Import tax

A1an · 04 November 2015, 19:23

About a fortnight ago I bought a set of decals from America for the grand sum of £60, postage was about £7 iirc.
The postie put a card through my door today saying I had £19.69 import tax to pay for said item, granted, £8 of that is a handling charge.

I still think £11 odds of tax/duty is a bit steep on £60?

What d'ya reckon?

willk · 04 November 2015, 19:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by A1an

What d'ya reckon?

I reckon it's the same as the VAT you didn't pay Her Maje

jeffstevens763@g · 04 November 2015, 19:36

Alan

Look on duty calculator tells you exactly how much.

Cheers

John Kennett · 04 November 2015, 19:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by A1an

I still think £11 odds of tax/duty is a bit steep on £60?

What d'ya reckon?

Like willk says, it's just the VAT. There probably isn't actually any import duty on that.

paintman · 04 November 2015, 20:03

Needs to be borne in mind when ordering from non EU countries.
Can make what seems like a bargain at the time of purchase not much different to buying it here.
You've not been charged import duty as it's below the threshold just the VAT.
More here: https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/overview

beamishken · 04 November 2015, 22:04

I've had a few of these over the years & ignored them I think only one was actually followed up & I had to pay it. I think the couriers have to try to collect the money but on a small item they don't bother cos they just have to hand it over to the govt & their not payed to collect the government's bills
I'd ignore it if they get nasty pay it before the bill escalates

ShinyShoe · 04 November 2015, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by beamishken

I've had a few of these over the years & ignored them I think only one was actually followed up & I had to pay it. I think the couriers have to try to collect the money but on a small item they don't bother cos they just have to hand it over to the govt & their not payed to collect the government's bills
I'd ignore it if they get nasty pay it before the bill escalates

Only works if you have the goods. Think its normal these days they don't hand over the goods till the fee is paid. Afterall they get their admin fee for the pleasure...

beamishken · 04 November 2015, 23:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

Only works if you have the goods. Think its normal these days they don't hand over the goods till the fee is paid. Afterall they get their admin fee for the pleasure...

Op got the goods a fortnight ago

bedajim · 05 November 2015, 03:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by beamishken

Op got the goods a fortnight ago

I read it as he ordered them a fortnight ago?

Post office normally hold the goods until you pay now days 😔

beerbelly · 05 November 2015, 05:53

yes post office wont hand over until he pays I once had to pay £6 for a second hand cloth mesh wind deflector for a merc slk that was given to me for free from America as the sender put a value of £50 on it when they sent it thinking if it got lost I would get £50

A1an · 05 November 2015, 07:37

Bloody VAT

Many thanks

Pikey Dave · 05 November 2015, 08:13

I'm currently under threat of legal action by a debt collecting agency appointed by Fedex for the rod holders we bought. I received an invoice from Fedex a week after the rod holders arrived. The invoice was for £3.78 vat & £12 "administration fee" I queried it with Fedex & offered to pay the VAT element there & then, they refused to accept it, claiming that I was contractually bound to pay the admin fee. I pointed out that there was no contract between my self & Fedex & that I had not appointed them or agreed to any terms, that was between them & the Chinese shipper. They sold the debt (£15.78 FFS!) to a DCA who gave me various ways to pay, including BACS, so I paid the VAT, they had no choice😎. They chased me for the £12 which has now risen to £50 due to "late payment fee". I've got the "family" on the case😄

.....sh1t happens.......

boristhebold · 05 November 2015, 08:27

Yes ive seen that before, I ordered a steering spinner knob from the USA, nice bit of well made kit and was happy when it arrived until I saw the taxes I had to pay which were nearly as much as it cost. Thats life, tax man will always find you.

Xk59D · 05 November 2015, 08:53

Pikey, I'm curious how you get on with that one.

I had similar dealings with parcel force a couple of years ago and I researched various documents on it. I can't mind the exact wording but the gist of it was if you import anything i to the UK you by default have a contract with customs and they have shippers who deal with the paperwork on your behalf.

Like you, I told them to go swing as I paid for delivery to my door and never spoke to parcel force to do any work for me. They dropped the 28 quid handling fee and I paid the vat.

I'm sure the law changes quite often on this so can't win.

beamishken · 05 November 2015, 11:32

I've had some items where they won't hand over the goods untill you pay in which case your f----d but also had several where they invoiced afterwards those I've just ignored & several haven't been followed up but on they did follow up & I tried to argue but eventually buckled & paid up before they added any fees
Usually you still save even paying the duty
I usually ask sellers to mark the package as a gift but some won't

Pikey Dave · 05 November 2015, 11:47

I don't object to the VAT per se, it's a fact of life. What I do object to is the courier companies charging their "admin fees". My argument with FedEx is that they undertook to deliver the parcel for a fixed fee with the shipper, in the full knowledge that there would be an element of customs processing. In which case, any fees should have been included in the cost of delivery, not arbitrarily added after the fact. The admin fee is no more than a surcharge, bordering on a scam. It's my opinion that they undercharge at the front end to make their service attractive to the customer & then extort the difference from the recipient using court action as a lever. The recipient has little or no control over which courier the shipper uses, we effectively pay twice for the same service. I can feel an online petition & letters to MPs coming on😜

.....sh1t happens.......

Sonar · 05 November 2015, 12:10

I bought something from the usa a few years ago and ended up with the same sort of charges.

However in my case it was still cheaper than could be bought here in the uk. saved £2.00

BUT will NOT and Never will buy again from the usa Because of the additional costs..
My lesson has been learnt..

beamishken · 05 November 2015, 12:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I don't object to the VAT per se, it's a fact of life. What I do object to is the courier companies charging their "admin fees". My argument with FedEx is that they undertook to deliver the parcel for a fixed fee with the shipper, in the full knowledge that there would be an element of customs processing. In which case, any fees should have been included in the cost of delivery, not arbitrarily added after the fact. The admin fee is no more than a surcharge, bordering on a scam. It's my opinion that they undercharge at the front end to make their service attractive to the customer & then extort the difference from the recipient using court action as a lever. The recipient has little or no control over which courier the shipper uses, we effectively pay twice for the same service. I can feel an online petition & letters to MPs coming on😜

.....sh1t happens.......

Yep totally agree it's a piss take to charge the admin fee once contracted to deliver the parcel with out you knowing before hand
It's rip off by stealth

Xk59D · 05 November 2015, 13:39

due to my other hobbies (rc helis/drones) i order a LOT from abroad so i'm quite verse with the way this works and what companies USUALLY don't charge you more to deliver at our side.

if you use UPS, FEDEX you are 99% paying vat/handling fee. USPS it is maybe 1 in 4 these days and will depend largely on time of year and how far over the allowance you are.

the whole gift thing is a bit of a red herring tbh, i bet 99% of parcels that come through say gift on them so they probably just ignore it and go on the value, even then if from china the value will be at best 50% of the real value, so they have taken to opening up parcels and checking the value for themselves and they revalue the parcel and charge VAT based on that.

if the value was wrong they used to be able to chase the sender, now they can go after both parties i believe if they so wish....i don't know anyone this has happened to though. i only know about them re-valuing goods with no further action. i guess if it is a decent amount then they would go after people. i.e a container full of stuff.

jwalker · 05 November 2015, 14:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonar

BUT will NOT and Never will buy again from the usa Because of the additional costs..
My lesson has been learnt..

Don't be too hasty, do your sums first. I buy from the USA and save money. I'm currently waiting for a car part - about 90quid including shipping and taxes - £140 plus vat from a UK car dealer...or should that be stealer? It usually takes about a week so you have to be in no hurry but you also make because it's coming to your door.