Customs charges USA to UK (parcel force)

J4g3d

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I bought a item from ebay.com from the USA for £64. It arrived here in the UK but there is a customs charge of £27. I worked out 20% vat on £64 is about £12 plus parcelforce charge £8 handling fee!. So £20 and not £27. Im already paying £10 more for the item than i would in the UK so paying customs £27 isnt worth it for me. For £20 i would pay up and refuse to buy from america ever again. But there overcharging it seems.

I wanted to know if i refuse to pay what is the process? anyone know? Will they return it to sender with no charge to myself or the sender? am i entitled to a refund including the postage? is the sender able to get a refund on the postage seen as the delivery did not take place? The postage was £35.

Appriciate some advice..
 
J4G3D: you're missing out the probable 5% import duty. so it's £64 + £3.20 Import duty + £8 handling fee = £75.20. You then pay VAT on all of that (Oh yes... :eek:) = £92.24 which gives you a £26.24 surcharge , figure in a minor currency fluctuation or a bit of rounding up and you have your £27.
 
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postage cost of £35 is seperate?

20% of the postage cost is £7, so thats where the extra £7 came from. Looks like they charged Vat on the postage cost too, is this normal?
 
just read somewhere that they charge a customs duty, vat and a customs entry charge
 
Yes they put the charges on everything that you paid including postage and insurance.
 
How are import charges calculated? (source)

Charges are calculated by UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff at the postal depots where the packages are received. However, in some cases special arrangements are in place for goods purchased on the internet (see paragraph 3.4 below).

Value Added Tax (VAT) - Import VAT is charged at the same rate that applies to similar goods sold in the UK and applies to commercial goods over £18 in value, and on gifts that are over £40 in value (please note: With effect from 1 November 2011 the £18 threshold will be reduced to £15). The value of the goods for import VAT is based on the:

■basic value of goods, plus
■postage, packing and insurance, plus
■any import (Customs or Excise) duties charged

Customs duty - Customs duty becomes payable if the goods are over £135 in value but is waived if the amount calculated is less than £9. Customs duty is usually charged as a percentage of the value of the goods.

The amount of customs duty charged will depend on the type of goods imported and their value stated on the customs declaration CN22/CN23 (converted using the rates of exchange for the month of importation as shown on our website).

The percentage varies depending on the type of goods and their country of origin. Duty is charged on the price paid for the goods including any local sales taxes plus postage, packing and insurance costs. However, the cost of postage is excluded from the calculation for customs duty on gifts except where the sender has used the Express Mail Service (EMS) as opposed to a standard mail service.

Where the value of gifts is below £630 per consignment a flat rate of duty of 2.5 per cent Member States will be applied, but only if it is to your advantage.

Excise duty - this is charged on alcohol and tobacco products and is additional to customs duty. The excise duty on alcohol products such as wines and spirits depends on the alcohol content and volume. In the case of wine and cider whether they are sparkling or still. Duty on cigarettes is based on a percentage of the recommended retail selling price plus a flat rate amount per 1,000 cigarettes. On other tobacco products, for example, cigars or hand rolling tobacco, excise duty is charged at a flat rate per kilogram.
 
Do you have a shorter version? :D
 

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Do you have a shorter version? :D

My reading of it is he wouldn't have been charged by the way I calculated it but njdbaxters add on 20% of £35 was spot on :thumbsup:
 
I bought a item from ebay.com from the USA for £64. It arrived here in the UK but there is a customs charge of £27. I worked out 20% vat on £64 is about £12 plus parcelforce charge £8 handling fee!. So £20 and not £27. Im already paying £10 more for the item than i would in the UK so paying customs £27 isnt worth it for me. For £20 i would pay up and refuse to buy from america ever again. But there overcharging it seems.

I wanted to know if i refuse to pay what is the process? anyone know? Will they return it to sender with no charge to myself or the sender? am i entitled to a refund including the postage? is the sender able to get a refund on the postage seen as the delivery did not take place? The postage was £35.

Appriciate some advice..

I've got to ask, why then did you buy the item from ebay USA, if it was already £10 dearer than in the UK?
 
I've got to ask, why then did you buy the item from ebay USA, if it was already £10 dearer than in the UK?

That made me smile. I was waiting for someone to say that lol.

I buy all of the item i see when they pop up in the uk, i have bought them much less than £10 i stated. But generally they are maximum £10 less than i paid the USA seller. Ive bought from USA before and the item was not marked as a gift, i did not get any customs charges (lucky?).

I cannot beleive they charge VAT on the postage cost! considering the postage was 65$ or something like that. Thats probably where it adds up to £27. How on earth is that legal to charge vat on postage youve paid a seperate company for?
 
am i entitled to a refund including the postage? is the sender able to get a refund on the postage seen as the delivery did not take place? The postage was £35.

Appriciate some advice..

doubt you would, why should the seller miss out due to not reading the import rules fully, plus usually most sellers on ebay state that import duty and custom is your responsibility

How on earth is that legal to charge vat on postage youve paid a seperate company for?

VAT is chargeable on goods and services, I'm assuming from HMRC point of view, the postal fee is a service that is liable for VAT. Personally, I think it's harsh but I guess that's how they are interpreting it.
 
What would be the total cost of a one of personal purchase of make up (eyeshadow and lip) from the USA to be delivered to the UK. It is $95 (£77.73) free shipping. Item is only available from the USA?
Thank you in advance.
 
What would be the total cost of a one of personal purchase of make up (eyeshadow and lip) from the USA to be delivered to the UK. It is $95 (£77.73) free shipping. Item is only available from the USA?
Thank you in advance.

If it gets caught, and unfortunately, the majority from the US do get caught as they are more honest when it comes to completing the customs documentation than sellers in the far east :-

VAT at 20% on total value - so $19

Whatever, the courier charges for managing and paying the fees on your behalf. This varies from courier to courier, figure around the £10 mark.

So I reckon around £25.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
Had a customs charge a few days ago - VAT only plus the £12 rip-off fee from Royal Mail. The item (from US) was an atlas. My understanding was that books were free of VAT. Anyway, you have to pay the charge upfront and when the parcel is delivered you can then challenge the fee by completing a form.
 
Had a customs charge a few days ago - VAT only plus the £12 rip-off fee from Royal Mail. The item (from US) was an atlas. My understanding was that books were free of VAT. Anyway, you have to pay the charge upfront and when the parcel is delivered you can then challenge the fee by completing a form.

Books should be zero rated for VAT.

I’d challenge it with the Royal Mail - have you paid them yet. If not refuse, saying that the calculation is incorrect.

Royal Mail are likely to say that this is a matter between you and the HMRC. Your counter to that would be that Royal Mail, without your instruction, elected to act as your agent to handle the import process and they have charged you a fee for doing that (£12). It was therefore, their duty to take reasonable measures to confirm that their client (you) was being charged correctly. If the customs label clearly declares the item as a book then the Royal Mail are at fault.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
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Yep, had to pay it otherwise they would have sent it back. My first reaction was to query it but there does not seem to be a facility for this. You first have to cough up the money and then query it using a BOR286 form. This is Parcelforce, not Royal Mail. Not sure if they are the same outfit - assuming they are. Anyway, I will challenge it.
 
I believe ParcelForce are loosely related, but a separate company. So you need to challenge them.

Cheers,

Nigel
Right. I got my parcel after paying the VAT and handling fee. The item was an atlas which is exempt from VAT. So the process is you fill in a form and send it back with the Customs Declaration and the Customs Charge Label from the side of the parcel. Done this and Border Force has replied saying it will refund the VAT but not the handling fee.
I'm not exactly sure why they are witholding the handling fee - the letter is written in Civil Service English which makes it difficult for the layman to understand. I think it might be saying that, although no tax was due, the case was still "handled" and a fee is due. What a bunch of thieves.
 
Right. I got my parcel after paying the VAT and handling fee. The item was an atlas which is exempt from VAT. So the process is you fill in a form and send it back with the Customs Declaration and the Customs Charge Label from the side of the parcel. Done this and Border Force has replied saying it will refund the VAT but not the handling fee.
I'm not exactly sure why they are witholding the handling fee - the letter is written in Civil Service English which makes it difficult for the layman to understand. I think it might be saying that, although no tax was due, the case was still "handled" and a fee is due. What a bunch of thieves.

You need to demand the handling fee from Parcelforce.

Customs ask for VAT - £6.40 (made up number)
Parcelforce pay Customs - £6.40
Parcelforce invoice you for the VAT - £6.40
Parcelforce invoice you for their handling fee - £10.00 (made up number)

So Customs can't refund the handling fee as they never received it.

Parcelforce need to refund the handling fee as it should never have been charged in the first place.

Of course they may argue that they still had to do the handling so they are keeping the money - they can probably do that but it would be pretty naughty of them.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
Did the customs declaration on the package say it was a book/atlas?

If so, that’s even more reason for Parcel Force to refund the handling fee.
 
That's a good point. It says "merchandise". That might be their get out.
 
You need to demand the handling fee from Parcelforce.

Customs ask for VAT - £6.40 (made up number)
Parcelforce pay Customs - £6.40
Parcelforce invoice you for the VAT - £6.40
Parcelforce invoice you for their handling fee - £10.00 (made up number)

So Customs can't refund the handling fee as they never received it.

Parcelforce need to refund the handling fee as it should never have been charged in the first place.

Of course they may argue that they still had to do the handling so they are keeping the money - they can probably do that but it would be pretty naughty of them.

Cheers,

Nigel
I will take it up with Parcelforce and see what they have to say.
 

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