Jump to content

Importing to UK and Customs


David Ayers

Recommended Posts

Well I have been caught by Customs and Excise before but this takes the biscuit.

Ebay purchase declared at $25 plus shipping ($12) from US.

Customs charges £25 ($37). 100%.

Something like this can determine a person's whole mindset - is Government something you can work with toward a common good or is it just a form of organised crime?

I haven't seen the package yet (delivery on Friday) but I know it will just be made up of additional 'charges' on top of the 17.5% VAT (=sales tax).

Has anyone else had this kind of problem? With an item UNDER the taxable value?

I can't risk this kind of hit any more so I won't be importing any more CDs.

I can still hardly believe it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

David,

Anything coming into the country with a declared value of over £18.00 is liable to duty. On top of that there is a handling charge. With an ebay purchase ask the seller to declare the value at less than the equivalent of that amount. That said some items will get through unchecked. In my experience items coming by post are less likely to be inspected by HM Customs than those coming by air freight(for example a Mosaic set).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find that stuff that ships Global Priority sneaks through-but stuff from Tower US and Amazon .Com gets hit-for shipping aswell which I think is out of order.The Music Resource out of Floyd Knobs(good range of stuff)kindly write educational material on the green ticket,of no value,so that gets in ok.Like JohnS,I've found getting Mosaics via the long wait of post gets through uncharged aswell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's also as well to get the "gift" box ticked on the grren customs label. Mercandise is probably dutiable in any event.

I used to work for Royal Mail and this problem arose from time to time. Take it with C&E. In my day they used to be fairly helpful.

Edited by JohnS
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I have been caught by Customs and Excise before but this takes the biscuit.

Ebay purchase declared at $25 plus shipping ($12) from US.

Customs charges £25 ($37). 100%.

Something like this can determine a person's whole mindset - is Government something you can work with toward a common good or is it just a form of organised crime?

I haven't seen the package yet (delivery on Friday) but I know it will just be made up of additional 'charges' on top of the 17.5% VAT (=sales tax).

Has anyone else had this kind of problem? With an item UNDER the taxable value?

I can't risk this kind of hit any more so I won't be importing any more CDs.

I can still hardly believe it.

I have what's called eBayoculous...a type of neurological disorder that always forces my hand to write $3 and check 'gift' in the box. It's the damnest thing....I think I'll consult a specialist about it at some future date.

:o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a sitaution where customs charged duty incorrectly (the supplier had included shipping in the stated total). I rang Customs and they sent me a claim form. I sent them copies of the invoice and packaging to show the error and they sent me a cheque. Frankly there are more important things to worry about but I guess I had a bee in my bonnet about it (and a lower income as well).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is horrendous indeed, and looks like a mistake.

In my country (Luxembourg) I have to pay 19% customs fee on small shipments valued above 22 Euro (from a company) respectively 45 Euro (from an indidual). This includes VAT.

A lot of shipments slip though customs, although controls have gotten much tighter lately.

The customs webpage mentions EU legislation, so the rules may be the same for all EU countries.

http://www.etat.lu/DO/petitsenvois.htm

One problem I had in the past was with shipments from the US made by Parcel services. They arrived at Frankfurt airport, the EU centre of the parcel company, where a german subsiduary made the customs declaration and charged me 20 Euro for this service, in addition to the customs fee. I had to pay more than 60 Euro for an Andrew Hill Mosaic that I auctioned for $250.

That's why I always request to have things sent by regular airmail.

Edited by Claude
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...