New VAT rules in the European Union from July 1, 2021

From July 1, 2021, e-commerce legislation in Europe will change. From this date, customers making online purchases on websites based outside the European Union will have to pay VAT, starting from the 1st euro. .

For example, if a German resident buys a product worth €10 on a site based in Japan, he will also have to pay €1.9 in VAT (the VAT rate in Germany is 19%).

This VAT can be paid in 2 different ways:
    1 - Directly on the web shop, in addition to the price of the products (for platforms registered in a new system in Europe)
    2 - Upon delivery, directly to the carrier. In this case, additional fees are also billed by the carriers. 6€ in Germany, around 10€ in Austria (see information on DHL website)

We are working hard to put in place the second method, as soon as possible. It is a procedure that takes a lot of time to set up & can be quite tricky for small companies like NihonBox, as the system was first & foremost for larger scale e-commerce platforms.

During this transition period (for all boxes paid before the 1st of July but arriving after), it is very likely that the VAT will be applied upon delivery by your post office. It will depend largely on the degree of implementation of this new law during July & during the transition period. It is impossible to know in advance but be prepared to pay for the VAT on all boxes in July, Nihonbox included.

Many gray areas and questions still remain about the application of these new rules and we do not yet have all the answers.

However, we are working to make changes in the coming weeks and months, to collect VAT on the price of our subscriptions, to avoid additional charges during delivery.

We are counting on your understanding and support in the coming weeks regarding these new rules which directly affect us.

Some VAT rates:

This page may be updated in the event of new information.