School, study
Which items can receive exemption?
- Household effects: house hold and bed linen, underwear, and clothing. They need not be used items;
- Educational materials: all objects and instruments (such as computers and printers), normally used by pupils or students for the purposes of their studies;
- Household effects: used furniture representing the usual furnishing for a student’s room. The items must in each case be intended for the personal use of the pupil/student coming to stay in the customs territory during the period of study. The type and/or the quantity of these goods must not be such as might indicate, by its nature or quantity, that it is being imported for commercial reasons.
Exception:
No duty relief in case of:
Imports of new products,
- ordered electronically by means of eCommerce in a third country,
- are purchased by third parties and sent via postal services,
- are not related to the entry of pupils and students.
For these goods certain restrictions such as those applicable on returning from a non-EU country must be observed because certain goods are subject to authorisation requirements or bans in Germany; for example, protected species of animals, and items made from them.
Information about restrictions
Conditions and arrangements for relief from import duties
Conditions
The beneficiaries must be pupils or students entering the customs territory of the Community for the purposes of studying there. Only pupils and students who do not normally reside in the Community, and who are studying abroad for a year or a semester enter the Community. They must also be enrolled for full-time attendance in an educational establishment.
Customs declaration/forms
Goods, for which it is intended to make an application for special relief, must be declared for release for free circulation in a written or electronic customs form.
Where travellers carry these goods in their personal luggage through airports with separate (red/green) customs control exits, they may be declared
- conclusively, by choosing the green (‘Nothing to declare’) exit, if the goods’ value does not exceed 430 euros, or
- orally, by choosing the red (‘Goods to declare‘) exit, should the goods’ value exceed 430 euros
Legal basis
Articles 21 and 22 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009
Restriction
No restriction is placed on pupils’ or students’ educational materials; a beneficiary may dispose of the goods at will after they have been released for free circulation.
Import VAT and excise duty
Goods that are defined as household effects, educational material and other pupils’ and students’ items, and as such are released for free circulation under relief, are exempt from import VAT but not from any excise duties that may be applicable in Germany.
