Request: US import

m8

Hi, not sure which forum this should be in but was wondering if anyone has imported from the US and if so do you have to pay Tax or any thing....if so how much?

satworld

Yes, i have BUT make sure the size of the item isn't too big!

m8

Shoe box size...would that be ok...did you have to pay anything?

fdevine

If you check with the Revenue/Customs & Excise they will tell you exactly what the value limits are.

I think its around the €180 mark before you are done for VAT and/or duty, but check with them to be sure.

Also, it depends on the method of shipping. Regular airmail is less likely to be checked. In my experience, if its a courier (DHL/EMS/UPS/TNT) there is a good chance you will get done as they all have individual customs offices in the warehouses.

savemejebus

anything over €45 eurons iirc will attract the attention of salacious tax men (and women)

satworld

m8 wrote:

Shoe box size...would that be ok...did you have to pay anything?

no, they'll think it's a psp and charge you €60 smaller!!

nogihno

It depends on the nature of the item being sent. Also, if you can get the sender to mark the item as a gift, it is less likely to get alarm bells sounding

kaizersoze

The size of the parcel is fairly irrelevant. It's the information on the bill of lading attached to the parcel that counts. It will show the value, country of origin & contents.

satworld

True, you'll get it through if you get the seller to write value $10 usb cables!

m8

What would I pay on €140?

kaizersoze

m8 wrote:

What would I pay on €140?

Impossible to say based on value alone. In general vat will be charged at the same rate as if the item was on sale in a shop in Ireland (13.5% or 21%). Some catagories are exempt from vat like books and childrens clothes.
Last year I bought laptop parts from the US with a value of $90.
I got caught for vat @21% (€20) plus the couriers handling charge (€16.50).
The time before that the value was $250. I can't remember the breakdown but I paid excise duty that time aswell as the vat (around €90).
The real PITA is the vat is calculated after the excise duty is added so you're paying vat on the excise duty:rolleyes: .

m8

I was thinking of buying one of these NAS servers.

Guess I would do better getting one from inside the EU then but they are €50 euros dearer in Germany and €110 here from online stores.

kaizersoze

My advice would be to by local for the extra €110. You wouldn't feel that being eaten up with shipping, vat and excise duty.
If anything goes wrong with it you'll have to ship it back to the US and then pay all the charges again when they return it to you.
I never buy from the US unless I'm sure I can't get it anywhere else.

m8

ok cheers for you help...I will buy from Germany I think it's still €30 +p&p cheaper

Smokeyskelton

Sorry to hi-jack your thread, but i was considering getting an expensive digital camera from USA.

There is a very large saving if bought in USA, but not much of a saving if I have to pay, import duty and vat. Does anyone know what the total taxes might be if buying camera for €1,500.00 equivalent in US?

Also, I understand that if I buy in person in e.g. New York I would have to pay state sales tax at around 8.75% at point of sale, whereas if I bought online from an online company based in another US state and shipped to New York I would not have to pay this tax. This has the added problem of trusting delivery to hotel, especially a lower end one.

Also what are the chances of getting stopped in customs on bringing into country. Indeed what are chances of getting caught if shipped USPS instead of DHL etc.?

Anyone have any experience of the above?

thanks

Smokey

savemejebus

if you're gonna travel to the US (NYC) specifically to save on the camera the best thing to do is stay in New Jersey (the Hyatt in jersey city is usually really cheap on hotwire.com - and less than 10 mins from manhattan) and order the camera from either BHphotovideo or JR.com - they are very cheap - and have it sent by a mid price courier to your hotel. Because you're outside nyc they can't charge you sales tax. Once you get the camera, post the box home and bring the camera home in your hand luggage (helps if you have an oldish case for this to make sure customs don't nab you)

kaizersoze

Smokeyskelton wrote:

Sorry to hi-jack your thread, but i was considering getting an expensive digital camera from USA.

There is a very large saving if bought in USA, but not much of a saving if I have to pay, import duty and vat. Does anyone know what the total taxes might be if buying camera for €1,500.00 equivalent in US?

Also, I understand that if I buy in person in e.g. New York I would have to pay state sales tax at around 8.75% at point of sale, whereas if I bought online from an online company based in another US state and shipped to New York I would not have to pay this tax. This has the added problem of trusting delivery to hotel, especially a lower end one.

Also what are the chances of getting stopped in customs on bringing into country. Indeed what are chances of getting caught if shipped USPS instead of DHL etc.?

Anyone have any experience of the above?

thanks

Smokey

USPS use AnPost as their delivery agent in Ireland (used to be GLS) and you will get done for vat @ 21%, hefty excise duty and a handling charge. As I said in an earlier post, I got caught for €90 on an item with €250 value.
It doesn't matter what courier you use. They all have to put shipments through customs if it originated outside the EU.
Your only hope is if the shop puts a nominal value on the bill of lading and puts it down as a gift.
One little loop hole I found (but never used) is a wedding present valued up to €1000 is exempt.
You could also ring customs and ask them what the likely charges would be for what you're importing.

Smokeyskelton

Thanks for the advice guys, especially for the tip re New Jersey. Don't know how safe it is getting stuff delivered to reception though.

Smokey

davork

as it says...

Just warn them that the box is bring delivered to you... they're fine about it... heck businesspeople get stuff delivered to them at the three hotels all the time...

T.

P.S. If you are in the Hyatt, eat at the Greene Cow at the bottom of greene st... the southwestern wraps are to die for (after a night on the beer(!))

kaizersoze

Just warn them that the box is bring delivered to you... they're fine about it... heck businesspeople get stuff delivered to them at the three hotels all the time...

Do the shops not mind delivering a credit card order to an address other than the CC billing address?

davork

If you have bothered to warn the credit card co first that you have an alterate shipping addy, you should be okay...

Pretty much all the US websites allow for different billing and delivery addresses - heck, even Amazon.com(!)

OFDM

kaizersoze wrote:

It doesn't matter what courier you use. They all have to put shipments through customs if it originated outside the EU.

Not true. Most things sent via USPS that are delivered by An Post get through unnoticed. However, EVERYTHING sent via UPS/DHL/FedEx etc will be caught for customs as they calculate the customs themselves and then pay it to revenue on your behalf AND they charge you (typically around €16) for the convenience.

kaizersoze

OFDM wrote:

Not true. Most things sent via USPS that are delivered by An Post get through unnoticed. However, EVERYTHING sent via UPS/DHL/FedEx etc will be caught for customs as they calculate the customs themselves and then pay it to revenue on your behalf AND they charge you (typically around €16) for the convenience.

Maybe so. I never used USPS since AnPost took over from GLS but there is another thread in AH about a related experience with AnPost.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054900107

dubtom

I recently imported wheels from the US with a value of $700 +$260 postage. I phoned customs and asked what I could expect to pay. They said 10% of the value (including postage) and then 21% of the total.So Euro the value was 808, I should have paid 184 in duty but paid 140 with fedex. With an item deliverd by ups a while back with a value of around $200 + 100 shipping I paid nearly 100 euro duty. So my point is that fedex undercharged me or ups robbed me, I still dont know which, but fedex is my prefared carrier for the future.

m8

Thanks Guys for all your help...me thinks that if I can get my purchase in Europe I would be better off in the end...hassel and price wise


Have sourced the item in a store in Germany and the price is not bad either.

davork

dubtom wrote:

ups a while back with a value of around $200 + 100 shipping I paid nearly 100 euro duty. So my point is that fedex undercharged me or ups robbed me, I still dont know which, but fedex is my prefared carrier for the future.

One thing I've found is that the couriers charge a horrendous fee for doing the paperwork... so for instance that EUR 100 might include EUR 40 for UPS to do the paperwork and collect money off you...

OFDM

davork wrote:

One thing I've found is that the couriers charge a horrendous fee for doing the paperwork... so for instance that EUR 100 might include EUR 40 for UPS to do the paperwork and collect money off you...

For UPS it should be around €16 or 2%, whichever is the larger sum.

Corkey123

Sorry to be exact here gang, but excise duty is not charged on goods from America, it is customs duty. The rate is dependent of the type of goods

see http://www.revenue.ie/pdf/04_21_CETI_06.pdf

the method to work out the import charges is as follows

Goods value €1000 @ a rate of Customs duty say 10% = €1100
at 21% vat = €210
plus the Customs of €100.
Total import charges to Revenue are €310 on good valued €1000 (Assuming the rate of duty being 10%.

What is really galling is that the vat is calculated on the value of the goods plus the customs duty -Double taxation I'd say!