[News] Import Limit to raise to €150 in December

zAbbo

From December 1st, the Europeon Import Limit will be raised to €150 instead of the paltry €22

This is good news bargain hunters who buy from Eastern and American stores.

No more 1 item shipping with play-asia

More info on Wiffy and the source document

(Mods, Apologies if this doesn't suit here)

Noelie

Thats good news but December is a while off.

Onikage

Great!

Slightly off-topic but does anyone remember a thread about a company that allowed you to buy something in the US and have it shipped to them and then they'd redirect it to you. The idea was that this would allow you to buy off sites that only shipped to US addresses.

kaylden

Onikage im not sure if this is the company you are looking for and i havent used them myself but myus.com will redirect to Ireland.

Its about time they increased the limit,€22 is way too low especially when they add the cost of shipping the item.

465

So will this mean Amazon U.S. won't slap on the annoying customs duty charge in December?
That was always a real bone of contention for me, and it did make me not use the site often.

Smokeyskelton

If you look at the text in the link it mentions specifically travellers' luggage (or words to that effect). Nowhere does it mention postal deliveries.

It is possible that this could be interpreted as only relating to goods imported in person. If this is the case then the limit may not apply to postal deliveries.

I haven't checked this out in detail, but I wouldn't go ordering any €149 deliveries to be delivered on 1st December on the strength of the link until this is clarified.

(And, in relation to one poster's request, there are a few sites that offer the service to get stuff delivered from the USA, but they charge a fair bit for their services. You might find some details from using the search facility for this forum).

Gauge

Actually if you take a look here, at the actual amendment, it states that the previous amount of €22 is being replaced by €150, so it will apply to post too.

Soarer

Is the whole "gift" thing being increased too, or is it €150 across the board?

Smokeyskelton

Yes, looks like you are right, €150 with no restrictions I can see. Seems to apply across the board not just gifts.:)

Onikage

Cheers kaylden, but it was a different provider with very reasonable rates (This is the bargains thread after all:))

The amendment is pretty clear, replace 22 with 150. A good but not yet amended plain english version can be found here: http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l11002.htm The term used is "Consignments of little value".

Snake Plisken

Onikage wrote: »

Great!

Slightly off-topic but does anyone remember a thread about a company that allowed you to buy something in the US and have it shipped to them and then they'd redirect it to you. The idea was that this would allow you to buy off sites that only shipped to US addresses.

I remember that it was a woman on Ebay who offered to receive the goods and then forward them on for a small few + actual shipping costs.

checked ebay and there are two ebayers offering this
http://cgi.ebay.ie/International-mail-reshipping-forwarding-service_W0QQitemZ190212693925QQihZ009QQcategoryZ50352QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m122
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Mail-Forwarding-Service-United-States-USA-US-Address_W0QQitemZ140221961945QQihZ004QQcategoryZ50352QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m122
Hope this helps

_Whimsical_

Onikage wrote: »

Great!

Slightly off-topic but does anyone remember a thread about a company that allowed you to buy something in the US and have it shipped to them and then they'd redirect it to you. The idea was that this would allow you to buy off sites that only shipped to US addresses.

I think this is the thread you're talking about Onikage :
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055204527

The company is called www.globalconnectionsusa.com . I used it and found it very good and very reasonable. The rates have increaded a little but with the dollar as it is it's still quite reasonable. The links in Snake Plisken's post look like they might be a little cheaper.

mcaul

I hate to ruin the good news, but it seems to only apply to duty which is applied by the EU and not VAT which is applied by individual countries.

So the saving will be 3.5%!

Onikage

Spot on, chilly.

This site has a good breakdown of the actual costs of customs duty http://www.clothing.ie/customs-duties-clothing-imports.html

It's a good bit more than 3.5%. If you bought something for €149 inc. shipping and insurance and got caught, it would have cost
€149 -> 12% = €17.88 (Customs Duty)
€166.88 -> 21% = €35.04 (VAT)
Duty+VAT = €52.92

Now if it gets stopped
€149 -> 21% = €31.29 (VAT)
VAT = €31.29

Difference = €21.63 which is 14.5% of €149

hamiltron

mcaul wrote: »

I hate to ruin the good news, but it seems to only apply to duty which is applied by the EU and not VAT which is applied by individual countries.

So the saving will be 3.5%!

There may still be hope for even greater relief. This is a quote from the guide to importation on the revenue site:

"2. Consignments of Negligible Value
Consignments not exceeding a total value of €22 may be imported without payment of Customs Duty and VAT. However, there is no relief for importations of tobacco, tobacco products, alcoholic products, perfumes or toilet waters irrespective of their value."

So it looks like our revenue follow the European limits when deciding the value of goods on which VAT will be imposed.

http://www.revenue.ie/index.htm?/leaflets/pn1179.htm

Hamiltron