Bringing used computers/phones from USA to Romania as gifts

Upvote:0

Bring some documentation of the actual age of the devices. Doesn't need to be the actual devices but even similar models can be fine.

Then just walk through the "nothing to declare" lane. First of all, the likelihood than anyone will stop you and ask is exceedingly low. If they do, simply argue that the IRS sets the deprecation life time for computer equipment to 5 years and since that the IRS thinks it's basically worthless you assessed the residual value to be less $100 per device. It's highly unlikely that any customs agent would argue with that, since you have obviously done a good faith effort to value your goods and document that value.

Your own MacBook doesn't count, since it won't stay in the country.

Upvote:6

There are two different types of taxes on imports: duties (also called tariffs) and VAT (the equivalent of sales tax, though the rules can be quite different from those in the US).

Duties are the real “import tax” and depend both on the type of product and the “country of origin”, which is not where they were bought or where they are arriving from, but (to simplify) where they were made. They are anti-dumping tools, so goods of a specific type coming from a specific country may be taxed at a higher level (sometimes very high) to protect local manufacturers.

When the site you linked to says computers and phones are duty-free, it’s those they are talking about.

VAT is a more general consumption tax, and it applies both on locally produced goods (and services) and to imports.

If you are over the duty free allowance, then you are supposed to pay duties (if any) and VAT on the total value of your imports, rather than just the part which exceeds the allowance.

I honestly don’t think a customs officer is going to care for a minute about 5 year old used computers and phones. The 2012 MacBook Air is classified as “obsolete” by Apple, and the 2015 model will soon be “vintage”.

Most people would indeed probably walk through the “nothing to declare” lane, but to be safe you should indeed walk through the “goods to declare lane” and explain the situation to an officer. The chances they will wave you through without a thought are quite high. If they don’t, then have documentation ready showing the age of the devices and their current value. In the worst case you’ll have to pay VAT on the total amount, but I doubt it: the goal of assessing VAT on imports is to avoid an imbalance with local sales, which is quite far from your situation.

To improve your chances, make sure the devices are in no way in “resale” condition: no original boxes for instance.

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