Shipment stuck in German customs
Hi,
I sent a test shipment to my FBA warehouse in Germany a few weeks ago from Thailand using the following address:
[My company name]
Amazon Fulfillment Center
Amazonstr. 1
36251 Bad Hersfeld / Obere Kühnbach
Germany
The tracking on DHL says the following on April 16th:
‘Tue, 16.04.2019 18:53 -
The shipment has been sent to the DHL customs office. Your shipment will be handed over to customs and then transported to the relevant Inland Customs Office. The consignee can pick up the consignment there upon receipt of the letter of notification from Deutsche Post about the receipt of a consigned consignment. Further information: www.zoll.de - search term “postal customs clearance”.’
I have read the page on zoll.de and I’m pretty sure the issue is I didn’t do this:
‘credible proof of the value of the consignment is shown (where possible through an invoice affixed to the exterior).’
However, I would like to know for certain. I have called DHL in Germany who told me there is no phone number for the customs I can call. They gave me this email ems.customerservice@deutschepost.de but since two days there’s still no reply. I understand that customs will contact addressee by mail (physical letter) but who is addressee? I suppose it’s amazon itself and I guess they won’t respond to it? My company doesn’t have an address in Germany nor any representatives there.
Has anyone been in this situation before and knows how to get some information from customs?
10 replies
Seller_EJIX7rqDNQJi2
You should have arranged all import documentation prior to sending anything from outside of the EU into FBA.
The carrier needs to be a courier, not the regular post and you need to be the importer of record.
Amazon will not handle the clearance or respond to any communication with authorities on your behalf.
Seller_g49byUIvxncvX
Parcels and postal items from outside the EU may be deliv
ered directly to the recipient if:
■ the consignment does not contain goods that are subject
to import prohibitions and restrictions and/or specific
form requirements (such as certain approvals), and
■ it is accompanied by fully and properly completed documents and particulars
Any applicable import duties may normally be paid at the time of delivery.
Transport by Deutsche Post AG (DHL for EMS))
Deutsche Post AG, the German Postal Service, will redirect the consignment to your local customs office whenever documents or particulars are missing, or there are doubts as to the legitimacy of an import. In this case, Deutsche Post AG will notify you in writing, informing you of the competent customs office, the missing particulars or documents, and the period of time for which your consignment will be held.
You can submit the necessary documentation to the responsible customs office and complete the customs clearance process yourself or, alternatively, have Deutsche Post AG act on your behalf for a fee. To do so, send the notification together with the required documents to the customs office indicated. If you choose this latter option, it may take longer to receive your consignment…
For further information, please contact the central information unit at German customs:
Parcels and postal items from abroad
Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm
Carusufer 3 – 5
01099 Dresden
Phone : 03 51 / 4 48 34 - 5 30
Fax : 03 51 / 4 48 34 - 5 90
Email : enquiries.english@zoll.de
Seller_sFEUMUfeW5484
Two days isn’t a long time since you emailed them (customs). I would think they will reply with proper advice in due course, I would expect maybe within a week or so.
