Company import tax

General expenditure tax (GET)

GET will be levied on the customs value of the goods. The customs value includes:

1. the duties due upon import, taxes, and levies, except for the GET due in relation to import into a public body;
2. the additional costs, such as the costs of commission, packaging, transport, and insurance up to the place of destination.

Consult the BES Customs and Excise Duties Act (chapter 3) and the BES Tax Act (Article 6.18) if you want to learn everything about determining the customs value and the components that must be included in the customs value for the GET levies.

GET rate

Besides a number of exceptions, the GET rate due for all goods is:

• on Bonaire: 8%;
• on Saba and Saint Eustatius: 6%.

Some exceptions are:

• The GET rate for passenger cars is 25%.
• The GET rate for passenger cars without CO2 emissions (electrical cars) amounts to 0% as of 1/1/2020. The definition of passenger car has been set out in Article 6.1(f) of the BES Tax Act and on the Passenger Cars GET Rates Sheet.

Exemptions

The GET exemption for the import of basic needs has been extended as of 1 January 2013. The exemption only applies to goods categorised in chapters 4, 7 to 11, 15, 17, and 19 of the harmonised system.

Generally, these are the following categories of goods belonging to the chapters of the harmonised system referred to above.

• Chapter 4: Dairy produce; birds' eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin;
• Chapter 7: Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers;
• Chapter 8: Edible fruit and nuts; peel of melons or citrus fruit;
• Chapter 9: Coffee, tea, maté and spices;
• Chapter 10: Grains;
• Chapter 11: Products of the milling industry; malt; starches; inulin; wheat gluten;
• Chapter 15: Animal or vegetable fats and oil and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes;
• Chapter 17: Sugars and sugar confectionery;
• Chapter 19: Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks' products.

When paying GET on goods carried by a traveller, the addition for freight and insurance costs will not apply.

Excise duties

The excise duties rate depends on the type of excise good. The excise duties are levied on the number of excise goods you import. Excise goods are: petrol, beer, wine, other alcoholic beverages, and tobacco products.

Please refer to Chapter IV of the BES Customs and Excise Duties Act for the excise duty rates.

On Bonaire, you will pay excise duties when importing and exporting all excise goods.

On Saba and Saint Eustatius: you will only pay excise duties when importing and exporting petrol. When importing beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, you will not pay excise duties on Saba and Saint Eustatius.