Import VAT and Duty in Hungary
VAT Rates
The standard VAT rate in Hungary is 27% (ÁFA). Reduced rates of 18% and 5%.
Import VAT and customs duty in Hungary are administered by NAV (Nemzeti Adó- és Vámhivatal, the National Tax and Customs Administration).
The rate applying on import is the rate that applies to a supply of the same or similar goods on the Hungary domestic market, which is why correct commodity classification matters at the classification stage and not only at invoicing.
The Taxable Amount
Import VAT is calculated on the Customs value on a CIF basis, plus customs duty and other charges payable at importation. Freight and insurance to the point of entry into the EU are included in the customs value, so a shipment budgeted on goods value alone will understate the VAT payable.
Customs Duty
EU Common Customs Tariff applied through TARIC. Duty is set by the commodity code and origin at the date the declaration is accepted — there is no single national rate that applies across a consignment.
Low-Value Consignments
The EUR 22 import VAT exemption was abolished EU-wide on 1 July 2021. There is no value below which a commercial import escapes VAT. The EUR 150 threshold relieves customs duty only. From 1 July 2026 a temporary flat duty of EUR 3 per item category applies to consignments at or below EUR 150, running until 1 July 2028.
Postponed Accounting
VAT-registered Hungarian importers may account for import VAT through the VAT return rather than paying at the frontier. It is a cash-flow mechanism, not an exemption, and it does not apply to customs duty.
Planning Duty and VAT for Hungary
Hungarian sea cargo discharges at an access seaport — most often Rijeka, Koper, Constanța or Trieste — and then moves inland by road or rail. Hungary also has Danube inland ports at Csepel, Baja and Győr-Gönyű, which can serve barge-based movements where the routing supports it. Two inland delivery constraints are specific to Hungary and worth planning around: weekend and holiday driving bans for trucks above 7.5 tonnes, and the distance-based HU-GO toll which applies from 3.5 tonnes.
That routing, and the country-specific points below, are what turn a generic EU calculation into a Hungary one. They belong in the landed-cost model from the outset rather than being discovered at clearance:
- Hungarian standard VAT is 27%, the highest in the EU, with reduced rates of 18% and 5%
- Weekend and holiday driving bans apply to trucks above 7.5 tonnes, which can add a day or more to inland delivery
- The distance-based HU-GO toll applies from 3.5 tonnes and forms part of the inland leg cost
Frequently Asked Questions
The standard rate is 27% (ÁFA). Reduced rates of 18% and 5%.
The taxable amount is the Customs value on a CIF basis, plus customs duty and other charges payable at importation. Freight and insurance to the point of entry into the EU form part of the customs value, so under-declaring freight understates the VAT.
No. The EUR 22 import VAT exemption was abolished EU-wide on 1 July 2021. The EUR 150 threshold that remains relieves customs duty only — it has never been a VAT threshold.
From 1 July 2026 a temporary flat duty of EUR 3 applies per declared item category on consignments valued at EUR 150 or less. It is charged on the declarant, not the consumer, and runs until 1 July 2028.
No. Postponed VAT accounting changes when and how import VAT is accounted for, not whether it is due. The VAT remains payable; it is declared through the VAT return rather than paid at the frontier.