Incorrect clearance/VAT charges/Missing IOSS number with An Post/Addresspal ***See First Post***

Hi Guys,

Please advise me what to do here.

I purchased some goods from the UK

I received the bill from An Post for the import VAT as expexted

BUT the goods were worth £126.80 & i Received a bill for the an Post bill for €110.61

I have sent a email to eCommChargeQuery@anpost.ie back on 05/12/2022 disputing this (which i have until 27/12/2022 to do)

I sent the invoice as well as proof of value.

Naturally, i have received nothing since, due to Christmas.

Any advice please as to what to do now please

Tanka

Impossible to tell what the figure should be without knowing what type of goods they were and whether they were manufactured in the UK, the EU or further afield. Some items have no import duty at all, but don't buy shoes!

This page is worth reading.

You could contact the sender and ask them did they provide the correct documentation for Irish Customs.

It might make it easier to persuade them to give you a refund and buy the goods from somebody who can demonstrate where they imported them from.

Hi All,

Thank you for all the comments.

The goods were clothes, sweatshirts, jumpers etc. from a UK company called wierdfish.

The total cost mentioned included delivery to me.

Could anyone give me the phone number to call please

Thank you

Tanka

You're also paying an anPost handling fee !!

On the a Post website when you go to pay the fee it will give you a breakdown of what you’re being charged.

Such as:

Import Duty = €x

Excise Duty = €x

VAT = €x

An Post Fee = €3.50

Total = €x

Adult clothes are subject to the standard VAT rate (23%)

The £ cost will also be converted to € for the purpose of calculating the fee.

an post customer service could also give this to you to check the maths on it.

I'm still trying to figure out where the bargain is in this one :-)

€3.50. By far the least charged by any carrier.

They can also make a decision on value by opening the packages and taking a look.

dph@revenue.ie

I bought stuff from the states 2 years ago and got charged 75 euro duty on a package which cost me $120 but the customs value was 184 eu.

I do think they tend to put the original price value on packages rather than the sale price you got them at which can be frustrating.

I had to email them proof of payment from paypal and receipts for all the goods I bought and eventually got almost half it back (31)

It took 5 weeks

Loads of bargains still from the UK. Just buy from experienced sellers.

It is common knowledge that An Post are absolute scumbags

Source: https://ie.trustpilot.com/review/www.anpost.ie

They charge whatever they want and there is no negotiating with them. In addition to all the things mentioned above that is included in the "value", they also wrongfully include UK VAT. It even says on the revenue website that VAT should not be included in the value of an item:

• any duty or other tax (excluding VAT) payable

When making this very clear to them through the ecommschargequery email, they just say "No, UK VAT is included in the value"

I'm owed over 500euro and am looking into taking a small claims action against them.

Revenue provide the parameters to follow, An Post are supposed to apply these and take what is owed. An Post are misinformed about the parameters and in addition are horrid to deal with. Simple as that.

I agree. But my problem is that I returned the item and the UK seller refunded the cost of item+ UK VAT but now I need to get a refund of the Irish VAT through An Post who have no interest in sorting out the problem.

Also, despite it being incorrect that the seller applies UK VAT, An Post should not be including it in their valuation, but they do regardless.

Has anyone ever heard back from an post about the mental charges? I got one email back, told to pay ludicrous charges and no more..I have sent over 30 emails to various an post email addresses over the past few months, all ignored, no package and it didn't go back to the sender.

FYI I got car mats from the UK for £25 and they sent me a VAT bill of £205. Hence why I didn't pay. But Im extremely annoyed that they stole my item from me.

I ordered a really nice Stanley trolley back in October. Amazon said it was held in customs as they need more info. Rang up customs and they said that they assigned the wrong code to it hence the delay. Still no sign of it after nearly 8 weeks.

I guarantee you someone took a fancy to it and helped themselves.

Most likely incorrect product code on the import documents.

Just what the customer wants a courier company that can't even afford its own domain name and email address. bpmbelcoo@gmail.com LOL.

Last paragraph is the usual populist rubbish and of course totally wrong.

VAT is not a national competency. That's because we entered a Single Market 30 years ago and have benefited greatly as a nation from this.

Protectionist? Every trade bloc is protectionist. The US is protectionist. The UK is protectionist. Free trade is for those inside not outside - unless deals are done - which the UK refuses to do.

The Apple tax money does not exist. It was never due. The import taxes applied here to non-EU imports are the same as in any EU country.

Of course it's about Brexit. It's entirely to do with Brexit. UK left so companies there no longer enjoy tax/duty-free trade with the EU. That's their tough titties.

Nobody is punishing the UK they chose to punish themselves. They could have left the EU while maintaining free trade but they refused, a hard Brexit is what the Tories wanted and it's what they've got.

The only thing stopping other countries from leaving the EU is observing the sheer stupidity of it. Massive self-inflicted damage to the UK economy with no benefits at all. Not one.

You don’t have to use them if you don’t want. I have used them three times and found them good. I struggled to find an alternative to parcel motel and this is one.

I've found that a guestimate is often used to calculate a charge where the seller hasn't provided the value on the postage label.

"If your retailer is availing of the ‘Import One Stop Shop’ (IOSS) scheme, they must supply a valid IOSS number in the correct data field. 

Unfortunately, the sender of your item did not include a valid IOSS number / details on the electronic information we received from the sender. 

An Post is not in a position to amend this declaration and you will need to pay the current charge before contacting your retailer in relation to this matter. "

If you think you've been charged incorrectly, you'll need a screenshot of your order confirmation attached to an email with the customs reference and tracking number in the subject (apparently this automatically puts your package on hold while it's investigated... it now takes weeks to process, and sending multiple emails relating to the same package will put it back at the end of the queue). Give them as much detail as you can - don't forget the individual people replying aren't the ones who slapped you with the charges.

Dublin Mail Centre's Customs Charge Unit (Revenue) - eCommChargeQuery {ash} anpost.ie

In most cases, though, it's better to contact the seller and tell them you've been charged for import. If they care about customers they might refund the charge or offer some sort of goodwill gesture.

I've pretty much stopped buying from outside Europe unless the customs charge would still bring the total cost below what I'd pay here - it's no longer a miniscule chance that something will be slapped with a charge, it's now a guarantee.