DHL overcharging for customs

davidom2513

Hi,

I bought a GSM booster from Aliexpress. It cost €117 shipped.

DHL contacted me today, stating I need to pay €50 customs fee before they will release it, which is ridiculous.

When An Post seizes something, they ask for a receipt, and they calculate the customs based on that.

Where are DHL getting their figure?

Can I refuse to pay what they ask?

Thanks,
David

firestarter51

davidom2513 wrote: »

Hi,

I bought a GSM booster from Aliexpress. It cost €117 shipped.

DHL contacted me today, stating I need to pay €50 customs fee before they will release it, which is ridiculous.

When An Post seizes something, they ask for a receipt, and they calculate the customs based on that.

Where are DHL getting their figure?

Can I refuse to pay what they ask?

Thanks,
David

If you refuse to pay it will be destroyed

VincePP

The fault is entirely with the sender.

For imports a proper invoice detailing the cost of item and the cost of shipping must be included - if not an estimate is used by customs.

More than likely delivery was not detailed on the invoice and hence a delivery estimate was added. This is obligatory for dhl to do and the vat & duty is based on that total cost.

23% vat on invoice = €26.91
23% vat on delivery fee (prob put at €40) = €10.60
DHL customs processing fee €10 + vat @ 13.5%

Total = €50+

Nothing unusual about that


Even using your own figures the total is over €40 - so in effect you are arguing over a tenner

myshirt

firestarter51 wrote: »

If you refuse to pay it will be destroyed

Wth are you on about?

DHL don't set the customs & vat rate on this continent. They have no right to destroy this man's goods for an arbitrary figure they came up with. Lets get that straight.

Op, ask them for a receipt for the fee they paid on your behalf or a bill. Quite common that DHL just making up fees, many threads here on it. So get transparancy.

Could be the case that it is 23% on the value you paid, plus their 16e handling and warehouse fee.

Alternatively, people should be aware that DHL make it their business to ensure customs is charged on everything from China so they get their fee. Annoying but fine, ok, i get it. What they can't be doing is imputing their own market value, adding notional shipping charges, calculating import charges, adding their fee, lamping you for it, and then settling up with Revenue for less. This is a scandal. Hearing about this way too often.

Op is right, use the invoice, it is an arms length transaction.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

myshirt wrote: »

Wth are you on about?

DHL don't set the customs & vat rate on this continent. They have no right to destroy this man's goods for an arbitrary figure they came up with. Lets get that straight.

Op, ask them for a receipt for the fee they paid on your behalf or a bill. Quite common that DHL just making up fees, many threads here on it. So get transparancy.

Could be the case that it is 23% on the value you paid, plus their 16e handling and warehouse fee.

Alternatively, people should be aware that DHL make it their business to ensure customs is charged on everything from China so they get their fee. Annoying but fine, ok, i get it. What they can't be doing is imputing their own market value, adding notional shipping charges, calculating import charges, adding their fee, lamping you for it, and then settling up with Revenue for less. This is a scandal. Hearing about this way too often.

Op is right, use the invoice, it is an arms length transaction.

What planet are you on? It's customs who will destroy it, not DHL. It is customs who levy the charge, not DHL. It is Customs who decide who pays what, not DHL. The most DHL get is a tanner to process all.

Let's be straight, customs most certainly can and will destroy an item on which duty and tax is not paid.

myshirt

VincePP wrote: »

The fault is entirely with the sender.

For imports a proper invoice detailing the cost of item and the cost of shipping must be included - if not an estimate is used by customs.

More than likely delivery was not detailed on the invoice and hence a delivery estimate was added. This is obligatory for dhl to do and the vat & duty is based on that total cost.

23% vat on invoice = €26.91
23% vat on delivery fee (prob put at €40) = €10.60
DHL customs processing fee €10 + vat @ 13.5%

Total = €50+

Nothing unusual about that


Even using your own figures the total is over €40 - so in effect you are arguing over a tenner

I think the issue is DHL arbitrarily imputung the market value, which they have no remit to do. That"s Revenues job where an apparant underdeclaration has occurred. Not DHL's, even as agent. Revenue make the assessment, or the op or supplier gives the invoice, that's what the bottom line. DHL nees to facilutate that if they want their fee.

firestarter51

myshirt wrote: »

Wth are you on about?

DHL don't set the customs & vat rate on this continent. They have no right to destroy this man's goods for an arbitrary figure they came up with. Lets get that straight.

Op, ask them for a receipt for the fee they paid on your behalf or a bill. Quite common that DHL just making up fees, many threads here on it. So get transparancy.

Could be the case that it is 23% on the value you paid, plus their 16e handling and warehouse fee.

Alternatively, people should be aware that DHL make it their business to ensure customs is charged on everything from China so they get their fee. Annoying but fine, ok, i get it. What they can't be doing is imputing their own market value, adding notional shipping charges, calculating import charges, adding their fee, lamping you for it, and then settling up with Revenue for less. This is a scandal. Hearing about this way too often.

Op is right, use the invoice, it is an arms length transaction.

Your talking **** pal
Customs tell Dhl what to charge and if it's not paid to Dhl then they will hand it back to customs and it will be destroyed if it's not paid in the time frame given

ED E

GSM boosters are illegal transmission on a licensed frequency and subject to €5000+ fines for simply being turned on, refuse it and have them return to sender.

myshirt

Jaden Brave Tortoise wrote: »

What planet are you on? It's customs who will destroy it, not DHL. It is customs who levy the charge, not DHL. It is Customs who decide who pays what, not DHL. The most DHL get is a tanner to process all.

Let's be straight, customs most certainly can and will destroy an item on which duty and tax is not paid.

Revenue sample little of what DHL brings in. DHL have an account with Revenue that Revenue charge. That's their deal. That's why DHL is so quick.

Where Revenue have not sampled the DHL shipments, DHL are stepping in and doing the customs assessment because for every chargeable item that Revenue miss, DHL loses their handling fee. On Revenues side, they sample little DHL as they know DHL will come forward and declare.

Issue is the assessment needs to occur by Revenue, not DHL, so op needs to get a copy of that independent assessment and not pay DHL figure which may not be passed on in full as they declare their items in aggregate.

It is a scandal, I stand by that.

Now ok, in this instance, it is a tenner, but its becoming too many tenners too many times. A DHL thread week on week. All over UK forums aswell.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

myshirt wrote: »

Revenue sample little of what DHL brings in. DHL have an account with Revenue that Revenue charge. That's their deal. That's why DHL is so quick.

Where Revenue have not sampled the DHL shipments, DHL are stepping in and doing the customs assessment because for every chargeable item that Revenue miss, DHL loses their handling fee. On Revenues side, they sample little DHL as they know DHL will come forward and declare.

Issue is the assessment needs to occur by Revenue, not DHL, so op needs to get a copy of that independent assessment and not pay DHL figure which may not be passed on in full as they declare their items in aggregate.

It is a scandal, I stand by that.

Now ok, in this instance, it is a tenner, but its becoming too many tenners too many times. A DHL thread week on week. All over UK forums aswell.

So it's all DHL's fault that the OP has to pay the legally required duty to import an item into the country? Yes, you're right, it's a scandal.

firestarter51

ED E wrote: »

GSM boosters are illegal transmission on a licensed frequency and subject to €5000+ fines for simply being turned on, refuse it and have them return to sender.

What if there is no return address

VincePP

myshirt wrote: »

I think the issue is DHL arbitrarily imputung the market value, which they have no remit to do. That"s Revenues job where an apparant underdeclaration has occurred. Not DHL's, even as agent. Revenue make the assessment, or the op or supplier gives the invoice, that's what the bottom line. DHL nees to facilutate that if they want their fee.

No, it is entirely the fault of the sender not attaching proper documentation.

I use DHL quite a bit, never had an incorrect charge because te company sending the items gives the correct information that they are obliged to do.

If a shipping fee is not stated, then DHL must apply the shipping fee to the cost for vat & duty purposes.

Correct documentaion and there will be no errors - and judging by comments you made on another thread, your comments are best ignored

davidom2513

firestarter51 wrote: »

Your talking **** pal
Customs tell Dhl what to charge and if it's not paid to Dhl then they will hand it back to customs and it will be destroyed if it's not paid in the time frame given

Customs do not tell DHL what to charge. They are calculating it themselves.

If the correct documentation was not provided, then all DHL need to do, is ask the buyer for the invoice, LIKE EVERY OTHER SHIPPING COMPANY DOES.

firestarter51

davidom2513 wrote: »

Customs do not tell DHL what to charge. They are calculating it themselves.

If the correct documentation was not provided, then all DHL need to do, is ask the buyer for the invoice, LIKE EVERY OTHER SHIPPING COMPANY DOES.

It will still be destroyed if it's not paid

satguy

I have bought a few phones in the past,, and had to stop using DHL because of their makey up prices,,, It's a scam ,

They should be stopped from doing this,, I now only use An Post when buying phones and the like from sites like Geekbuying,,, It saves money in the long term, and it is just so easy just to show them a PayPal invoice if they ask..

An Post ..Good
DHL .....Bad

?

Collibosher

myshirt wrote: »

....people should be aware that DHL make it their business to ensure customs is charged on everything from China so they get their fee..

I'm not debating the rights or wrongs of the charges in this situation, but they have to do a customs entry for all non EU shipments, all the courier companies have to.

It's not just DHL deciding to do it because they can make a tenner (or whatever their fee is) on it!

satguy

If you need your phone fast, and have €17 euro for DHL 3 day shipping, and then have €55 for customs and the DHL handling fee,, Then go with DHL,,

If you are not in a hurry go with An Post,, and save a few bob...

evlgmaojr27ypu

I had a similar case few years back when I bough a Pebble Steel Watch, which was then shipped by DHL from Hong Kong. Since the shipper didn't include how much the shipping cost was, either DHL or Customs decided to come with a random figure of €65 - when in fact it was around the €20 mark. I felt DHL wasn't willing to help or either their hands were just tied with customs, so I just ended up paying them the fees.

I then decided to write to the customs office at the below address, including the actual receipt with the shipping cost. Initially I didn't receive any reply but a month later or so, I received a nice cheque with the refund.

International TOR
Transit & Support Branch
Government Offices
St. Conlon's Road
Nenagh
Co. Tipperary

whiterebel

The couriers, such as DHL, do customs entries for dutiable products coming from outside the EU. Companies in China know if they declare correct values, shipping etc on their invoices it will make them unattractive to buy from (which is the whole point behind customs duty/VAT/Excise etc in the first place). Courier does the entry based on the value shown, but if there is no shipping, or the amount of the product is stupidly low "including delivery", they need to add proper shipping to it ACCORDING TO THEIR TARIFFS. Why should they have to go chasing an exporter in China for proof of shipping they paid? They should put it on the paperwork in the first place.

The courier makes no more money out of it by declaring a higher value for shipping. If you don't believe this, ask the courier for a copy of the customs entry which should show
value+
Freight+
Duty,
then 23% VAT charged on the lot.
All they are showing in the freight charge is what THEY would charge for shipping from China/USA/Canada according to their official tariff , not what Chinese Post/USPS/Fedex would charge.
Difference between An Post and DHL/TNT/UPS/FedEx is An Post are semi-state and the others are private companies. An Post should be stopping all consignments over the value for customs, but don't, probably out of laziness. We pay them a €6 fee because its a company that doesn't seem to know how to turn a profit unless it involves increasing stamp prices every 20 minutes. Their idea of a good business decision is pairing up with DHL for international parcels and packets. Because of the lack of competition here it means they can charge one-off customers about 6 times the going european rate for shipping.
If the courier company gets a tenner to complete a customs entry, pay out VAT/Duty on your behalf and organise it if it goes red or yellow channel - for customs inspection. It doesn't sound a lot to me

satguy

An Post just know that,, this phone or that phone, was only €100, and and the only reason Mom or Dad are buying it, is because they only have €100 to spend, and that these people live on the same streets they live on..

DHL just see a licence to print money,, even if they do say that they are only doing it by the book,, Why go of page when you are raking it in.... Mr DHL does not live on my street,, he lives somewhere warm....

whiterebel

satguy wrote: »

An Post just know that,, this phone or that phone, was only €100, and and the only reason Mom or Dad are buying it, is because they only have €100 to spend, and that these people live on the same streets they live on..

DHL just see a licence to print money,, even if they do say that they are only doing it by the book,, Why go of page when you are raking it in.... Mr DHL does not live on my street,, he lives somewhere warm....

Seriously, read what you just read. The DHL entry clerk lives on the same street too, not some gold plated mansion. I would say An Post employees are in a better position seeing as DHL laid off 3/400 people over the last few years.
To do all they do for a tenner is a "licence to print money"? Yeah, that €4 difference between them and An Post must buy some caviar alright. An Post just couldn't be bothered, too much like hard work. The courier companies have a responsibility to C&E to do customs clearance properly.

Collibosher

satguy wrote: »

DHL just see a licence to print money,, even if they do say that they are only doing it by the book,, Why go of page when you are raking it in.... Mr DHL does not live on my street,, he lives somewhere warm....

They have to do it!

DHL, and all the others like UPS, TNT etc are regularly visited unannounced by Customs and Excise for random checks, and audits of their paperwork.

The fines are substantial for any irregularities, especially for letting through dutiable/taxable consignments.

satguy

I will be using An Post ,,, If I ever visit The Bahamas or The Cayman Islands,,, I'll have a chat with Mr DHL ...

VincePP

whiterebel wrote: »

The couriers, such as DHL, do customs entries for dutiable products coming from outside the EU. Companies in China know if they declare correct values, shipping etc on their invoices it will make them unattractive to buy from (which is the whole point behind customs duty/VAT/Excise etc in the first place). Courier does the entry based on the value shown, but if there is no shipping, or the amount of the product is stupidly low "including delivery", they need to add proper shipping to it ACCORDING TO THEIR TARIFFS. Why should they have to go chasing an exporter in China for proof of shipping they paid? They should put it on the paperwork in the first place.

The courier makes no more money out of it by declaring a higher value for shipping. If you don't believe this, ask the courier for a copy of the customs entry which should show
value+
Freight+
Duty,
then 23% VAT charged on the lot.
All they are showing in the freight charge is what THEY would charge for shipping from China/USA/Canada according to their official tariff , not what Chinese Post/USPS/Fedex would charge.
Difference between An Post and DHL/TNT/UPS/FedEx is An Post are semi-state and the others are private companies. An Post should be stopping all consignments over the value for customs, but don't, probably out of laziness. We pay them a €6 fee because its a company that doesn't seem to know how to turn a profit unless it involves increasing stamp prices every 20 minutes. Their idea of a good business decision is pairing up with DHL for international parcels and packets. Because of the lack of competition here it means they can charge one-off customers about 6 times the going european rate for shipping.
If the courier company gets a tenner to complete a customs entry, pay out VAT/Duty on your behalf and organise it if it goes red or yellow channel - for customs inspection. It doesn't sound a lot to me

Most of your post makes sense except the anger at an post.

An post have international postal agreements with most countries - it would be utter madness for an post to transfer all parcels to a third party. It would delay delivery and add costs.

In any case, it is customs revenue themselves that operate the an post inward parcel fee system (directly employed by revenue with own office within an post centre in Portlaoise) - hence just a €6 charge for fee collection rather than customs entry.

whiterebel

VincePP wrote: »

Most of your post makes sense except the anger at an post.

An post have international postal agreements with most countries - it would be utter madness for an post to transfer all parcels to a third party. It would delay delivery and add costs.

In any case, it is customs revenue themselves that operate the an post inward parcel fee system (directly employed by revenue with own office within an post centre in Portlaoise) - hence just a €6 charge for fee collection rather than customs entry.

Thats mild compared to some of the "discussions" I've had with An Post.......:p

Thanks for the info on the mail centre, learn something new every day.