Export

Which different forms of exporting goods are there?

The following forms of exporting goods exist:

• final export;
  • regular export;
  • export subject to credit or with refund of excise duties;
• temporary export;
  • regular temporary export;
  • passive improvement.

This section explains the various types of the export customs-approved treatment.
Please note: You must always check whether for all types of export whether your goods may be exported. Export may be forbidden or certain restrictions may apply. For example: you require a permit from the Minister of Economic Affairs for exporting strategic goods.

Final export

Regular export
A case of final export will exist if the goods are intended to be transported abroad and will not return Caribbean Netherlands.

Export subject to credit or with refund of excise duties/export with crediting of excise duties
If goods are stored in a bonded warehouse (BW) and are exported, no excise duties will be due. The BW permitholder must have an export declaration to demonstrate that the goods have actually been exported. This export declaration must have been signed by Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland.

Export with refund of excise duties

Excise duties are a consumption tax. If the excise duties have already been paid on Bonaire, Saba, or Saint Eustatius, but the excise goods in question are exported, the excise duties paid may be refunded to the exporter of the goods in certain situations. The exporter must have an export declaration to demonstrate that the goods have actually been exported. This export declaration must have been signed by Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland.

The exporter:

• will draw up a written request;
• will enclose the signed export declaration;
• will request a refund of the excise duties from the Customer Service Department of Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland.

Ask this team about the refund conditions (you can find the contact details below the Contact heading).

Please note. A refund of duties on Saba or Saint Eustatius can only be granted for exported petrol. No duties are due on other duties goods on these islands, which means that these excise duties will not have been paid.

Temporary export

Regular temporary export;
Sometimes, goods may need to be exported temporarily, for example, to give a demonstration in another country. The goods will return after some time in an unaltered form. When these goods return, an exemption from general expenditure tax (GET) and duties may be granted. You will not pay any import taxes when importing these goods again.

Please note: the exemption from import tax applies for each island area.
For example: goods traded freely on Saint Eustatius are exported temporarily to Saint Martin. They return to Saint Eustatius after a brief period of time. No import taxes are due. If the goods are imported to Saba after their use on Saint Martin, import taxes will be due.

Conditions for temporary export:

• Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland will need to determine the identity of the goods when these are exported. This means that it will record certain identifying characteristics of the goods on the export declaration form. This enables Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland to determine that the same goods are returned;
• the goods must be reimported within 3 months of the export date;
• when reimporting the goods, an exemption will only be granted if proof of origin from Bonaire, Saba, or Saint Eustatius is submitted to Customs. This proof is the paper export declaration form on which Customs captured the identifying characteristics during the export.
• the goods may not undergo any processing during their stay away from the island. An exception is processing needed to keep the goods in good condition.

Do I require a permit from the inspector of Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland to be allowed to export goods temporarily?

No, if you observe the method set out above, this form of temporary export does not require permission from the inspector. However, you must make sure that Customs can determine the identity of the goods when they are exported (refer to the “Conditions” heading).

Passive improvement
Examples of passive improvement:

• you live on Bonaire and want to temporarily export your car to Curaçao for a new layer of paint;
• you have a machine on Saba that is malfunctioning and is transported to Saint Martin for an inspection and repairs. The machine will be returned to Saba afterwards.

Passive improvements are a form of temporary export during which the goods are exported from the island and undergo certain processing operations. These processing operations may include:

• modification of goods, including the installation, assembly, and adaptation to other goods;
• processing goods;
• repairing goods, including their overhaul and configuration.

If the goods return to the original island after the modification, processing, or repairs, partial exemption from import tax can be granted.

Please note: just like during regular temporary export, re-imported goods will only be exempt from import tax if this re-import takes place to the island from which the goods were exported.

Do I require a permit from the inspector of Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland to apply the passive improvement scheme?

Yes, you require a permit. The permit must have been granted before the export of the goods. The permit must at least include the following:

• the period within which the improved products will be re-imported to Bonaire, Saba, or Saint Eustatius;
• the calculation method of the amount to be exempt from import tax;
• the manner in which the goods to be exported temporarily can be identified in the improved products to be re-imported.

Do economic conditions apply to the permit?

Yes, the permit will not be granted if there is a company on Bonaire, Saba, or Saint Eustatius that is able to meet the specific improvement requirements at comparable conditions in terms of price, quality, and turnaround time.

What import tax will be due when I have goods passively improved?

The customs value and the import tax due will be calculated when the improved good is imported. This amount will be reduced by the import tax that would be due if the goods had been imported in a non-improved state at that time.

Example: The following actions take place based on the passive improvement scheme on Bonaire: - rolls of cotton with a value of USD 6,000.00.

A manufacturer in another country uses the fabric to create T-shirts. These T-shirts are shipped to Bonaire. The customs value when the T-shirts are imported into Bonaire is:
 

value of rolls of fabric	USD 6,000.00
manufacturing fee of manufacturer	USD 4,000.00
freight and insurance costs	USD 750.00
	------------------
Customs value	USD 10,750.00
GET due upon import		USD 860.00 (8% of USD 10,750.00)
Minus: GET on the exported product (due if the fabric would have been imported at that time)		USD 480.00 (8% of USD 6000.00)
		----------------
GET due upon import of the T-shirts		USD 380.00
		==========

The customs value of goods repaired against payment is equal to the repair costs. However, this must be the only work performed by the permitholder for these costs (the person who exported the goods from Bonaire, Saba, or Saint Eustatius).
 

Do I always need to pay import taxes in case of passive improvements?

No, if the goods are repaired at no cost based on a contractual or statutory guarantee obligation, you will not need to pay any import taxes when the goods are re-imported. However, you must be able to demonstrate that the repairs took place at no cost.

I want to have goods passively improved; what should I do?

If you want to have the goods covered by the passive improvement scheme, make sure to contact Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland in a timely fashion (refer to the contact details below the Contact heading). This will give you sufficient time to study all conditions and to handle your request for an export permit before the goods are exported.

How does Customs know that I have submitted a customs declaration form for a specific form of export?

The codes you have entered in fields 1 and 37 of your customs declaration form show that you invoke the export customs-approved treatment based on a specific version. These codes can be found in the Single Document Manual.