India to Germany Relocation — Register, Declare, Then Receive Your Goods

Germany's customs authority, the Zoll, treats your used household goods as Übersiedlungsgut — property moved in connection with a transfer of residence — and clears them free of import duty and import VAT if you meet the conditions and file the right declaration. Miss the sequence, and the default applies: import VAT at 19% on your own furniture. REHOUSING PACKERS PVT LTD plans India-to-Germany moves around that sequence — you register in Germany first, the declaration is prepared with your registration certificate, and the container arrives after both are done. For the general shape of our international service, see the international relocation overview.

The Übersiedlungsgut conditions in plain terms

To import household effects duty- and VAT-free into Germany from India, the typical conditions are:

• Your normal residence has been outside the EU for at least twelve months before the move (or you can show you intended to be, e.g. via an employment contract).
• You have owned and used the goods for at least six months in India.
• You will keep using them for the same purpose in Germany, and you will not sell, lend, pledge or give them away for twelve months after customs accepts the declaration.
• You import them within twelve months of taking up residence in Germany (you can also import before moving, against a security deposit — rarely worth it).

The declaration is made on Zoll Form 0350 — Zollanmeldung für Übersiedlungsgut — listing your household goods, household stocks, and any vehicles, alcohol, tobacco or professional items separately. The exemption from import VAT does not extend to excise goods such as alcohol, so wine and spirits should not be in the household consignment.

Proof of residence transfer is the step Indian families are least prepared for. The Zoll wants evidence that you have actually moved — most commonly the Anmeldebestätigung (the confirmation you receive after registering your address at the local Bürgeramt, required within about two weeks of moving in), plus your rental contract and employment contract, and proof of your former Indian address. Because you cannot register before you have a German address and have arrived, the shipment is best timed to land after registration.

The register-first timeline we recommend

1. Survey and quote in India (video or in person), typically six to eight weeks before departure. 2. Pack and export-clear, then hold in our Indian warehouse or dispatch depending on your German move-in date. 3. You arrive in Germany, sign the lease, register at the Bürgeramt and receive your Anmeldebestätigung. 4. Form 0350 is prepared with your registration certificate, passport, visa/residence permit, inventory and lease; you sign it. 5. Container arrives at Hamburg or Bremerhaven, clears, and is delivered.

Sea transit from Nhava Sheva or Mundra to Hamburg or Bremerhaven is usually around four to six weeks port to port, so a shipment dispatched at or shortly after your flight typically lands a few weeks after you have registered — a natural fit. Door-to-door to Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf or Hamburg commonly runs six to eight weeks.

What to ship to Germany from India

Germany runs on 230 V, 50 Hz; Indian kitchen appliances work with a plug adaptor (Schuko sockets), so mixers, grinders, rice cookers and induction plates are worth taking. German rentals are frequently unfurnished and without a fitted kitchen — you may be buying a kitchen, so cabinets are pointless to ship, but dining sets, beds (check German mattress sizes), wardrobes and a good sofa are commonly worth the freight.

Books, bedding, winter wear, framed art and the mandir travel well. Ceiling fans are rarely useful. Small quantities of sealed, labelled dry spices are usually acceptable when declared; fresh or homemade food is not.

Delivery in German cities

Old-town apartments in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg often lack lifts and have narrow stairwells; a Halteverbotszone (temporary no-parking zone) may need to be booked with the city for the truck. We ask about floor, lift and street access at survey so the destination partner can book what is needed and price a furniture lift where a stairwell will not take a sofa.

Insurance

Every Germany shipment carries complementary transit cover up to ₹50,000; full declared-value cover is available at 3% of the declared value. The valued inventory used for Form 0350 doubles as the insurance schedule.

Book your Germany survey

Send your origin city, German city, visa type (Blue Card, skilled-worker, student, family reunion) and planned arrival month to +91 87005 74566 (call or WhatsApp) or use the contact page. We will build the register-first schedule with you. Pre-departure storage in India is priced on our charges page.