Scandinavian postal operator PostNord has announced that all items with a declared value from countries outside the EU Customs Union are to have VAT applied on them from the first krona at a normal rate of 25%. This will be in place from the 1st March.

“It is very good that we have been able to agree on a solution for how the levying of VAT on such a large volume of mail items can be handled,” said PostNord Head of Corporate Affairs Thomas Backteman.

A new fee model involving a lower fee than SEK123 including VAT is to be introduced as well. For consignments of a lower value than SEK1500 will incur a fee of SEK75.

Where a consignment has a declared value of more than SEK1500 the current SEK125 fee will continue as before. As well as the cost of the VAT declaration the fee will also cover the cost of making a customs declaration.

Where the recipient does not want to pay VAT and the fee of the VAT declaration, then the parcel will be returned to the sender.

“Establishing a process that can handle the huge volumes involved over the course of just a few weeks has not been easy. But on the first of March we expect to have the process in place and the new handling fees will apply,” added Backteman.

For countries no longer in the Customs Union due to upheaval at home, this could impact exports to the Nordic region, which until now have been good customers…