Customs Duty Bill/Import agent recommendations

MizMix

I made probably my first costly mistake since I set up my business three months ago- I outsource the manufacturing of baby textile products. My first few shipments came from Turkey with no duty/Vat (apart from one and when I stated baby clothing was VAT exempt they removed the full charge). I presumed they were also duty exempt or at least a small % of around 3-5%. I switched manufacturer to an Indian supplier- today get told I owe over 2k (on an order of approx 7k). I stated it was VAT exempt- they removed that but said I owed over 1k duty. The shipment is door to door DHL. I did not appoint an agent or give the supplier any instructions...

Firstly the bill is off....they added an extra 1k plus for shipment (the 7k was all in) I also think they charged 12.5% when it's 10.5%.

After some research I now know the best thing to do is agree a FOB price with the supplier and appoint a freight forwarder...any recommendations for someone in Ireland (who will entertain a start up)?

Finally- can is it too late for an import agent to assist me with this? The other thing is a % of my goods are for export. I am a start up but so far 2 out of three clients are outside of Ireland (one outside the EU). Is there a discount for this? Any advise to help me legitimately reduce this bill as I'm not ready to accept it as an expensive mistake just yet!

MizMix

From further research I should have requested a cert of origin for a reduced rate..,here's hoping I can get it accepted retrospectively

RUDOLF289

MizMix wrote: »

From further research I should have requested a cert of origin for a reduced rate..,here's hoping I can get it accepted retrospectively

Hello MizMiz,

indeed, if you can furnish a GSP Form A retrospectively it is possible to apply for a refund. Surprised your supplier did not furnish one.

If you need any help PM me.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

RUDOLF289

MizMix wrote: »

I made probably my first costly mistake since I set up my business three months ago- I outsource the manufacturing of baby textile products. My first few shipments came from Turkey with no duty/Vat (apart from one and when I stated baby clothing was VAT exempt they removed the full charge). I presumed they were also duty exempt or at least a small % of around 3-5%. I switched manufacturer to an Indian supplier- today get told I owe over 2k (on an order of approx 7k). I stated it was VAT exempt- they removed that but said I owed over 1k duty. The shipment is door to door DHL. I did not appoint an agent or give the supplier any instructions...

Firstly the bill is off....they added an extra 1k plus for shipment (the 7k was all in) I also think they charged 12.5% when it's 10.5%.

After some research I now know the best thing to do is agree a FOB price with the supplier and appoint a freight forwarder...any recommendations for someone in Ireland (who will entertain a start up)?

Finally- can is it too late for an import agent to assist me with this? The other thing is a % of my goods are for export. I am a start up but so far 2 out of three clients are outside of Ireland (one outside the EU). Is there a discount for this? Any advise to help me legitimately reduce this bill as I'm not ready to accept it as an expensive mistake just yet!

Hello MizMiz,

First of all, the commercial invoice needs to be very specific and needs to show as INCO terms DDU, CFR, CIF or similar. Unless that is the case the customs agent (DHL is the like Customs agent too) is obliged to add freight costs. The problem is that DHL Customs department will only add the full tariff, regardless of what the shipper may have paid.

Suggest to double check the commercial invoice to see what it states. If there are no clear terms stated you will need to request an amended invoice, showing the FOB Costs and the Freight Costs separately. You also need to get a letter from your supplier explaining the reason for the amended invoice.

Also, suggest to check if the shipment has already been processed through Customs. I would recommend that you tell DHL to put the shipment on hold and query the duty levied on the basis that you have requested an amended invoice, showing the correct INCO terms and a GSP Form A which probably would completely eliminate the duty in any event. I would probably need to see the invoice to be able to determine the exact situation.

There are a number of ways to deal with your exports. First of all, if you don't pay any duty (because of the GSP form A) and no VAT (because baby clothes are exempt from VAT) there is nothing to claim back.

Drop me a PM and will assist in getting you sorted.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

MizMix

Roldolph thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I had to pay the duty as the items are required urgently. I spoke to customs in revenue who were very helpful and said there should be no issue with a refund once I send in the cert of origin, invoice (the invoice now states CIF), and a letter from myself putting it into context. DHL said to send everything to them and there was no way of refunding the duty on the freight they added but when I spoke to revenue they said to send everything straight to them and a full refund is likely....they were very helpful and I'll know in future exactly what documents are required and not to just assume the supplier is taking care of it!

RUDOLF289

MizMix wrote: »

Roldolph thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I had to pay the duty as the items are required urgently. I spoke to customs in revenue who were very helpful and said there should be no issue with a refund once I send in the cert of origin, invoice (the invoice now states CIF), and a letter from myself putting it into context. DHL said to send everything to them and there was no way of refunding the duty on the freight they added but when I spoke to revenue they said to send everything straight to them and a full refund is likely....they were very helpful and I'll know in future exactly what documents are required and not to just assume the supplier is taking care of it!

Hello Mizmix,

I am glad that you are half way to getting sorted. My experience of DHL imports is that the people are trained to fill in the boxes, as in what needs to go in the boxes, but not the why. Also they have thousands of customs entries to go through on a daily basis. Therefore they are often unable to explain what is required or how to rectify problems.

Also, with the GSP form A there is no duty payable in most cases. Therefore, you should get a refund of all the duty paid regardless.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

Henrietta2

Hi there I have an idea for an item of baby clothing and I have made a sample myself and have got some good feedback from other people with babies.

I completely understand if this is the wrong place to post this and I apologise if it is but I don't come from this line of business and I have been trying to find information online over the past week as to how I go about setting up the business on a small scale to start off.

I have done some research and I would like to make the product using oe-ko tex fabric and I was wondering if anyone would know where would I go about sourcing that and also how would I get in contact with a manufacturer abroad. Thanks for any help you can give me.

MizMix

Hi Henriette- Turkey would be very reputable but you could try India or China also. Duty will apply importing from the latter two most likely.

Turkey for me involved a lot of googling, emails etc. I ended up going eleswhere as I found a more flexible supplier in India- you could start with alibaba but just be cautious and be prepared to request samples (and pay for them) from several manufacturers and allow time for revisions- your perception of quality may be different to theirs and that's not to say they can't do it, but just revisions may be necessary