ebay & excise duty

solaris

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right forum, but seems the most suitable. Are second hand goods purchased via ebay from the US exempt from customs duty ? I bought a Palm PDA and wonder if I need to be concerned with customs ?

Thanks

Solaris

Jam

I refer you to the Revenue Commission's FAQ on Customs & Excise, Section 6.
I think it basically says that if the stuff is under 350e and marked as a gift they can't charge you excise on it. But can I get a second opinion on that?
It has worked for me when ordering gear from amazon.com, but then, I've never ordered more than 200e worth of stuff at once.
-Jam

BigEejit

I've been caught for vat on an item that was worth 69 dollas ... fedex to dirty c.unts..... I was also caught just 2 weeks ago for vat on an 2 items worth 110 dollas .. it was some other courier ... (whoever does USPS packages) ... and both or the f.uckers charged €9 for an administration fee

solaris

Jam, the site referenced seems to suggest a 45 euro limit for gifts. Also this assumes the seller is willing to lie on the customs form (and face the penalties in the US if caught out).

All the info I have found makes sense for new items (VAT etc.), but does it apply to used goods ? I'm pretty sure VAT should not be applied to used goods, but that about excise duty ?

BigEejit - were your goods new or used ?

Jam

Like I said, it worked for me from amazon.com, where you can mark it as a gift and include a message with the gear, eg. 'Happy Birthday Joe Blogs!'.
I found this out when I ordered two DVD box sets last year. They came in two seperate lots, the first cost me 100e and I didn't have it marked as a gift and I got stung for an extra 30e vat and 5e duty.
The second cost 150e had it marked as a gift and I didn't get stung for excise. And they were gifts, just to me that's all.
-Jam

BigEejit

Originally posted by solaris
BigEejit - were your goods new or used ?

They were new, and were not marked as being gifts (even though one guy I bought stuff from sent it as a gift, even though the stuff was new)

I questioned the amount that fedex charged me and I got the following reply:

Dear Xxxxxx,

Thank you for your email. Please accept our apologies for the delayed response.
Please find below a quick breakdown of charges;
Declared value by sender - $59.99
Exchange rate used by customs - 1.0717
V20 statistical value - 32 eur
Total of the above = 87.98 eur
Duty @ 0.0% = 0.0 eur
0.00 + 87.98 = 87.98 eur
Vat @ 21% = 18.47 eur
I hope this answers your query, but if we can be of any further
assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,
Invhelp

I havent a notion what a "V20 statistical value" is though ... anyone know what that is?

GristlyEnd

V20 statistical value is the shipping cost. Duty & VAT is determined on the CIF (cost, insurance & freight) value.