Latvian State Revenue Service develops tax calculator for mail

To let residents learn how large tax amount they will have to pay before making a purchase online, Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) has developed a tax calculator for mail.
The calculator will help people who shop online or e-commerce platforms and receive mail from countries outside the EU to learn the total amount of money they will need to pay for the goods they want to purchase.
When picking some product to purchase at an internet store located in a third country, residents will be able to use the tax calculator how big a tax they will have to pay for it.
«Every day we provide consultations and we regularly receive questions from residents about tax calculation for mail. Application of tax depends on the value of the mail order, the type of goods ordered and other nuances. This is why we have developed a simple electronic tool to help each resident calculate the tax amount they have to pay for ordered goods,» says VID Customs Office customs clearance methodology office manager Irēna Knoka.
By filling in a couple of columns of information in the calculator, residents can calculate the VAT amount and customs duties and excise tax amount, if such are applicable to the goods being ordered. If several taxes have to be paid for the goods, the calculator will calculate each tax amount separately. The calculator supports Latvian, English and Russian language.
The amount of tax calculated is valid for the day when it is used and it may change depending on changes to regulations or currency exchange rate.
The calculator is intended to be used by residents to calculate taxes for mail orders the value of which does not exceed EUR 1 000, weight does not exceed 1 000 kg and the goods contained are included in the calculator’s database of goods.
Although most internet stores and e-commerce platforms sell goods in the a special VAT regime, which provides the option to collect VAT at the moment the transaction is processed. However, if this regime is not used, the tax calculator serves as a valuable aid to find out in advance how much tax they will have to pay for the goods they want.