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

breener

Just got in Today to find a Customs bill from UPS for a Camcorder I bought in the States. Camcorder was bout E300 ($479 using 1.55 exrate) and got charged E87.07 Customs, to be paid in Cash ONLY!...

Ah well ...Ya take a risk every time

King Mob

What's the deal with ordering multiple things from the same place?
Is the tax charged on each item separately or as the whole package?

Mr Velo

Hi All,

I purchased a Nokia E71 on Ebay. It's coming from Singapore - arrived in Dublin this morning - awaiting clearance with Fedex in Dublin at the moment.

Purchased it for €330 - so i'm wondering if i'll get hit with Customs Duty? I contacted another guy in Ireland who purchased a phone from the same seller a month ago or so, and he didn't have to pay any customs fee - so hopefully it'll be fine.... but what do you guys think??

Cupcakes

King Mob wrote: »

What's the deal with ordering multiple things from the same place?
Is the tax charged on each item separately or as the whole package?

the whole package. .

Cupcakes

Paddy_Fowler wrote: »

Hi All,

I purchased a Nokia E71 on Ebay. It's coming from Singapore - arrived in Dublin this morning - awaiting clearance with Fedex in Dublin at the moment.

Purchased it for €330 - so i'm wondering if i'll get hit with Customs Duty? I contacted another guy in Ireland who purchased a phone from the same seller a month ago or so, and he didn't have to pay any customs fee - so hopefully it'll be fine.... but what do you guys think??

Depends,i bought a digital camera worth over 100 euro from the US and didnt have to pay customs fee because the seller marked it as a gift.

witnessmenow

Dang, got a letter in the post this week off the revenue

I'll post up my experience with them as it happens. I've attached a scan of the letter.

The package in question is from dealextreme, and I can only imagine the undervalued the package(they always do). The total value of the package is just short of $70 USD so i'm expecting to have to pay something in the region of €20 but we'll see.

I've been buying off Dealextreme for a year now and this is the first time to be charged customs

Our man in Havana

You were unlucky. I got a $100 package thru this week unaffected from the USA. The revenue seem to always be targeting Hong Kong. They know there is good valued stuff coming in and they don't believe the declared values.

okidoki987

Bought 4 different things in the USA over last few months:
1st parcel was €180 worth via FEDEX (no charges)
2nd+3rd parcel was €221 worth via DHL (no charges)
4th parcel was €270 worth via UPS (just over €70 in charges)
VAT, Duty, + Other Charges of 13.50.
I ended up paying VAT on the whole amount which is VAT on VAT :mad:
does that make any sense to anybody?

Our man in Havana

Yep, it is double taxation and the sad thing is it is all legal.

kentwo

Dear friends,
I am going to buy some goods via UPS from outside of EU saying € 1000 cost, how much will I have to pay totally,
including purchases costs, intertax and VAT, and who is cheaper UPS or DHL for delivering from non-EU, please ?
Thanks in advance
Ken

Ronanc1

Heya i was just wondering could anyone clear this up for me i want to buy these speakers from england that cost 260 euro plus 20 p and p what i want to know is what else am i gonna be charged duty and all that ?

Thanks in advance guys

Cupcakes

Ronanc1 wrote: »

Heya i was just wondering could anyone clear this up for me i want to buy these speakers from england that cost 260 euro plus 20 p and p what i want to know is what else am i gonna be charged duty and all that ?

Thanks in advance guys

Items from the UK aren't liable for custom charges

what_car

kentwo wrote: »

Dear friends,
I am going to buy some goods via UPS from outside of EU saying € 1000 cost, how much will I have to pay totally,
including purchases costs, intertax and VAT, and who is cheaper UPS or DHL for delivering from non-EU, please ?
Thanks in advance
Ken

i have a similar question, im awaiting a package, valued at 1414 USD (mobile phone) incl shipping from ups.

am i right in thinking that the duty and vat on this would be worked out at
( coverted to yoyos at 1.267 rate) the package is marked as gift,


total incl shipping = 1116.62 yoyos.
duty on this @ 13% = 145.16 yoyos

total package + duty cost = 1261.78 yoyos

vat @ 21% on this = 264.97

total i owe in vat in duty = 410 yoyos?

is this right? :eek::eek:gulp.......

ianthefox

I bought 2 t-shirts from NBC.com a while back and the package arrived last week. The total of the two items was roughly €22; with shipping it was €44.04.

I received an invoice from FedEx today for Duty+VAT+"Admin" charge = €38.44. It seems ridiculously high.

I've worked out the duty+tax on the €44.04, (using 13% duty and 21% VAT) and it comes out at about €16 (plus the stupid admin charge of €10, comes to €26).

However, on one of the very confusing sheets of paper with the invoice, it seems FedEx declared it as being worth €65.56 in total (as opposed to the €44.04), and when I worked out the charges on this, it came out as quite close to what I'm being charged.

Surely I should only be charged on the €44.04 and not the €65.56??

Also, considering I didn't accept the package at the door, and they just put it through the letterbox, do I have any claim against paying the administration charge?

A bit of help would be greatly appreciated, I'm well broke at the mo

TheKBizzle

I am awaiting 2 packages from China that are currently being held by customs while they check the authenticity of the clothing and if there is a problem with it a letter will be sent out.

Has anybody on here ever come across this happening and if they could tell me how to proceed.

Thanks

Our man in Havana

ianthefox wrote: »

I bought 2 t-shirts from NBC.com a while back and the package arrived last week. The total of the two items was roughly €22; with shipping it was €44.04.

I received an invoice from FedEx today for Duty+VAT+"Admin" charge = €38.44. It seems ridiculously high.

I've worked out the duty+tax on the €44.04, (using 13% duty and 21% VAT) and it comes out at about €16 (plus the stupid admin charge of €10, comes to €26).

However, on one of the very confusing sheets of paper with the invoice, it seems FedEx declared it as being worth €65.56 in total (as opposed to the €44.04), and when I worked out the charges on this, it came out as quite close to what I'm being charged.

Surely I should only be charged on the €44.04 and not the €65.56??

Also, considering I didn't accept the package at the door, and they just put it through the letterbox, do I have any claim against paying the administration charge?

A bit of help would be greatly appreciated, I'm well broke at the mo

I wouldn't pay it. If they have declared it as more than the true value, they are at fault.

nava

quick question, if I recall correctly a few months ago I was reading that the allowance for import from outside the EU will be increase, i think it was to start before Xmas. Not sure if it was an EU or only Ireland increase.

Did anyone hear that or did I dream it?

shayser

I've emailed customs twice asking them to confirm this:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:085:0001:0002:EN:PDF

Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 is hereby amended as follows:

...

3. in Article 27 the value of ECU 22 shall be replaced by EUR
150;

...

It shall apply from 1 December 2008.

...

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

...

Done at Brussels, 17 March 2008

.

No reply yet.

Our man in Havana

That will need to be transposed into Irish law. God only knows how long that will take.

shayser

shayser wrote: »

I've emailed customs twice asking them to confirm this:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:085:0001:0002:EN:PDF


.

No reply yet.

Just received an email from Revenue stating that this comes into effect on December 01. Gifts are €45 though, but with duty reduced from 3.5% to 2.5%

MisterAnarchy

From HM Revenue and Customs
We have identified several blogs/internet forums where these changes have been welcomed but widely misunderstood.

It appears people incorrectly believe that from 1 December 2008 goods with a value less than €150 (£105) imported from outside the EU will be admitted without any import charges being levied, but the Regulation applies only to Customs duty.

Import VAT and Excise duties (where applicable) will still apply at the current rate.

Because of this misconception, on some websites people are being wrongly advised to start their ‘Christmas internet shopping’ for goods imported from outside the EU, after the introduction of the increased duty limit on 1 December 2008. This last minute rush (when import VAT and if appropriate excise duty will still be charged) is obviously something both HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Royal Mail want to try and avoid.

shayser

What's import VAT? Is it if the VAT rate of the country of origin is lower then the balance has to be paid? Or must VAT be paid twice? Isn't excise duty only for tobacco and alcohol?

boopolo

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

From HM Revenue and Customs
We have identified several blogs/internet forums where these changes have been welcomed but widely misunderstood.

It appears people incorrectly believe that from 1 December 2008 goods with a value less than €150 (£105) imported from outside the EU will be admitted without any import charges being levied, but the Regulation applies only to Customs duty.

Import VAT and Excise duties (where applicable) will still apply at the current rate.

Because of this misconception, on some websites people are being wrongly advised to start their ‘Christmas internet shopping’ for goods imported from outside the EU, after the introduction of the increased duty limit on 1 December 2008. This last minute rush (when import VAT and if appropriate excise duty will still be charged) is obviously something both HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Royal Mail want to try and avoid.

Excise duty on imports???
Am pretty sure that the 'excise duty' is duty paid on goods produced within the country and 'customs duty' is duty paid on imported items. It is very unusual for a customs officers to comment on items on blogs or forums.

The 12% duty on electrical items/clothes from outside the EU does not have to be paid on orders under €150. I do not know where this guy got the £105 from. The regulation does not mention £s.

Boo

Boo

boopolo

Some definitions of Excise Duty:

A tax taken before the wholesale stage (ie Fuel, alchohol excise)
http://www.boredofstudies.org/wiki/index.php?title=Glossary_(Economics)

a tax on goods such as alcohol or tobacco produced and sold within a particular country.
http://www.ipaconsulting.com/Library/e.asp

Excise or Excise tax (sometimes called an excise duty), is a type of tax charged on goods produced within the country (as opposed to customs duties, charged on goods from outside the country).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excise_duty


Some definitions of Customs Duty:

Charge levied on imports and listed in importing country’s tariff schedules. Duties may be specific or ad valorem or a combination of the two ...
http://classes.uleth.ca/200503/mgt3860z/Glossary.htm

A customs duty is a tariff or tax on the import of or export of goods.
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_glossary

Customs duty includes only the duties prescribed on the Customs Tariff.
http://www.finance.ualberta.ca/guide/topics/glossary/index.cfm?filter=c


There is some mention of cigarettes and drink not being included. Maybe thats what the Queens Guy is referring to.

Boo

NibNib

Hi all,

I am thinking of getting a mimobot from the US and the total cost including shipping will come to around $130. If the import allowance is increased to EUR150 from 1st Dec, how much should I expect to pay on delivery if shipped by USPS express service?

Thanks!

murrayp4

Bond-007 wrote: »

That will need to be transposed into Irish law. God only knows how long that will take.

No transposition required for regulations

mndgz

the story is, some goods were bought just before x-mas last year with the value of around $300, shipped over from Singapore by the good auld Federal Express...they turned out to be faulty shortly afterwards hence were posted back to the seller....
about a month later an customs tax invoice followed complete with service charges, vat on vat, the whole works totaling about 150 european money...
FedEx was contacted then numerous times explaining the situation bur replied that there was nothing they could do since the customs tax was already paid by them to the revenue....a suggestion followed to contact the customs and see can they issue a refund but it all got veeery confusing because the nice chaps that the customs are didnt even know where to refer the query, then it was referred to the wrong department and so on and so forth...
so eventually this whole dealie was given up upon and then weeks later letters from avance group followed, first few demanding to pay, then threatening legal action...that crowd was explained the whole situation as well but didnt seem to care any less than they could....
upon receipt of the legal action threat summons to court was expected but never arrived...
and to this day there was no more correspondence from either FedEx or the avance group...

make of this whatever you like...I guess theres no moral to this story...just hope it complies with the boards regulations and doesnt offend anyone...

rh555

Sorry I already posted this question under the Vitamins - online thread but i guess it would better fit in here.

The following is my issue.

Hi,

I wanted to buy some vitamins from iherb.com but I have a question. After they increased the duty allowance to 150euros, duty is no problem at all. However the VAT still applies for products over 22euros.

Now my question is the following. According to the Irish Revenue site Vitamins are a Food supplement and thus are exempt from the VAT in Ireland and many other EU countries for that matter.

Now I don't know if they could charge you VAT for Vitamins from the U.S. if there is no VAT on Vitamins in Ireland to begin with. Anyone has any ideas how does that work. Would be nice not to worry about buying up to the 150euro limit.

Thank you

davitto

How do I determine if I will be charged duty or vat on purchases from ebuyer or laptops direct

nava

davitto wrote: »

How do I determine if I will be charged duty or vat on purchases from ebuyer or laptops direct

It should be coming from the EU so u won't get charge, if coming from outside the EU, or places like Jersey yes you will be charge.

Our man in Havana

Where do they ship from?

davitto

Ebuyer
Ebuyer (UK) Limited
Howden
East Yorkshire
DN14 7UW

Laptops Direct
Easycom
Neptune Way
Trident Business Park
Leeds Road
Huddersfield
HD2 1UA

Does this mean they are shipped from these locations?

Syferus

I'm much like the last poster - I'm thinking about getting a laptop from eBuyer.com and I was wondering if anyone here has any exprience buying relatively costly (the laptop is about £500 inc. what I assume is the UK VAT rate and postage to Ireland) things from them and what if any charged were applied.

Syferus

shayser wrote: »

If I buy something in the EU I just pay the VAT rate of that country, right? There's no "balancing" of the VAT rate up to the Irish rate, or anything like that? e.g. from UK I just pay the 17.5% at the point of sale and that's it?

As the sale is to Ireland is it the done thing that the seller will charge the Irish rate and not their country's rate?

This is my question in a nutshell. Anyone willing to put my mind to rest?

jor el

Ask the company in question where they ship from, and if VAT is already paid. That's the only way to be sure.

ntlbell

sorry if this a regular question but i was looking to buy something in asia it works out at abotu 130e and i was wondering does anyone know what the limit is for customs before i'm hit?

and if it was to be stopped how much would i have to pay on something worth 130e or so?

jor el

VAT limit is €22. It would applied at 21.5% to the total, including the shipping cost.

jbmb2000

Syferus wrote: »

This is my question in a nutshell. Anyone willing to put my mind to rest?

{Edit: the quote didn't pick up the whole quote for some reason - this is RE being charged VAT within the EU) It depends on the company. If they have alot of trade with a country then they can charge the rate in that country instead. I know amazon.co.uk charge the Irish rate if that's where it's being sent to (21.5 % v 15% in the UK).

Quick question - I'm looking to buy a load of DVDs that have only been released in region 1. Just want to clarify if I keep the cost of my order below €150 I won't have to pay customs but I will have to pay vat?

Also does anyone know what company amazon.com use to ship to Ireland when you use the basic postage.

jor el

jbmb2000 wrote: »

Quick question - I'm looking to buy a load of DVDs that have only been released in region 1. Just want to clarify if I keep the cost of my order below €150 I won't have to pay customs but I will have to pay vat?

In a nutshell, yes. I've never heard of them actually applying duty though, usually they just go for the VAT, as the duty us normally small anyway.

jbmb2000 wrote: »

Also does anyone know what company amazon.com use to ship to Ireland when you use the basic postage.

USPS, and then An Post here.

jbmb2000

jor el wrote: »

In a nutshell, yes. I've never heard of them actually applying duty though, usually they just go for the VAT, as the duty us normally small anyway.



USPS, and then An Post here.

Thanks

tombull82

HI

My question is if you buy an Item from Ebay that is valued at €500 which is being sold by a drop shipper from Ireland but the item is being sent from outside the EU.
Who would be the person responsible for the Import Tax and Vat on that item?
Is it the receiver of the product or would it be the person that received the initial payment i.e the drop shipper as he is based in Ireland?

Thanks
Tombull82

jor el

You will be responsible, as the drop shipper never takes delivery, it comes directly to you, making you the importer.

darc

Bond-007 wrote: »

Basically all the major couriers (DHL, FedEX, UPS etc) will sell you out to the tax man. .

How is this selling out??????

Please explain?????

The reason we have low paye is becuase we collect higher vat. We can have UK / USA personal tax rates & have 12 - 15% VAT or have it the way it is.


If you bought something from Europe and lived in the USA, state sales tax & US duties would be payable. - Same with OZ & NZ.


Next time you need children's allowance, hospital visit, social welfare, pension etc etc etc, think of where the money comes from! - Yep TAXES!

Our man in Havana

I wouldn't mind if An Post did the same.

cormie

Arghh, I got a letter in the post today from fedex saying I owed them 29 euro on a package that cost $110 including delivery from the US, which worked out at 86 euro. I thought they have to tell you this before you accept the package and you can choose to accept it or send it back and not pay? I wasn't told there were any charges and if I was, I would have certainly considered not accepting it as it made it no longer a "better" deal than what I could get here.

What's the situation with this? Surely they should tell you before you accept that if you do accept you're liable for charges:(

cormie

Got a letter from Fedex today explaining why I was charged, I knew why, but I thought the recipient has the option to take the package and pay the fees or refuse the package, it's sent back to the sender and there's no fees. I was given the package with no notice of any fees to be paid and as I said, if I knew, there's a strong possibility I would have refused it. Anyone have any idea on the law with this?

cormie

Rang fedex there and they basically said that because I was informed of the charges on the website (it was on their shipping information page) that I pretty much agreed to pay import duties so there's not much I can do about it which is fair enough although it does make me want to avoid sites who insist on using fedex as it'll just make whatever I'm after not such a bargain.:(

TerrorFirmer

That'll happen with any courier. That's not just Fedex.

Thoie

I've ordered a low value item (a keyboard cover) from the US, which should be arriving any year now.

The item was $15, and the shipping via UPS is also $15 (rounded up and down for convenience). At today's rates this comes to roughly €23.50

Would I be correct in calculating my duty + VAT at approx €7?

Or would it be €7 + a random admin charge by the deliverer (An Post?) ?

jor el

You won't pay anything on that.