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Q+A on Import Duty+Tax [Do Not Ask How to Avoid!]

Puteq

Yesterday I received a letter from some company called 'Avance' who were contacting me on behalf of 'Federal Express Europe Inc' threatening to 'commence formal proceedings' against me unless I paid 40 quid into a bank account in Dublin.

Sounded like the usual spam garbage to me, but I tried calling the 1800 number in the letter just in case, and of course it didn’t work. So today I phoned FedEx to let them know some spammers were using their name to scam people - only to find it is apparently real! I had bought RAM from the crucial.com website in July, and apparently FedEx had to pay the customs and imports tax on it or something, so now they were after me to pay them. I asked why they were sending debt collectors instead of just writing to me and asking me to pay themselves and they told me thats what they usually do and maybe the letter was lost in the post or something - sounds a bit unlikely to me.

Now pls note - I know the rules here and I am NOT looking for a way to avoid tax or anything like that, but whats the story here - I previously bought from crucial a few times in the past and never had this. Is this some new thing, or is every online purchase subject to this but customs only randomly check a few things or what? I am wondering because this would influence my decision to buy online in future, if I had to pay this much cost on top of the price on the site then the net is suddenly not a very attractive option at all…

PS: the original cost of what I got (I don’t remember exactly) was about 100 quid so I find 40 quid quite high

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dudara

Moved to Online Buying & Auctions

dudara

jor el

cinnamon wrote: »

I did not mark the parcel as a gift, the company did and I never asked them to.

cinnamon wrote: »

I asked the postman in SDS are you supposed to be charged for gifts and he said he didnt know

Knowing that it wasn't a gift, you still tried to avoid paying the VAT by claiming it was a gift to the delivery agent. That would be a fraudulent claim.

cinnamon wrote: »

Can someone answer my question without throwing accusations please.

As I said, the limit for VAT is €22 for purchases, or €45 for a genuine gift. The limit for import duty is €150. The limits include the cost of delivery.

I didn't make any accusations, I stated the facts about tax evasion, which is what you're trying to do.

You imported goods, you got a bill, you paid the bill, case closed.

cinnamon

jor el wrote: »

Knowing that it wasn't a gift, you still tried to avoid paying the VAT by claiming it was a gift to the delivery agent. That would be a fraudulent claim.

Another accusation.
I paid my VAT bill to the post office, THEN I asked the postman what was the story with gifts, because I had heard you weren't taxed on gifts.
I was looking for information about gifts and limits from the postman as I was unsure of what they were.

jor el wrote: »

I didn't make any accusations, I stated the facts about tax evasion, which is what you're trying to do.

Never in my original post have I even hinted that I was evading tax. I was looking for clarification and information on the subject of import duties.

jor el wrote: »

You imported goods, you got a bill, you paid the bill, case closed.

The case is closed when all answers are reasonably answered and not because YOU say it is.

Paulw

cinnamon wrote: »

The case is closed when all answers are reasonably answered and not because YOU say it is.

What HASN'T been answered??

jor el

cinnamon wrote: »

Another accusation.

First accusation, actually. You know it wasn't a gift, and yet you chose to question the charge because you believed a gift was exempt.

cinnamon wrote: »

Never in my original post have I even hinted that I was evading tax.

Well that's a lie. "Can someone tell me what the limits are and do 'gifts' mean anything these days". You know it isn't a gift, and you still question whether you should be charged. Gift means nothing when it isn't a gift.

cinnamon wrote: »

I was looking for clarification and information on the subject of import duties.
The case is closed when all answers are reasonably answered and not because YOU say it is.

The question has been answered 3 times now. What exactly are you looking for?

Tiesto

I recently purchased some Mach 3 blades from dealextreme.com
Got home today to find an attempted delivery docket in the mailbox.
On it is marked 61€!!!

The blades and delivery came to 18 euro.
They cant charge for stuff under 20 euro right??

jor el

If they think the declaration was false, they can re-value them. Mach 3 blades are about €16 for a 4-pack, so it depends on how many you ordered. Even then, that sounds way too high. You'll need to ring the number on the back and ask where that came from. Could be a typo.

jimmycrackcorm

Hi

I ordered an item online from the U.S. and the seller sent it via USPS international priority delivery. they gave me a tracking number which still shows after ten days that the USPS was only notified to expect the package for posting. When I queried this the seller says that the USPS said that the tracking would only show up when delivered for some international deliveries. Has anyone experienced this for packages sent via USPS ?

jor el

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

When I queried this the seller says that the USPS said that the tracking would only show up when delivered for some international deliveries. Has anyone experienced this for packages sent via USPS ?

Sounds like a lie. More than likely it was sent non-recorded, and the seller made up a number to gov you off.

jimmycrackcorm

jor el wrote: »

Sounds like a lie. More than likely it was sent non-recorded, and the seller made up a number to gov you off.

Item turned up today - the seller was telling the truth. Also a google on the subject shows up the USPS as being a pretty tech backward organization when it comes to tracking.

allthedoyles

I have a mobile phone from China held up in Customs in Cork City since 18th November .

What do I need to do to get it cleared .

Fedex were to let me know , but they are not contacting me .

And how much should I have to pay in duty etc - value 46 euro

allthedoyles

Fedex tell me that the package is in Customs , and they have my mobile number and email address .

How could it take more that 8 days ( up to now ) to clear a small mobile phone from China ?

jor el

allthedoyles wrote: »

How could it take more that 8 days ( up to now ) to clear a small mobile phone from China ?

Because they're busy/lazy/slow. Not a lot you can do about it other than wait.

**Timbuk2**

I ordered an item costing $12 on dealextreme.com. The delivery was free (for me - I don't know how much the delivery was actually valued at).

I think it's coming from Hong Kong. Am I still liable for Import Duty and Tax if it gets stopped (it hasn't arrived yet - shipped 3 days ago), or does it only apply to goods over €25 (or is there any cut-off point)?

jor el

€22 is the limit.

allthedoyles

jor el wrote: »

Because they're busy/lazy/slow. Not a lot you can do about it other than wait.

I just rang Fedex for an update

Customs in Cork City are still examing my small package ( mobile phone )

They are not looking for duty to be paid at this time .

This is crazy .............It took just 2 days for package to come from China to Cork City , and now it has been in Customs nearly 10 days .

Snoopy1

Just a quick question.
Im looking to buy something from the states. It gives me an option to include all duties and charges on the price. If i include this could i still get charged by customs here????

Value is 21$ then shipping on top

jor el

If the company is registered for VAT here, then they can do this, if they're not, then they're not paying the VAT and you can be charged.

Snoopy1

Thanks, no point in me payin extra then

The Lovely Muffin

Hi,

I want to place an order with cheapsmells.com, however, just before I go to the payment page it says the following:

This order may be subject to Sales Tax. Whilst Guernsey is not part of the EU, it is part of the European Economic Area, therefore orders dispatched to EU countries are not liable for customs duties. Please be aware if any of these charges are levied they will not be reimbursed.

Just to clarify, would I be charged for vat/tax?

The total price of my order (incl delivery) is €23,03 euros.

I am aware the limit for vat/tax is €22 euros, so even though I am €2,03 euros over, will they let me away since it's not a massive amount, or will they ask me for it? And if they ask me for it, what is the amount in tax/vat I'd have to pay? €2,03 or more?

Thanks.

The Lovely Muffin

^^ can anyone help please?

Thanks.

jor el

I thin they're wrong. Unless the company is VAT registered in at least 1 EU country, then they are not collecting VAT, and it would be due to be paid on import.

This link stats;
Unlike the European Community Single Market, however, the EEA in principle excludes agricultural and fishery products; does not cover indirect taxation (VAT and excise duties)
So VAT is not covered by EEA states, of which Guernsey is one.

Duty only kicks in at 150 euro, so they are right about customs duty not being applicable, but VAT would.

The Lovely Muffin

I don't understand (sorry, I'm not with it today).

So what would I have to pay (if any) tax or vat? And roughly how much?

Thanks.

jor el

VAT is tax. Duty is another tax, but it's got different rates on different products, and the exemption limit is 150 euro anyway, so it doesn't apply to something costing 23.

You are liable for VAT on anything over 22 euro coming from Guernsey, at a rate of 21.5%, plus a handling fee of between 5 and 15 euro.

allthedoyles

Can anyone tell me why the Customs won't let my package through from China - Its been with them in Cork 11 days now ?

pleasant Co.

allthedoyles wrote: »

Can anyone tell me why the Customs won't let my package through from China - Its been with them in Cork 11 days now ?

Unlikely...would you not contact them (customs) ?

kumate_champ07

will I have to pay tax on an item thats $30 including shipping? the actual item is only $10

having it posted to Ireland in the next few days

blackest

I bought a battery for my netbook from china for €28 including shipping it was returned to china by customs.

I don't mind paying the vat but why didn't they ask me instead of bouncing it back to china.

jazzie

I've purchased stuff from creative european store but it appears to be shipped from China. Does this mean I'll be hit for customs. My order was 80 and 7 for shipping so what can I expect to be billed for.

Rgs

Lisa

jor el

Check your invoice for VAT.