Received an Austrian Post Zollhindernis notice for a Taobao parcel? Match the purchase records to the goods, confirm acceptable documents and use the notice’s reply channel.
If Austrian Post has sent a Zollhindernis notice for your Taobao parcel, answer the reason stated in that notice. A Chinese order screenshot may help you find the purchase, but it is not automatically suitable evidence for the postal clearance team. First identify the requested record, then connect it to the goods actually shipped.
Official information checked: 8 November 2026. This guide concerns a notice from Österreichische Post for a parcel already in Austria. Follow the instructions and date on your own notice; other carriers use their own procedures.
Your Taobao order is in Chinese. What should you send?
For a missing value record or an implausible declared value, Post asks for an invoice, or an order confirmation with payment evidence, including individual item prices. Its Zollhindernis guidance excludes documents in Chinese characters and pro forma invoices.
Keep the original Taobao records. Ask the seller or purchasing agent whether an authentic, readable transaction record is available, and ask the Post contact handling your notice what language and format they will accept. If a translation is needed, confirm how it must accompany the original. Do not assume that a browser translation, an edited screenshot or a new spreadsheet becomes an accepted invoice.
An explanation can help the reviewer follow the records, but it cannot replace them. Keep any explanatory note visibly separate from seller-issued documents, and preserve the real products, quantities, currency and amounts. Do not change a purchase into a “gift” to avoid the question.
Which purchase belongs to this parcel?
Open the Taobao orders and the payment records together. Start with the items confirmed in the outbound package, rather than every purchase made that week.
For each item, be ready to show where it appears in the order, which payment covers it, and how it connects to this international shipment. Include the selected variant and quantity. The Post customer FAQ also asks for identifiable goods, quantities, individual values and paid shipping costs.
Some payments cover several orders; some orders arrive at the China warehouse in separate deliveries. Explain that relationship instead of uploading a payment total with no indication of which goods it bought. If an item was refunded, replaced or left out before dispatch, keep the corresponding record and identify what actually travelled. Do not deduct a refund from the parcel value unless the records explain what it relates to.
Where a purchasing agent paid the seller, request the available purchase and payment records that connect your order to that transaction. Your payment to an agent and the agent's purchase from a seller describe different parts of the transaction; make that distinction clear rather than presenting unrelated totals as interchangeable proof.
The notice questions the value. Check before changing it
Look for the reason Unplausibler Warenwert: the declared value needs clarification. Compare the amount being questioned with the genuine purchase evidence. Ask the sender or clearance contact to identify a discrepancy you cannot explain; do not guess a replacement amount.
The Post guidance for this value discrepancy says its processing and storage charge is waived when the documents confirm the original declared value. That exception does not waive every tax or postal charge and is not a general exemption whenever documents are requested. If the line appears on your bill, ask Post to review it against the notice and the documents you supplied.
For the wider distinction between import taxes and postal service charges, see the Austria parcel cost guide. It uses Pinduoduo purchases for its cost worksheet; the present article is about answering a notice, rather than calculating a new shopping budget.
Where to send the reply
Go to the official Post tracking service and enter the actual shipment number from your notice. The current import instructions describe the German action “Zollhindernis bearbeiten. Dokumente nachreichen” for uploading missing documents. Follow the options shown for your shipment; no example tracking number is needed.
If the notice directs you to reply by email or letter, use its stated recipient and reference. For email, Post prefers PDF attachments. Before sending, check that the files open, the text is readable, and every attachment answers something requested. Save your submission confirmation or sent message with the notice.
If the online action is unavailable, contact Post through its official site and ask how to submit for this shipment. Avoid sending the same documents to several unverified addresses. If the requested record is not yet available, explain what is missing and ask what can be accepted before the notice's deadline; do not assume an extension has been granted.
When purchase evidence will not solve the hold
A request for a medicine import certificate, a protected-species permit or another authorization needs a different response. Ask the contact named on the notice which document and responsible party are required. A paid Taobao order does not establish import permission. Keep the exact product information available and obtain the relevant authority's advice before trying to resolve the hold as a value problem.
If you decide not to accept the parcel, tell Post through the notice's reply channel. Do not simply leave the request unanswered: the stated outcome can include return, destruction or referral to customs, rather than a guaranteed return to the seller. Refusal also does not itself settle your Taobao refund; check the seller's instructions and the return and refund costs for overseas buyers before relying on a refund.
If YDA Express handled the China side, send the notice and international tracking number and identify the record you need. Available receiving records, agreed photos or an outbound packing list may help connect the purchases to the parcel. YDA cannot issue a seller's original invoice, decide what Post will accept, obtain regulatory approval on your behalf or promise release. For future purchases, check product eligibility before buying, compare the actual goods after arrival, and recheck the applicable rules and route before dispatch.
📲 Download the YDA Express App
Use the YDA Express App to place China purchasing orders, view product check photos, manage packages, and arrange consolidation and international forwarding.