EU Import
Importing an ASIC from outside the EU means VAT at the border, a possible duty and time. Buying from stock inside the EU removes this whole chapter at once.
What the price at the border is made of
First and biggest is the VAT of the importing country: in Spain it is 21 percent. It is charged not on the shop's price tag but on the customs value, meaning the price plus shipping and insurance. You pay that amount at the border before the cargo is released.
Second is the duty. Computing hardware in the EU often carries a zero rate, but the outcome depends on the code customs assigns to your specific cargo, and arguing with them is slow and expensive. Ask a broker about this in advance, not a marketplace seller.
Third is the delivery terms. DDP means the seller pays the taxes and duties, and the number on the price tag is final. DAP and the other variants mean customs and payments are yours: add VAT, a possible duty, broker fees and days of waiting to the tag.
Fourth, the one people remember too late: warranty. An overseas seller formally provides it, but shipping a dead miner there and back costs as much as a repair and takes weeks. A warranty has value when the service center sits on your continent.
The short version
| VAT in Spain | 21 percent of price plus shipping |
| Duty | depends on the code, often zero for computing hardware |
| DDP | taxes in the price, the seller pays |
| DAP | customs is yours: VAT, broker, waiting |
| Buying inside the EU | no customs at all |
How to avoid surprises
Read the delivery terms before paying: the gap between DDP and DAP is hundreds of euros on a single ASIC.
Count the full price: tag, shipping, VAT on their sum, broker. Compare that figure with an EU-stock price, not the tag alone.
Mind the timing: customs adds days to weeks, and in volatile mining that is money too.
For a business, ask your accountant about deducting import VAT: for a company with a VAT number the import math looks different than for a private buyer.
A worked example
An ASIC priced at 2000 with 150 shipping travels to Spain under DAP terms. At the border, VAT of 21 percent on 2150 comes to about 451, plus broker fees and a week of waiting. The total lands well above the tag that made the miner look cheaper than the same one from EU stock with a warranty close by.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Hardware
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
- Antminer S21 tool
Numbers
Questions and answers
Is it true there is no duty on ASICs in the EU
Often yes, computing hardware goes at a zero rate. But the code customs assigns to your cargo decides, so nobody can honestly guarantee it.
The seller offered to understate the value in the declaration
That is a customs violation with the risks on you: back charges, a fine, confiscation. An understated declaration also kills the cargo insurance.
Is importing the same for a person and a company
The payments are the same, the math is not: a company with a VAT number usually deducts the import VAT. The exact picture is a question for your accountant, we are not advisers here.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .