"Item sent to customs"- how long a delay?

TheBandicoot

Hi, I am having something sent from Japan, An Post is doing the Ireland-side delivery. According to the online tracking it was "sent to customs" on Friday morning and hasn't updated since then. The item in question is a used video game that I paid around €200 for.

I have no problem paying whatever charges there are(though I've never paid customs charges before, and once got an item almost identical to this that arrived with "Opened for inspection" tape and no charges). But how long until something happens? I haven't received a letter asking for a Paypal receipt(as I gather is the next step). Should I call them up and ask for an update? Three working days with no update seems odd.

EDIT: Checked tracking again just after making this thread, it's now "RELEASED FROM CUSTOMS", so I guess all is well.

allthedoyles

Phew ! - you are lucky

Customs have enjoyed some of my purchases forever

Kenjataimu

I'm surprised you got away with that.
They usually contact you for proof of payment (including delivery costs) if they cant find a price on your item.

Was your game retro or current gen?
Either way maybe they didn't see the value in it.
At €200 cost price you have saved a fair chunk if it has slipped by them! Fair play


I know that a member on the A&R forum got caught only a few weeks ago with a pricey game from Japan.

homer911

What sort of used video game would cost €200?? :eek:

rubadub

homer911 wrote: »

What sort of used video game would cost €200?? :eek:

rare collectors item I presume

Proco Jr. wrote: »

Either way maybe they didn't see the value in it.

+1. Years ago I got high price mp3 players and earphones from the US and was not caught, they were weird brands that a customs person would probably not recognise or bother to research.

TheBandicoot

Well, got the item today, there was a €15 charge(€9 VAT and €6 handling). The guy who sold the game marked the value as ¥5000 on the package and that's what the VAT was based on(just to point out, I didn't ask him to do this and never do), doesn't look like they opened the box and they didn't contact me for a receipt. Fair enough.

And yes, it is a rather rare game from 1990, for my collection.

Kenjataimu

Some sellers mark packages as gifts without asking... I'd say customs check all those as default now.

@TheBandicoot you should check out the Arcade & Retro forum if you are into retro gaming.

Xavantes

Hi,

I've recently had to deal with the customs so I thought I'd share my experience with them.

This is what happened:

- I ordered a mobile phone online (from China via aliexpress.com)
- I paid $235 (US Dollars) for it with credit card
- The seller declared a lower value, of $150 (US Dollars), and wrote "phone" on the parcel
- Item arrived in Dublin (ITEM RECEIVED on 19-Oct-13) and then item was sent to customs (ITEM SENT TO CUSTOMS on 21-Oct-13)
- Yesterday (on 23rd) I sent an email to the customs asking about my parcel
- They responded quickly (within 2 hours) asking for proof of payment:

"Can you please forward your official Paypal receipt / receipt, showing the description of the goods and the amount you paid. If you do not have a receipt a copy of your credit card statement showing the payment will suffice."

- I had no receipt or bank statements so what I did was to take 2 screen captures of the aliexpress web page that shows the history of the order; there they could see the real amount I paid, next to the full identification of the product and the tracking number
- Yesterday evening I sent them the screen captures
- This morning they replied to my email; they provided detailed information about the payment I need to make, when to make it and when to expect the parcel

Customs Charges are due on your package. The charges and the expected delivery date are set out below. The charges can be paid to the postperson on delivery by cash (exact amount) or cheque/postal order made payable to An Post. If you are not in when An Post call, they will leave a note in your letterbox advising where to collect your parcel and pay the charges.
...
Total Value of Goods - € 177.53
Customs Duty - € 0.00
VAT @ 23% - € 40.83
An Post Fee - € 6.00
Total for Collection - € 46.83
Expected Delivery Date -Tues 29th , Oct 2013

I was a bit concerned about the outcome because the seller had put a different value on the parcel. Point 2b refers to this exact situation, making importers legally responsible for the value declared on the parcel: http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/pn1882.html

Fortunatelly, it was not the case. They simply calculated the VAT based on the real value.

A couple of months ago I ordered the same phone. The seller put "gift" and $30 on the parcel. The item didn't go through customs. Based on what I've read online in the past several days, this practice is becoming more risky as parcels marked as "gift" are more and more suspicious.

Here are some links you might find useful:

1. Goods Imported by Post
http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/foi/s16/value-added-tax/chpt-15/15-05.pdf

2. Ordering Goods for Personal Use over the Internet or from Mail Order Catalogues
http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/pn1882.html

3. Customs Contact (from where I got the email address)
http://www.revenue.ie/en/contact/dublin-region.html#section18

I hope this was as helpful as it was long