Package problems

TheChief36

So I ordered something from the United States. It was an article of clothing. The item was 14.99 dollars and the Shipping and Handling through UPS was 26.34 dollars. So I get a call from the UPS deliveryman saying I owe 24 euro in import duty, they kept calling it import duty but when I asked them to break it down they said it was 7.64 VAT and 14.00 for UPS Clearance, then 3 something for a handling fee. I was surprised, this had never happened to me before. Especially when I looked on revenue.ie and it seemed I was not liable for VAT or import duty as the item was not above 22 or 150 euro. Revenue.ie said it was the intrinsic value of the item without adding shipping that was measured.
So I don't understand it really, as far as I was concerned I already paid UPS to deliver my item when I paid shipping so being charged again seemed like a bogus hidden charge. I rang them up a few times but they wouldn't budge on the issue and insisted that shipping was included in the calculations. Can anyone advise me if this is legal on their part. Or am I being made to pay for someone else's mistake?

N17er

From revenue.ie,

How are these charges calculated?
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Customs Duty is normally calculated as a percentage of the value. The percentage varies depending on the type of goods and the country of origin. Customs Duty is charged on the price paid for the goods including local sales taxes plus shipping, packaging and insurance costs. Further information on rates of customs duty may be obtained from Taric or by e-mailing tarclass@revenue.ie.



I always import things from the USA with USPS, the US postal service where possible, the like of UPS and Fedex are thieves in my opinion. I think they calculate the duty owed and pay it directly to customs for you. In my experience you will always sneak past customs with usps even things of value as customs have to check the parcels themselves. Someone will probably come on and say they have been charged duty and vat while importing with usps but I never have.
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sandin

Whoever told you shipping is not part of the calculation for tax is wrong. The cost of goods for tax purposes whether it is o eitem or a shipload is the LANDED cost in Europe. - Same applies to EVERY european country and same applies in the USA to european goods.

In your case $14.99 + $26.34 shipping = $41.33 - approx €33
Duty = 0%
Vat = 23%
Vat = approx 7.60

Customs entry charge €14 + vat at 13.5% on that - approx €16

7.60 + 16.00 = 23.60

If you import goods worth over €650, then you must do a taric entry via a customs broker - this will cost €50 + vat

Melendez

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