626일차 - 기다리던 곳에서 연락이 왔다
오전에 주인아주머니가 나에게 전화가 왔다며 바꿔주셨다. 수화기에서는 뭐라고 얘기를 하는데 도대체 무슨 말인지?
생각해보니, 스페인 쇼핑몰에서 주문한 물건이 오늘 오전 조지아에 도착했다는 정보를 어제 새벽에 봤던 기억이 떠올랐다.
전화하는 곳이 UPS 냐고 물어보니, 그렇단다. 얘기를 들어보니, 관세를 내야 한다는 듯 하다.
내일은 조지아 휴일이고, 금요일에 내라는 듯 한데,
“그럼 UPS 사무실에 가서 관세를 내고 물건을 받으면 되나요?”
“그건 아니고…”
전화 상으로 모국어가 영어가 아닌 두 사람이 영어로 대화하는 것이 얼마나 어려운 일인가를 다시 한번 절감하면서, 통화를 마쳤다.
통화를 하면서 기억에 남는 몇가지 단어들을 떠올리며, 구글에게 물어보았다.
상대방은 “Revenue service” 라고 했다.
구글이 알려준 웹사이트를 살펴보던 중, 아래의 내용을 찾아볼 수 있었다.
Hi, I'm staying in Tbilisi for a couple of months, and want to receive a parcel from a friend in the US. I'm happy to pay the customs charges etc (likely ~1500GEL as it's a laptop), but it appears I need to go to the revenue service and get some kind of fiscal reference number.
Does anyone know what forms I will need to fill out? What paperwork etc I will need to provide? Beyond my passport and credit cards I don't really have anything - nothing like a proof of address etc.
As a follow-up, does anyone know if I can claim a VAT refund at the airport? You can in most countries, but this is my first time in Georgia.
Update: Many thanks for the replies. I popped down the the Revenue Service office on Ortachala street - there was no wait, and the paperwork took about 10 minutes. I just needed my passport, as suggested, although also needed to supply an address in Georgia (which, fortunately, I'd written down beforehand).
USA2Georgia does seem to be the best service, and a fair amount cheaper than FedEx.
Update 2: It worked!!! After getting the fiscal number, I registered on USA2Georgia and had the parcel sent to them via UPS. As soon as the parcel arrived, it was updated on their website. I did customs declaration, and parcel arrived in Georgia a week later. Their site couldn't accept a non-Georgian credit/debit card, so I went to their office, and just paid cash for the parcel (at a PayBox on the ground floor). I then had to clear customs on the 1st floor (2nd floor in American), which took around 10 minutes and required my passport and the fiscal number (I took the printout I'd received from the revenue service). Then left with the parcel and a tax invoice I need to pay at a bank at some point.
위 글에 따르면, 먼저 여권을 가지고 Revenue service 라는 곳에 가서, fiscal reference number 를 받아야 한단다. 문서를 작성해야 한다고.. 그리고 나서 DHL 사무실에 가서, 수수료를 내고 받아야 한다는 듯하다.
You just need a passport and they register you as tax payer. After this you can receive any parcel and just pay about 20 GEL to custom broker each time (post office suggest one, you should provide your tax payer ID and wait 20 minutes).
Meanwhile, if you use usa2georgia or another service, you should provide to them your tax payer number ;) to make custom clearance ;)
상당히 복잡하다. 금요일에 직접 가서 해봐야 할 듯 하다.