Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 99: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the threshold for purchases on the Internet from non-EU countries before customs and VAT become payable; and his views on updating them to a more realistic level to avoid excessive bureaucratic delay. [18387/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Customs duties, VAT and excise duty where applicable are payable on goods purchased over the Internet and imported into Ireland from outside of the EU. Consignments of a negligible value, i.e. not exceeding a value of €22, do not attract import charges. However, this relief does not apply to tobacco products, alcoholic products, perfumes or toilet waters.

Further relief is available for gift consignments, to and from private individuals, where the value of the gift does not exceed €45. Again, there is no relief from VAT or Excise duty on consignments of alcohol, tobacco products, perfume and toilet waters but relief from Customs duty is allowed as per the table.

The thresholds for relief from duty are set by the EU and are under review at present. Ireland is supportive of measures to modernise customs import procedures and would also support reasonable proposals to simplify the existing general reliefs regime. This is evidenced by our welcome for recent EU proposals to increase the duty free allowances for persons entering the EU from third countries from the current single limit of €175 to €300 for people travelling by land, and to €430 for those travelling by air and sea.