UK Customs fees from the USA (3 Viewers)

[JAGCDR]

Yo Troopers, its the same for Ireland as the UK, say you buy something for $400.00 you have to pay an extra £50/60 at the door, unless its marked gift. If the USA seller wont mark it as a gift I dont buy it, I mean whats he got to lose on the deal, but a lot of US sellers wont mark it as a gift so tough on them NO SALE.

The biggest joke in Ireland regards customs is, if you buy something expensive and its posted from the UK you get stung by the customs. BUT you can drive up to Northern Ireland which is UK, buy £10,000s worth of items and just drive back to the South no custom charges there. They did away with the customs post years back so its costing the Irish Government a fortune in lost revenue. I was up there on Monday and if I buy 800 cigarettes I get 200 free on what I would pay in the South. Mary said why dont I get a Northern Ireland postal address and just drive up and get my items. Its a real joke.
Bernard.

What does the seller have to lose on the deal if he marks it as a gift? His integrity. I applaud sellers who refuse to label something they just sold as a gift. They are refusing to lie.

 

[Spitfrnd]

The charges have always been there. I think the figure set for items coming in to the UK, is that Customs can charge for it if the declared value if over £18 ($25 - $30US ?)

I'm pretty sure it's immaterial if it's marked as a gift or anything else, it's the declared value that counts.

What has changed, is that a couple of years ago, it was quite normal for parcels of anything up to say, $100 declared, to go through without customs bathering with it. It was always a bit hit and miss, but more often than not, they didn't bother with it. Nowadays, EVERYTHING gets a customs tax on it, if it exceeds that £18 threshold.

As has been said above, they are obviously getting a bit short on cash .

As for the ebay transactions, it's a straightforward given for me that the UK buyer (unfortunately) picks up the customs charge (and the rip off £12 Parcel Force 'clearance fee' ) where this is applied.

Simon

It seems uncommonly hard to find the rules on customs and/or VAT to the UK. I have been using a $30 limit and marking them as gifts and have had no issues. Can anyone direct me to a rules site for this?

 

[Gideon]

I have had a few buyers from eBay and from my website ask me to cover the VAT/taxes on orders.

I state clearly that this is the responsibility of the buyer in my listings.

I've heard that the UK is inspecting and charging more. That is a shame.

 

[Toy Soldier Brigade]

I ship a lot of packages to the UK. I have never had a customer ask me to cover their VAT taxes. It amazes me that anyone would or why they are even surprised by them when their package arrives. They pay them on everything all year so they should be expecting them.

 

[JAGCDR]

It seems uncommonly hard to find the rules on customs and/or VAT to the UK. I have been using a $30 limit and marking them as gifts and have had no issues. Can anyone direct me to a rules site for this?

The following site states that items below £40 are exempt from customs duties and VAT. Scroll down to section 2.7:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P97_6607
That appears to be the official government site advising on customs/VAT, so it may not be that user friendly.
Good luck with all that. Chris

 

[VIRIATO]

What does the seller have to lose on the deal if he marks it as a gift? His integrity. I applaud sellers who refuse to label something they just sold as a gift. They are refusing to lie.

Here you have to pay customs taxes and VAT whether the item is marked gift or not. They just don't care at all...

Paulo

 

[JAGCDR]

Here you have to pay customs taxes and VAT whether the item is marked gift or not. They just don't care at all...

Paulo

That doesn't seem fair...

 

[Peter Reuss]

Here you have to pay customs taxes and VAT whether the item is marked gift or not. They just don't care at all...

Paulo

I suspect that after being deluged with shipments marked as gifts, they realized that people were using it as a way to get around the taxes. Thus, they found it easier to just go after everyone than attempt to guess which items were actual gifts and which were just trying to skirt the system.

 

[Spitfrnd]

The following site states that items below £40 are exempt from customs duties and VAT. Scroll down to section 2.7:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P97_6607
That appears to be the official government site advising on customs/VAT, so it may not be that user friendly.
Good luck with all that. Chris

Thanks Chris, Great link. Now how do I square these two statments for 2.7:

If you are sent a gift with a value of £40 or less, and which complies with the rules shown in paragraph 2.4, it will be free from customs duty and import VAT, but this does not include alcohol, tobacco, perfumes and toilet waters.
Customs duty becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9.

If the second statement is true, what is the point of the first?

 

[JAGCDR]

Thanks Chris, Great link. Now how do I square these two statments for 2.7:

If you are sent a gift with a value of £40 or less, and which complies with the rules shown in paragraph 2.4, it will be free from customs duty and import VAT, but this does not include alcohol, tobacco, perfumes and toilet waters.
Customs duty becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9.

If the second statement is true, what is the point of the first?

I think that what they are trying to say is that VAT applies above £40 and customs duties apply above £135 (unless the amount of the duty is less than £9). So the point of the first statement is to set the threshold for the VAT.
That's my best guess anyway; hope it answers your question. Chris

 

[Spitfrnd]

I think that what they are trying to say is that VAT applies above £40 and customs duties apply above £135 (unless the amount of the duty is less than £9). So the point of the first statement is to set the threshold for the VAT.
That's my best guess anyway; hope it answers your question. Chris

That was my guess too. Anyway, it sounds like the magic number is £40 for gifts and £18 for sales if my quick read is correct.

 

[damian]

Customs officials are not idiots.
So if you are pitching up every other week to receive a gift from abroad well they will put two and two together.
Gifts are T shirts and beenies, which my daughters get twice a year from their aunt in New Zealand. Lovely wrapped boxes from companies in the US or UK are not gifts.
Best to get the seller to declare a value so face can be saved all round.
Declared value of 80 USD means customs can charge you a bit of VAT and handling, you grin and pay it knowing if the true value was declared you would be paying four times as much.
So your government gets a little bit extra to spend on those necessities (business class trips for politicians and the latest model mercedes for cronies etc ) and you avoid paying the full amount.
Hey we all have to deal with moral ambiguity on a daily basis in this modern world of ours and I never liked Emanuel Kant anyway.

 

[Winston]

The issue with importing into the Uk. Is that VAT is charged on the value of the goods plus the actual carriage cost plus import duty.

So a $500 item actually costs the buyer for example;-

Item $500
Carriage $50
Import Duty 11% on $500 = $55

Total $605

Vat 17.5% = $105.88

Total $710.88.

So total additional costs amount to some $210 or some 42% of the item cost.

This is without the UK post offices handling fee of $12.

Over the years I've known many people buying items abroad thinking they are cheap only to get caught out.

 

[marco55]

That VAT tax is an outrage.I don't know how you guys can afford to collect anything.I don't know how you can live period.Is the VAT tax on everything?I worked with a guy from England and he said he would never go back even though he loves his country.
Mark

 

[Spitfrnd]

Customs officials are not idiots.
So if you are pitching up every other week to receive a gift from abroad well they will put two and two together.
Gifts are T shirts and beenies, which my daughters get twice a year from their aunt in New Zealand. Lovely wrapped boxes from companies in the US or UK are not gifts.
Best to get the seller to declare a value so face can be saved all round.
Declared value of 80 USD means customs can charge you a bit of VAT and handling, you grin and pay it knowing if the true value was declared you would be paying four times as much.
So your government gets a little bit extra to spend on those necessities (business class trips for politicians and the latest model mercedes for cronies etc ) and you avoid paying the full amount.
Hey we all have to deal with moral ambiguity on a daily basis in this modern world of ours and I never liked Emanuel Kant anyway.

Well my humble shipments are far more irregular and apart from purchases from the Uk are figures shipped for modification, which is not a sale so certainly VAT and Customs should not apply. That said, it seems the sage category is gift, which can be anything really, not just tee shirts and frills from aunts. My moral ambiguity is always against the tax unless it is clear that is should apply.

 

[Gideon]

The issue with importing into the Uk. Is that VAT is charged on the value of the goods plus the actual carriage cost plus import duty.

So a $500 item actually costs the buyer for example;-

Item $500
Carriage $50
Import Duty 11% on $500 = $55

Total $605

Vat 17.5% = $105.88

Total $710.88.

So total additional costs amount to some $210 or some 42% of the item cost.

This is without the UK post offices handling fee of $12.

Over the years I've known many people buying items abroad thinking they are cheap only to get caught out.

That's horrific.

 

[Winston]

That VAT tax is an outrage.I don't know how you guys can afford to collect anything.I don't know how you can live period.Is the VAT tax on everything?I worked with a guy from England and he said he would never go back even though he loves his country.
Mark

Though in the USA don't you pay sales tax which is the equivalent of our VAT?

 

[marco55]

Though in the USA don't you pay sales tax which is the equivalent of our VAT?

Yes some states (most) have a sales tax. In my state it is 7% and if I order something online unless it is from my own state I pay nothing and I also order from a dealer with free shipping.I very rarely order anything out of the U.S.
Mark

 

[Winston]

Yes some states (most) have a sales tax. In my state it is 7% and if I order something online unless it is from my own state I pay nothing and I also order from a dealer with free shipping.I very rarely order anything out of the U.S.
Mark

Seems to be a way of never paying sales tax!

The reason UK buyers purchase from abroad is UK retailers have traditionally priced at a rate of $1 =£1. For which there isn't really any justification other than a higher gross margin.

 

[marco55]

We pay nothing online yet but believe me our government will find a way to get their sticky fingers in there eventually.
Mark