– Daddy… How do we know how much customs duty I’ll have to pay for that teddy bear from Norway?
– Well… Well… there are procedures. The European Union publishes a special regulation in its official journal, where the customs duty rates for all products are specified.
– And do the customs officers at the customs office check these rates in this official journal?
– Well, no… There’s and internet search engine called TARIC where you can look up the customs duty for a specific product. Although in Poland, everyone, both customs agents and officers, use a search engine called ISZTAR, run by the Customs Department of the Ministry of Finance, because TARIC doesn’t have information about Polish taxes, like VAT or excise duty.
– And I’ll pay the customs duty and taxes as listed in this search engine?
– Well, most likely.
– Why „most likely”?
– Well, because sometimes these search engines have errors…
– And what then?
– Well… If you pay less customs duty than was listed in the official journal, you’ll have to pay the difference plus interest.
– But it’s not my fault if there was and error in the search engine, is it?
– Technically… But the Ministry of Finance informs in fine print that „data in the tariff browser are for informational purposes only and do not constitute a source of law or its interpretation; they are also not legally binding in administrative and judicial proceedings.”
– Daddy… If in a pastry shop it’s written that and ice cream cone costs two złoty, can the seller ask us to pay five złoty for one scoop?
– Stasiek, come on… Running a pastry shop is serious business; you can’t pull tricks like that.
– Daddy, are you saying that…
– Let’s go to the pastry shop; we’ll check on the spot how it is with these prices!
Author: PS
For the curious:
TARIC Consultation
Tariff Search
