Passport number for deliveries from Europe!

[jcassidy]

In Italy it is certainly for tax avoidance as well. When it comes to import/export it is just a way of identifying the person importing or exporting.
Anyone can have a codice fiscale. The number basically identifies a person by their name, place of birth and date of birth. There are many online calculators. like this one

Yes, I had to get one when I was living in Sicily.

 

[AES]

I was born in London. I consider myself English, even if the Italians insist I'm Italian.

OK, I stand corrected mate, sorry if any offence created, NOT intended.

 

[pgrbff]

OK, I stand corrected mate, sorry if any offence created, NOT intended.

No offence taken.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes, I had to get one when I was living in Sicily.

Yes, I understand they are particularly keen on peoples' paying their taxes in Sicily.

 

[Val]

Yes, I understand they are particularly keen on peoples' paying their taxes in Sicily.

They are, as much as anywhere else in the UK

 

[scholar]

Aside from the local requirements that may exist in Italy, the EORI requirement or otherwise was a new one on me recently.

I wanted to order a small spare part for one of my machines (sold in the UK by a UK company with a sales office just down the road) - the sales office told me I would need to supply my EORI number plus various other things like a VAT number, which being a private individual I don’t have; all because apparently the parts are sold through their French sales office.

Having looked up what EORI is, I now know; it is not required for importing goods for personal use, but it seems that businesses are applying it as a standard requirement if you want to order something from the EU.

It all seemed too much hassle, so the result was that I have just repaired the part and the company lost out on a (small) sale and a (large) shipping fee.

I have now heard other similar examples and think most likely it will be necessary to get an EORI number (I understand it is at least free).

Any further comment on my part might stray into the political…

cheers

 

[Phil Pascoe]

They are, as much as anywhere else in the UK

Did you read the comments under the article in the Telegraph on Sicilian property the other day by people who had/had had properties there?

 

[AES]

Aside from the local requirements that may exist in Italy, the EORI requirement or otherwise was a new one on me recently.

I wanted to order a small spare part for one of my machines (sold in the UK by a UK company with a sales office just down the road) - the sales office told me I would need to supply my EORI number plus various other things like a VAT number, which being a private individual I don’t have; all because apparently the parts are sold through their French sales office.

Having looked up what EORI is, I now know; it is not required for importing goods for personal use, but it seems that businesses are applying it as a standard requirement if you want to order something from the EU.

It all seemed too much hassle, so the result was that I have just repaired the part and the company lost out on a (small) sale and a (large) shipping fee.

I have now heard other similar examples and think most likely it will be necessary to get an EORI number (I understand it is at least free).

Any further comment on my part might stray into the political…

cheers

Thanks for the info scholar. Worth noting. As Switzerland is also not in the EU, I wonder if I'll have problems with "import from Europe"? So far not a problem, but have been asked for my (Swiss) ID card number a couple of times. We'll see - and BTW, IMO you are truly VERY wise to stay away from political comment on this/related subjects!

 

[isaac3d]

Perfectly normal. It would be inconceivable to an Italian that you wouldn't give your CF or codice fiscale to a vendor. It's 100% normal and it will be the post office or shipping company that insists on it. When I order from Amazon outside of Italy I am asked for my CF for customs clearance by Amazon. When DHL or any other courier is about to deliver from outside the EU, i will get atext, sms or email asking for my CF for customs clearance. As they know you are not resident in Italy and haven't got a CF, they ask for a passport number.
It's 100 normal here, It is also used in Italy as a way of keeping track of what a peson spends. You have to declare your income every year in Italy. It's quite normal for the guardia di finanza, or fiscal police to stop someone in a ferrari and find that he has no income. It's all about tax evasion here but in your case just about customs clearance.
I'm organising shipping a Jag V8 engine from Derbyshire to Italy for a friend. The first thing the UK shipper asked, apart from size and weight, was do the shipper and consignee both have registered EORI? Your EORI hereis your CF or vat number prefixed with IT.

pgrbff is right, this is pretty normal for Europe. Europeans have been required to show proof of ID for all sorts of things for decades. When I lived in the Netherlands, I had to show proof of identity (passport) in order to deposit a few euros IN to my account, let alone taking it out. I can imagine that if I regularly turned up with thousands of euros in grubby notes, suspicions may be roused, but even depositing a few euros cash was a rigmarole.
We have it easy here in the UK.

 

[jcassidy]

Did you read the comments under the article in the Telegraph on Sicilian property the other day by people who had/had had properties there?

Tell us more. I don't read the telegraph and its got a paywall online.

We have property there but seeing as how my better half is Catanese, we don't have any problems...

John Dickie's book is excellent if you want to understand better the mindset. Taxes are for fools, and the only reason to tighten the rules is to squeeze more money out of people in the form of kickbacks and bribes.

My late father-in-law's paperwork for his organic farm designation stalled for THREE years in the Minister of Agriculture's office because he wouldn't pay a 'consultation fee' to a friend of the Minister. That minister, Antonio Cuffaro, later became President of Sicilia before doing time for mafia association.

 

[shed9]

Quick update on this one (as I said I would). The parcel (from the original post) finally arrived. It actually arrived last week so over a month in delivery time. Interestingly it sat in Italy for almost most of that time period as as soon as it left Italian customs I had it in two days.

I didn't actually pass on my passport number and the seller didn't have any immediate repercussions for not supplying it either. Not sure if the lack of that detail impacted those delivery times or if the EU exit was the main culprit? Pre exit I used to get EU deliveries within days regardless of where from within the EU itself.

For info for the sake of info and I'm aware there are some hobby astronomers in the chat, the parcel was (is) a William Optics Megrez II 80mm semi-APO refractor. It's not had first light with me yet but it's beautifully made and the next clear night it's getting an airing.

 

[TRITON]

Brexit caused some issues

Understatement of the new millennium

 

[shed9]

Understatement of the new millennium

Fair point...

 

[pgrbff]

I'm still waiting for a parcel that left the UK with Parcelforce on November 25th. Tracking says it is at the wrong delivery depot.
On the question of ID's I regularly buy from UK and Japan. I am always asked for my tax number. In fact, I have to provide it on Amazon before completing checkout.

 

[rwillett]

For info for the sake of info and I'm aware there are some hobby astronomers in the chat, the parcel was (is) a William Optics Megrez II 80mm semi-APO refractor. It's not had first light with me yet but it's beautifully made and the next clear night it's getting an airing.

Ah!, so you're responsible for the solid cloud cover, rain, fog and generally miserable conditions I've had for the last few weeks. I wondered who had some new kit.

 

[Tris]

Why do the clear nights always coincide with a full moon? Had hoped to spot comets but too bright on the couple of clear nights we've had