Dutch commit packing slip fraud through Chinese intermediares; Treasury losing millions

Dutch consumers commit packing slip fraud on a large scale through Chinese intermediaries, BNR discovered. The packing slip tells Customs what is inside a package, based on which import duties are charged. Fraud with these slips is saving Dutch consumers a pretty penny, but costing the treasury millions.

The fraud happens through sites like Superbuy, CSSBuy, and Mulebuy. They serve a legitimate purpose by making it possible for Dutch people to order from Chinese companies that do not deliver directly to Europe. In practice, they are often used for fraud. Consumers fill in the packing slip with their order themselves, so they can easily lie about what they ordered. According to BNR, the Chinese sites openly advertise this option. “Tip: Fill in the packing slip so that you pay less or no import duties,” CCSBuy states, for example.

Consumers are obliged to pay 21 percent VAT on products they import. For orders over 150 euros, a variable percentage of import duties are added. For example, someone who orders 250 euros worth of closing from China will pay around 90 euros in import taxes. By lying on the packing slip, that can drop to nearly nothing.

According to BNR, consumers exchange tips and success stories with packing slip fraud on TikTok and Reddit. One user wrote that he ordered hundreds of euros worth of clothing, but declared the package for 1 euro, resulting in him paying only a few cents in tax.

Customs is familiar with the practice but is powerless against it, a spokesperson told BNR. “With the current volumes, proper enforcement is almost impossible.” Last year, over 1 billion parcels entered the Netherlands, most from China. Customs checks parcels on a random basis. “But it remains a drop in the ocean,” the spokesperson said. “Customs cannot solve this problem on its own.”