Paying VAT to receive UPS package

DeanSmedley

I ordered a pair of runners made from recycled tyres and organic hemp from the USA. I presumed they were being sent by regular post, but today UPS arrived with them, and asked for €32 in VAT and "additional charges". Do I really have to pay this? Am I right in saying that I wouldn't have had to pay it if it was sent by regular post? I suppose the money is going to pay for hospitals and schools and things, so I shouldn't be annoyed...

13.50 of the 32 is for "additional charges" however. This is most annoying as I already payed $49 for postage. The stupid web store didn't allow you to choose between UPS and regular postage, it only had one option - "Standard Delivery"

Shane732

You would have been charged it anyway

BArra

the 13.50 goes straight into the UPS bank account, its their charge for paying the irish customs the rest of the import duty

all courier companys have this kind of charge

if you were sent the item through an post you may or may not have been charged, it depends if you were caught.

courier companys have legislation with irish customs so they stop 100% of goods being imported into ireland from outside of the EU, and of course they make a pretty penny off of it with their "13.50" charge

buy within EU if you dont wanna pay import duties!

jimoc

If you simply tell the courier at delivery time that you are refusing the package then you don't have to pay any of the charges.

then get the company to send it by standard postage and put the actual value of the package on it and you will only have to pay the VAT and not the extra charges.

RUDOLF289

Hello Deansmedley

regardless of the means of transport, you would be liable for VAT and Duty for imports from outside the EU, once the value of the goods + freight and marine / cargo insurance exceed the thresholds.

Have a look at the post below ;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=207975&page=2

Hope this explains why UPS is looking for money on delivery

Also, the 13.50 that UPS charge is for the administration and collection of VAT / Duty. An Post would also charge something for this, as would any carrier.

Barra ;

actually it is the other way around. Customs forces the courier companies to ensure that once the value exceeds the threshold, it is entered for clearance and duty/vat is levied. This is not some "money grabbing" scheme dreamed up by courier companies. They do face a cost for administering and collecting the duty/vat and they are entitled to charge a reasonable fee for that.

The same applies with An Post, although their charges tend to be lower.

As to refusing to take delivery of the parcel. Not sure if that would achieve the objective of not having to pay Euro 13.50. First of all, as already stated by the original poster, the shipper only has one method of delivery : UPS. Especially since the shipper would be responsible for the return freight back to them, they would probably be not inclined to accede to the request to ship it through USPS (the US postal service)

Regretfully, it looks as if you have to grin and bear it

Regards,
Rudolf289

WexTex

A fee that is more than the VAT itself is not a 'reasonable fee'. What it actually is, is extortion. I did not ask UPS to pay Customs for me. The VAT is a matter between myself and Customs. I refused the package and sent a check for the VAT only, to UPS.

RUDOLF289

WexTex wrote: »

A fee that is more than the VAT itself is not a 'reasonable fee'. What it actually is, is extortion. I did not ask UPS to pay Customs for me. The VAT is a matter between myself and Customs. I refused the package and sent a check for the VAT only, to UPS.

Hello Wextex,

surprised to see a 3 year old post brought back to life ........

In relation to you not asking UPS to pay Customs for you ; Your supplier contracted UPS. Because the package has a vatable value, UPS is obliged to enter the shipment to customs and settle the VAT. The only way to stop that is to inform your supplier that you will take responsibility for the customs clearance. At the same time you need to issue an instruction to UPS not to enter any shipments to customs on your behalf. You can then indeed file the customs entry with customs and pay customs directly.

Not 100% sure what fee UPS may have charged you, but I suspect it is less than € 15.00. If you think it is worth your while to file the customs entry with customs, settle with customs (either an EFT or Bank draft - cheques are not accepted by Revenue to settle duty / vat) and probably spend a significant amount of time to avoid paying the fee to UPS, then you are quite entitled to do so.

Cheers,
Rudolf289