New Import Duty/VAT Thread. Read Post #1 for Rules

allthedoyles

dare2dream wrote: »

Hello,

I'm planning on purchasing some art supplies, easels & brushes from the US:
Cost of goods is $734.80
Shipping is: $160 via FedEx Economy.
Could anyone clarify how much vat, duty and any other fees I might get upon arrival in Ireland.
Thanks so much.

You could use www.dutycalculator.com - Its accurate

TeddyTedson

I want to buy a few things off a site based in Jersey, they're all below 20e so would I be best to order each separately as there is free shipping?

Beano

TeddyTedson wrote: »

I want to buy a few things off a site based in Jersey, they're all below 20e so would I be best to order each separately as there is free shipping?

yes

Medceltic

I bought €1300 camera from Korea, I had to pay €520 customs fees from DHL.
Thank Allah, The seller refunded me and Lost €30 return shipping.
There is good website based in France and UK, camera cost €1400 and no fees.

blastman

Got a UPS notice through the door today saying that I had missed a delivery (2 vinyl records, originally shipped from Canada). On the notice it says there's a COD amount due of nearly €31. I paid just under €40 including shipping for the item. According to DutyCalculator, the amount I owe is €9.14. I presume the other €22 or so is UPS' "administration fee" for collecting the €9. Is there anything I can do regarding this, it's a ridiculous amount to have to pay based on the value of the item? What happens if I refuse to pay UPS/accept delivery, are they obliged to send the item back, or does someone get lucky in the office sweep.

Beano

UPS charge a €15 fee. Most of the courier firms do.

blastman

Thanks Beano, that only leaves about €7 unexplained, then. Is there any way to tell them to take a running jump and pay the duty myself? What will happen if I refuse to accept delivery?

RUDOLF289

blastman wrote: »

Thanks Beano, that only leaves about €7 unexplained, then. Is there any way to tell them to take a running jump and pay the duty myself? What will happen if I refuse to accept delivery?

Please note that the customs entry has been done and the charges have been paid to Revenue. Why not contact UPS (I am sure there is a contact nr on the notice left with you) and find out the break down of the charges, rather than us on boards.ie guessing what is actually involved?

Obviously, you have a choice at this stage. Either pay the charges and accept delivery, or refuse the shipment. In that case it will have to be returned to the shipper/your supplier and you need to apply for a refund. And no, your shipment is unlikely to be entered into the office Christmas draw ......

Perhaps you need to contact your supplier and raise the issue with them. Especially if there was a clear expectation on your part that all you had to pay on arrival/delivery was he charge advised by your supplier.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

Beano

blastman wrote: »

Thanks Beano, that only leaves about €7 unexplained, then.

It may be that the seller did not include an invoice with the parcel so customs have estimated the value. Or the seller did not include the cost of shipping on the invoice so customs have estimated this portion of the vatable amount.
Bear in mind you also pay VAT on the €15 UPS fee so that narrows the gap further.

blastman wrote: »

Is there any way to tell them to take a running jump and pay the duty myself? What will happen if I refuse to accept delivery?

As RUDOLF289 already said the duty has already been paid by UPS. If you dont pay you wont be getting your parcel.

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

Perhaps you need to contact your supplier and raise the issue with them. Especially if there was a clear expectation on your part that all you had to pay on arrival/delivery was he charge advised by your supplier.

Unless explicitly stated any customs fees and duties are the responsibility of the receiver. Given the low value of the shipment i doubt they would have used one of the pre-paid services.

ger1961

I am looking at purchasing a watch on amazon.com in USA for $ 1000 plus postage it cost's about € 2000 plus here. I am wondering what duty and vat is due and where do I find out exactly what due before I purchase to see if what I am saving. Any help would be greatly appreciated

mickzer

ger1961 wrote: »

I am looking at purchasing a watch on amazon.com in USA for $ 1000 plus postage it cost's about € 2000 plus here. I am wondering what duty and vat is due and where do I find out exactly what due before I purchase to see if what I am saving. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Fill in the details here:www.dutycalculator.com
mickzer

daddy_boy

hi I have recently bought an item from amazon USA which i am returning

i paid a total of 130 euro incl shipping duty carriage etc..

the item cost 80 euro, shipping 20e pre-paid duty 30e


The question is will i get a full refund from amazon of 130 or will i get a partial refund excluding duty/vat

blastman

So as an update to the saga above, here's what happened:

UPS came back twice more in their attempts to deliver package, no-one was there to collect and more importantly pay exorbitant extra fee. UPS give up and (presumably) take the package back to the depot in order to hold it for the five days they say they do so I can contact them to arrange collection. I do not contact UPS or original seller, although I plan to at some future date to say I didn't receive the goods and can I have my money back. Five days or so expire and UPS return package.

Two-ish weeks after this deadline i.e today, a package is delivered by An Post with a fee of €14.30 due. Turns out to be the package UPS were "unable" to deliver. VAT outstanding is €8.30 (so less than DutyCalculator predicted) and An Post's collection fee is €6.00, according to the label on the package. I pay this and collect package.

So I saved myself about €18 by being a contrary fcuker. To put this in perspective, that's almost 50% of the item purchase price. In summary, then:

UPS are cnuts for their outrageous collection fees
Revenue are cnuts for charging me to pay them money
An Post aren't quite as bad as the two above as at least their fee is a bit more reasonable, and they break the amount down so you can see who's screwing you the most.

dinnnyde1

I'm after receiving clothes as a birthday present from America totalling about 265 euro. I got stung for 67 euro vat charge? This seems extortionate to me? Or is it because it's over 45 euro?

rubadub

dinnnyde1 wrote: »

I'm after receiving clothes as a birthday present from America totalling about 265 euro. I got stung for 67 euro vat charge? This seems extortionate to me? Or is it because it's over 45 euro?

seems spot on, 23% VAT and €6 handling charge. It is over the gift limit.

dinnnyde1

rubadub wrote: »

seems spot on, 23% VAT and €6 handling charge. It is over the gift limit.

Some kick in the stones. Would ya be better off lying about the value of the clothes.

flutered

i though presents were vat free?.

rubadub

flutered wrote: »

i though presents were vat free?.

No just a higher limit. If they were exempt lots of companies would be sending "presents".

dinnnyde1

There was 7 items in total of which 5 were priced at under 45 each? Should they be exempt?

flutered

dinnnyde1 wrote: »

There was 7 items in total of which 5 were priced at under 45 each? Should they be exempt?

they would probably be mailed seperatly.

Louiselydon

I am hoping to buy a kayak while in Canada in the next few weeks. Does anyone know what the duty and vat will be on my return to Ireland?

Collibosher

Louiselydon wrote: »

I am hoping to buy a kayak while in Canada in the next few weeks. Does anyone know what the duty and vat will be on my return to Ireland?

Take a look at the very first post in this thread, lots of useful information there plus link to an online duty calculator that will give you some idea of the charges.

RUDOLF289

Louiselydon wrote: »

I am hoping to buy a kayak while in Canada in the next few weeks. Does anyone know what the duty and vat will be on my return to Ireland?

Good morning Louiselydon,

The rate of duty is 2.7%, commodity code 9506290000. The duty is calculated over the cost of the item (you may need to submit proof of payment to customs) plus the freight costs. VAT is charged at 23% over the combined total of Cost of the item, freight cost and duty.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

lillen

Ordered something from China, value of shipment €50 and the shipping cost was €29 with DHL.
Today the DHL delivery man calls me saying "I have your package, it will be €40,96t 'import fee'."

How the hell does something with a value of €50, end up giving me an "Import fee" of €41? That is 82% of the products value!
Is it like the poster above says, that VAT is charged at 23% combined cost of item + freight?
In that case it should be roughly €18 VAT, and add like €15 handling fee from DHL landing at €33, at the most!

Beano

lillen wrote: »

Ordered something from China, value of shipment €50 and the shipping cost was €29 with DHL.
Today the DHL delivery man calls me saying "I have your package, it will be €40,96t 'import fee'."

How the hell does something with a value of €50, end up giving me an "Import fee" of €41? That is 82% of the products value!
Is it like the poster above says, that VAT is charged at 23% combined cost of item + freight?
In that case it should be roughly €18 VAT, and add like €15 handling fee from DHL landing at €33, at the most!

what was the item? there could be duty to pay as well as VAT.

lillen

Beano wrote: »

what was the item? there could be duty to pay as well as VAT.

I called DHL to clarify what I was being charged for.
The sender did not list the freight cost on the invoice, and because of this the customs estimated the freight cost.
Not that it is of any relevance, but what I ordered was 200 phone cases.

What it should have been like:
€50 Value of product
€29 Cost of shipping
Total amount to be taxed (at 23%): €79
Tax: €18.17
DHL handling fee: €10
Total taxes/fee: 28.17


What happened due to seller not stating shipping cost:
€50 Value of package
€85.88 Estimated cost of shipping (Cost of shipping not on invoice).
Total amount to be taxed (at 23%): 135.88
Tax: €31.25
DHL handling fee: €10
Total taxes/fee: €41,25

rubadub

Beano wrote: »

what was the item? there could be duty to pay as well as VAT.

Duty only kicks in at €150, unless its excise duty.

lillen wrote: »

Not that it is of any relevance, but what I ordered was 200 phone cases.

not all items are 23% vat so its best to mention it. Or it could have been excise which many people might not realise, people know about alcohol & cigarettes but some might be surprised at getting excise duty on the likes of perfume.

VEN

i have items stuck in customs, anyone recommend a clearance agency? called revenue, they said dhl, fedex, tnt etc do this everyday but does it matter if it was shipped with them or not or do they offer that service in general? thanks

boombang

The VAT rate in Luxembourg (which is an EU member) is 15%. If I import a laptop from the US to there, pay the due VAT and then have the item shipped to me in Ireland is that legit? Or does revenue insist Irish VAT be paid since that's the final destination of the goods?

Admittedly I didn't read all the previous posts in the thread to check if this has already been addressed, but a search found no previous mention of Luxembourg (which would have been relevant given its low VAT).

Thanks

Beano

boombang wrote: »

The VAT rate in Luxembourg (which is an EU member) is 15%. If I import a laptop from the US to there, pay the due VAT and then have the item shipped to me in Ireland is that legit? Or does revenue insist Irish VAT be paid since that's the final destination of the goods?

Admittedly I didn't read all the previous posts in the thread to check if this has already been addressed, but a search found no previous mention of Luxembourg (which would have been relevant given its low VAT).

Thanks

are you resident in luxembourg? how do you propose to pay the vat there?