied, the price Pw rises to Pi . As a result, supply increases on S2 and demand decreases on D2 .

If positive external effects occur in the domestic import goods replacement sector, an attempt can now be made to internalize the positive effects by taxing the imports. The supply function for society as a whole shifts to the right in this case. Due to the positive externalities of import substitutes, there is now less demand abroad. The consumer surplus decreases as in the example given above, the producer surplus of domestic manufacturers is increasing, the state generates additional revenue by inches . In this case, however, additional social welfare gains arise through the internalization of the positive external effects. If this effect exceeds the losses from taxation, a net welfare gain arises.

This strategy is viewed critically in the trade policy discussion by liberal economists, as it can produce or intensify misallocations.

Calculation of import duties and example

Goods or services purchased in the customs area of ​​the European Union are exempt from import duties, with a few exceptions, such as luxury goods . However , if such imports are made from other states or territories (so-called third countries ), import duties are due.

example

Technical systems are imported from a third country by sea transport (from Hong Kong to Antwerp ). The place of the customs valuation is in Antwerp.

given values: invoice amount of the goods to be imported € 10,000.00; proportional freight costs (freight costs incurred up to the EU border) 1,400.00 €; Tariff rate 2%; domestic freight costs € 300.00; Percentage 19%

+ Invoice amount of the goods to be imported € 10,000.00
+ possibly license fees, packaging costs, shipping insurance € 00.00
+ proportional freight costs (freight costs incurred up to the EU border) 1,400.00 €
= Customs value € 11,400.00
   
= Customs value € 11,400.00
* Duty rate (%) 2.00%
= Customs amount € 228.00
   
= Customs value € 11,400.00
+ Duty amount € 228.00
+ domestic freight costs € 300.00
= Import sales tax amount € 11,928.00
   
= Import sales tax amount € 11,928.00
* Percentage 19.00%
= Import sales tax € 2,266.32

Of this, the following are to be paid: the customs amount and the import sales tax .

Forms of inch height

Customs duties may vary depending on the goods and regions. A distinction is made between bulk duty, ad valorem duty and mixed duty.

A quantity duty, also known as a specific duty , is an amount of money per unit of quantity of a good. The disadvantage arises from the world market price. Because the higher the world market price, the lower the tariff.

Under valorem means the value of goods that are cleared by a percentage. There is a disadvantage if the prices abroad fluctuate and these fluctuations are carried over to the domestic market.

The mixed tariff, also called sliding tariff, consists of the quantity tariff and ad valorem tariff. The advantage of this tariff is the possibility of stabilizing a domestic good that is relatively independent of the world market price. The disadvantage is the more difficult calculation of the duty due to the customs tariff.

Duty exemptions

Duty exemptions apply to:

Gifts

  • up to a value of 45 €

Flat rate

  • For occasional, non-commercial shipments for personal use or consumption from a private person to a private person with a value of less than € 700. The standard percentage is 17.5% of the value of the goods; for shipments from countries with which there is a preferential agreement, the flat-rate tax rate is 15% of the value of the goods.

For certain highly taxable goods (e.g. spirits, cigarettes, tobacco), however, special flat-rate tax rates (e.g. per liter, per item) are set.

Returns / luggage

  • Legal basis Art. 185 CC
  • The goods must remain in their original condition.
  • The goods must not have been abroad for more than 3 years.
  • The goods must have remained in possession abroad, i.e. i.e. it must not have been sold.
  • With a goods value of up to 22 €, the goods can be imported again without an export declaration.
  • Registration can be made informally for between € 22 and € 1000. The export invoice, export bill of lading and final clearance are required.
  • If the value of the goods is over 1000 €, the re-importation must be registered via the ATLAS system of customs. (The ATLAS system is an IT process in which written registrations and files are replaced by electronic records.)
  • If the value of goods exceeds € 3000, the export declaration must be stamped by customs or at least a customs permit is available.
  • In the case of luggage, you must always have a receipt showing that you have really been in the respective country.

Goods of little value

  • those with a goods value of less than 150 € are exempt from customs duties, but not from import sales tax, according to Art. 27 of the Customs Exemption Ordinance. Customs and import VAT-free are just low-value shipments to 22, - Euro.
  • Exceptions: alcohol, perfume, eau de toilette, tobacco, as well as goods that are subject to prohibitions and restrictions (VuB) for import.
  • If the import duties are less than € 5, they will not be charged.

Sample shipment

  • which are marked or
  • there is a quantity of 5 with a total value of 50 €.
  • Different sizes do not count.
  • Exception: goods with consumption tax

Document sending

  • Business records
  • technical documents and drafts
  • Press releases and photographs
  • Tax stamps etc.

Effects of tariff collection

  • The price effect caused by the imposition of the duty an increase in the prices of goods within the country, while foreign prices fall.
  • In the case of the trade effect , the domestic demand curve falls due to falling consumer demand and increasing supply from domestic producers. As a result, there is falling sales on the world market.
  • The aim of the protective effect is that less is imported. This means that more is produced domestically, i. that is, the domestic supply is increasing. In Germany, there is now an increase in the price of the goods produced. The higher price leads to lower global competitiveness of domestic producers, but it can lead to higher wages.
  • In the case of the welfare redistribution effect , the producer surplus increases and the consumer surplus decreases in the country into which goods are imported. Thus the redistribution takes place in favor of the producers and to the disadvantage of the domestic consumers. The welfare redistribution effect works the other way around abroad.
  • Part of the duty is borne by foreign countries. This means that the domestic price of the imported goods does not increase by the full customs amount. The lower the customs revenue, the higher the terms-of-trade effect . These revenues from customs generate a welfare gain.
  • The customs have an impact on Germany and abroad. This generates income for the public budget. This effect is known as the revenue effect. Revenues for the public budget result from the import volume multiplied by the customs burden.
  • By introducing a tariff, there is an opportunity to reduce underemployment as higher domestic production is achieved. The prerequisite for this is that there is no decline in the number of employees in the export goods industry. This effect is known as the employment effect.
  • The trade balance effect shows itself in an increase in the domestic price, which comes about through an imposition of the duty. Import tariffs improve the trade balance in the short term due to falling imports . However, this is not guaranteed in the medium and long term. It is also possible to revalue the local currency.

See also

literature

  • Blanchard, Illing: Macroeconomics. 4th edition. Pearson Studies, 2006, ISBN 978-3-8273-7209-3 .
  • Geigant, Haslinger, Sobotka, Westphal: Lexicon of economics. 7th edition. Verlag Moderne Industrie, 2000, ISBN 3-478-37057-4 .
  • Krugman, Obstfeld: International Economy - Theory and Politics of Foreign Trade. 7th edition. Pearson Studies, 2006, ISBN 978-3-8273-7199-7 .
  • Werner Lachmann: Economics 2nd 2nd edition. Springer-Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg 1995, 2004, ISBN 978-3-540-20219-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. Affected taxes. In: Zoll.de. Federal Customs Administration , accessed on August 18, 2013 .
  2. ^ PR Krugman, M. Obstfeld: International Economy - Theory and Politics of Foreign Trade . 7th edition. Pearson Studium, 2006, p. 146
  3. ^ PR Krugman, M. Obstfeld: International Economy - Theory and Politics of Foreign Trade . 7th edition. Pearson Studies, 2006
  4. Rodrik, D., 2011. The Globalization Paradox: Why Global Markets, States, and Democracy Can't Coexist. Oxford University Press.
  5. ↑ Luxury foods. In: Zoll.de. Federal Customs Administration , accessed on August 18, 2013 .
  6. Regulation (EC) No. 274/2008 of the Council of March 17, 2008 amending Regulation (EEC) No. 918/83 of the Council on the Community system of customs exemptions In: EUR-Lex .