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

boombang

Beano wrote: »

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

I am resident in Ireland. I guess the implication of your question is that it is only acceptable to pay the Luxembourg VAT rate if I am resident there.

My thinking had been that the item can meet its VAT obligations at its point of entry to the EU and then enjoy free movement within the union. Clearly my interest is to minimise my tax liability on the item.

I am not sure how I would pay the VAT in Luxembourg, but I was under the impression that parcel forwarding firms that send items from the US handle VAT liability on arrival in the EU.

RUDOLF289

boombang wrote: »

I am resident in Ireland. I guess the implication of your question is that it is only acceptable to pay the Luxembourg VAT rate if I am resident there.

My thinking had been that the item can meet its VAT obligations at its point of entry to the EU and then enjoy free movement within the union. Clearly my interest is to minimise my tax liability on the item.

I am not sure how I would pay the VAT in Luxembourg, but I was under the impression that parcel forwarding firms that send items from the US handle VAT liability on arrival in the EU.

Hello Boombang,

You are correct, once the duty (which should be 0% any way) and VAT at the appropriate rate is paid in another EU member state, the goods are in free circulation and can be moved freely within the EU.

The question is, is an 8% saving on VAT sufficiently large to cover the additional transport costs from Luxembourg to Ireland.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

boombang

Thanks Rudolf,

Indeed, the 8% saving may be marginal once additional postage is considered. It might be worthwhile as the absolute value of the item increases, but for me its only going to be a saving of €50 or so.

I think this route would be worth considering if you're spending €2k.

Thanks again

johnj1969

Came across an fixed frame Elite projection screen from Overstock.com.

They were looking for €290 for an 103inch Screen. Not motorised, DIY on arrival. Not bad I thought...

After I was finished with the Customs calculator it said €85 for duty & €98 for VAT. So "landed" cost brought it to €500.00 (inc delivery). So thats the end of that. We pay tax upon tax upon tax. Really... GTH.:mad:

Turns out if I was a UK resident it would be €100 less. Irish customs put the shipping charge on the total cost & charge duty & VAT on that too!

RUDOLF289

johnj1969 wrote: »

Came across an fixed frame Elite projection screen from Overstock.com.

They were looking for €290 for an 103inch Screen. Not motorised, DIY on arrival. Not bad I thought...

After I was finished with the Customs calculator it said €85 for duty & €98 for VAT. So "landed" cost brought it to €500.00 (inc delivery). So thats the end of that. We pay tax upon tax upon tax. Really... GTH.:mad:

Turns out if I was a UK resident it would be €100 less. Irish customs put the shipping charge on the total cost & charge duty & VAT on that too!

Hello Johnj1969

Please note that import duty is set by the good old "EU" and that the way it is calculated is exactly the same in all 28 member states. Whoever suggested that UK customs does not levy duty and VAT over the shipping cost is clearly wrong.

Cheers,
Rudy

johnj1969

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

Hello Johnj1969

Please note that import duty is set by the good old "EU" and that the way it is calculated is exactly the same in all 28 member states. Whoever suggested that UK customs does not levy duty and VAT over the shipping cost is clearly wrong.

Cheers,
Rudy

I didn't say anyone told me anything :-)

It just worked out €100 cheaper than over here. The customs & duty & VAT was €234 in UK it worked out @ €150 thereabouts.

If you read the info on the Customs union website, it clearly states each individual member state sets it own rates VAT and excise duty. The cost of the item was calculated without the shipping charge on the calculator so I assumed thats just their method... I tried it again & the total outcome is the same.

For the record we have a 3% VAT hike on UK.

RUDOLF289

additional info

johnj1969 wrote: »

I didn't say anyone told me anything :-)

It just worked out €100 cheaper than over here. The customs & duty & VAT was €234 in UK it worked out @ €150 thereabouts.

If you read the info on the Customs union website, it clearly states each individual member state sets it own rates VAT and excise duty. The cost of the item was calculated without the shipping charge on the calculator so I assumed thats just their method... I tried it again & the total outcome is the same.

For the record we have a 3% VAT hike on UK.

Good morning Johnj1969,

The 3% VAT difference does not make up for the difference of € 84.00. Indeed each country within the EU sets its own VAT rate. Excise duty only applies to tobacco and alcohol. Customs duty is the same throughout the 28 member states.

Duty is calculated over the cost of the product plus the transportation cost throughout the EU. The following below is an excerpt from the UK Customs HMRC website. (a) is the most relevant part to this discussion. (also herewith the link to the website ; http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_PublicNoticesAndInfoSheets&propertyType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_CL_000230#P27_2224

3.15 What items must I add to the price paid or payable?
You must add the following to the price you pay (unless they are already included):

(a) Delivery costs. The costs of transport, insurance, loading or handling connected with delivering the goods to the EC border must be included. Section 17 gives further details.

(b) Commissions. Certain payments of commission and brokerage, including selling commission, must be included. Section 32 gives more details about selling agents.

But you can exclude buying commission if it is shown separately from the price paid or payable for the goods (see paragraph 3.16(f) and Section 34).

(c) Royalties and licence fees. You must include these payments when they relate to the imported goods and are paid by you as a condition of the sale to you of those goods.

You can find further information in Section 35.

(d) Goods and services provided free of charge or at reduced cost by the buyer. If you provide, directly or indirectly, any of the following, you must include in the customs value any part of the cost or value not included in the price charged to you by the seller:

(i) materials, components, parts and similar items incorporated in the imported goods including price tags, kimball tags, labels

(ii) tools, dies, moulds and similar items used in producing the imported goods, for example, tooling charges. There are various ways of apportioning these charges

(iii) materials consumed in producing the imported goods, for example, abrasives, lubricants, catalysts, reagents etc which are used up in the manufacture of the goods but are not incorporated in them, or

(iv) engineering, development, artwork, design work and plans and sketches carried out outside the EC and necessary for producing the imported goods. The cost of research and preliminary design sketches is not to be included.

NOTE. If you make any payments (periodically or 'one off') to the seller for any of the above goods and services, you must include the amounts in the customs value (see paragraph 3.4).

(e) Containers and packing. Include:

the cost of containers which are treated for customs purposes as being one with the goods being valued (that is not freight containers the hire-cost of which forms part of the transport costs), and
the cost of packing whether for labour or materials.
Where containers are for repeated use, for example, reusable bottles, you can spread their cost over the expected number of imports. If a number of the containers may not be re-exported, this must be allowed for.

(f) Proceeds of resale. If you are to share with the seller (whether directly or indirectly) the profit on resale, use or disposal of the imported goods you must add the seller’s share to the price paid (but see paragraph 3.16(d) as regards dividends). For example, if the seller is to have 30% of the profit which you receive, this is to be added to the price paid or payable. If at the time of importation the amount of profit is not known, you must request release of the goods against a deposit or guarantee (see paragraph 2.5).

(g) Export duty & taxes paid in the country of origin or export. When these taxes are incurred by the buyer they are dutiable. However, if you benefit from tax relief or repayment of these taxes they may be left out of the customs value.

If you want me to I can also submit the relevant section of the Irish Customs code, but you can take it as read that the same applies for Ireland, UK and all other EU Member states.

johnj1969

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

The 3% VAT difference does not make up for the difference of € 84.00. Indeed each country within the EU sets its own VAT rate. Excise duty only applies to tobacco and alcohol. Customs duty is the same throughout the 28 member states.

If you want me to I can also submit the relevant section of the Irish Customs code, but you can take it as read that the same applies for Ireland, UK and all other EU Member states.

You didn't have to go to all that trouble copying & pasting info, But thank you all the same. I was simply giving my experience whether I was making a train wreck out of it or not. A simple link to my relevant information, as you suggested, would have sufficed.;)

Theres also another variable, as the calculators seem unreliable... If I choose USA-UK you have the option of choosing a non-electric canvas screen, but if I choose USA-Ire, I could only select a "PROJECTOR SCREEN OF CANVAS".

Also its a DIY project but your hand is forced to declaring it an AV/Electrical item, yes its an AV product but not an electric product.

I would have little trouble believing Ireland in its euro & exchange rate can lead to a €84 higher charge if you don't give every little detail & also being forced to declare something that it isn't. They need to include the option of choosing the exact type of product, not just an option that makes them the most money/VAT.

So instead i typed in PROJECTION SCREEN-NON ELECTRICAL in both estimates & it came up within €15.00.
I still stand by my point regardless of my meagre situation, we live in R-O-I & every day we get RIPPED more & more.

All info appreciated, thanks.:)

Brendan Garvey

Hello would any one be able to guide me on how much I will have to pay customs. I am buying leather phone cases from China . I will be spending about €20,000 . This is my first time importing I taught it would be around 20% for customs however I can't get a straight answer anywere.

Collibosher

Brendan Garvey wrote: »

Hello would any one be able to guide me on how much I will have to pay customs. I am buying leather phone cases from China . I will be spending about €20,000 . This is my first time importing I taught it would be around 20% for customs however I can't get a straight answer anywere.

Go to the first post in this thread and you will find some useful links, including an online duty calculator

rubadub

Brendan Garvey wrote: »

Hello would any one be able to guide me on how much I will have to pay customs. I am buying leather phone cases from China . I will be spending about €20,000 . This is my first time importing I taught it would be around 20% for customs however I can't get a straight answer anywere.

You might be better asking in the entrepreneur section.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=106

At €20,000 I would not trust the simple online calculator which is really intended for people buying personal items. There may be a host of other charges you have not considered. Do you know the exact terms of the Chinese company, there are all sorts of different options, like it might only be €20,000 delivered to a port and you have to foot loads of other costs. There are Irish companies that specialise in this sort of stuff, they can share out pallets with ohter consignments and do all the paperwork for you.

Last_Minute

I just have a quick question

I am currently abroad in another EU country. A family member in Ireland has gifted me a new phone and i would like to get it sent over to me.

Will i be eligible to pay VAT on this phone? I was thinking maybe within the EU the rules may be different?

Medceltic

Between EU countries there is No Taxes.

tnethacker

Last_Minute wrote: »

I just have a quick question

I am currently abroad in another EU country. A family member in Ireland has gifted me a new phone and i would like to get it sent over to me.

Will i be eligible to pay VAT on this phone? I was thinking maybe within the EU the rules may be different?

No taxes or any other charges between European Union countries.

alanbyrne123

Hi,
I bought kraft card cd covers as part of wedding favours from Aliexpress (Chinese company) , they cost 49 euro with free delivery . when i arrived home today i got a missed delivery notice from UPS and it also says i owe 51.56 euro in customs tax ? I was aware i may need to pay some Duty or Vat etc but this seems very high. Any help would be great or advice would be appreciated , at that price i might just not accept them. Thanks

alanbyrne123

In relation to my post above the corresponding traric info is
4804 49

- Other kraft paper and paperboard weighing 225 g/m2 or more

ERGA OMNES (ERGA OMNES)
Measures for import:
Third country duty (01-01-2005 - ) : 0 %
R1789/03

tnethacker

alanbyrne123 wrote: »

In relation to my post above the corresponding traric info is
4804 49

- Other kraft paper and paperboard weighing 225 g/m2 or more

ERGA OMNES (ERGA OMNES)
Measures for import:
Third country duty (01-01-2005 - ) : 0 %
R1789/03

Hi,

It seems you just imported paper, but your main concern is that your client did not mark the shipping costs, so you are pretty much ****ed.

Medceltic

UPS DHL work with customs. better is with postoffice.

alanbyrne123

thanks for the quick replies.

I will contact UPS and see what they say tomorrow, would love to see the maths on how they arrive at 51.56, if the seller did not mark the shipping cost as tnethacker said they may take return as its mistake by them? doubtful !!!

tnethacker

alanbyrne123 wrote: »

thanks for the quick replies.

I will contact UPS and see what they say tomorrow, would love to see the maths on how they arrive at 51.56, if the seller did not mark the shipping cost as tnethacker said they may take return as its mistake by them? doubtful !!!

They don't give a ****e about it to be honest. Only thing you can do is to print out the purchase documents and claim a case with revenue. You might win back around 35 since UPS/DHL charge around 15 euros to calculate the costs involved.

I know for a fact as I have imported stuff and helped others in doing so.

Also, if your paperware is customised, you have a zero way of returning it, since alibaba/express rules state that once the stuff is customised, it is yours, unless it is in bad condition. So this in fact is all your/suppliers fault for not stating the postage costs. I only order from suppliers who mark it up.

Good luck though as you are going to need it if you plan to fight over the issue with UPS/DHL

bizebee

Hi,

Quick question which i hope someone can answer for me..
I am thinking of ordering an item from the US ( 122 euro incl postage) and it says the item will be shipped by TNT.

I know Import Duty and VAT will be added to it, but can someone who has dealt with TNT can you tell me what is their admin charge and are they quick to release the item?

Thanks in advance!

Beano

If they are anything like the other courier companies it will be €15

RUDOLF289

Medceltic wrote: »

UPS DHL work with customs. better is with postoffice.

Just to point out that anything that is imported from outside the EU is subject to Customs. An Post has to make the same declarations to Customs as DHL and UPS or any other carrier do.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

RUDOLF289

alanbyrne123 wrote: »

thanks for the quick replies.

I will contact UPS and see what they say tomorrow, would love to see the maths on how they arrive at 51.56, if the seller did not mark the shipping cost as tnethacker said they may take return as its mistake by them? doubtful !!!

Please note, if the freight charge is not marked on the exporters declaration, then any courier is obliged to add freight costs to the value over which then duty and or VAT is levied. The only freight cost the courier companies know is the cost as per their full tariff.

I don't think you will have a case and obtain a refund. Its not the courier company that makes up the rules, its customs.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

Beano

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

Please note, if the freight charge is not marked on the exporters declaration, then any courier is obliged to add freight costs to the value over which then duty and or VAT is levied. The only freight cost the courier companies know is the cost as per their full tariff.

I don't think you will have a case and obtain a refund. Its not the courier company that makes up the rules, its customs.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

If you have an invoice that shows the actual costs of the importation then you can claim for the difference from customs. But you have to pay the amount requested first and then claim for the difference.

RUDOLF289

Beano wrote: »

If you have an invoice that shows the actual costs of the importation then you can claim for the difference from customs. But you have to pay the amount requested first and then claim for the difference.

Provided ofcourse that the invoice shows the proper INCO term such as DAP. If it is not clearly indicated on the invoice that the freight is included in the price shown, then whoever declares the shipment to Customs has no option but to include an amount for freight.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

alanbyrne123

I rang UPS , its was hard enough to organize collecting the parcel let alone get an answer on the actual customs V charges from them. As suggested i rang the revenue crowd, very nice and quick, they said pay them and put in for refund of difference. Thanks for good info and support its great to have good resource like boards, pity most companies are not as helpful as this website!

Virtanen

Quick question, how strict are they for items that are only just over the taxable value, dependant on the conversion rate on the day?

I bought a t-shirt from the US, with total value inc. shipping of $32.88. Today, this converts to €26.01, making it exempt from any customs charges. However, at the time I paid, it converted to €26.25, as is in my back records, which would result in a VAT cost of €6.04. Of course the value will be in US$ on the parcel, so they won't know that

If I do get charged for it, fair enough, it was over the required amount when the payment went through, no issues there. But are they in any way lenient for situations like this, or am I at the mercy of whatever the rate of conversion happens to be when they receive it?

rubadub

Virtanen wrote: »

But are they in any way lenient for situations like this,

In my experience they are. I remember years ago a custom spokesman on rte news on christmas actually saying the limit was €45 (the gift allowance).

I am convinced some are more likely to be caught than others for low value items, e.g. play.com. I imagine they have dedicated play.com team of people processing the orders, and can do it much quicker as all the invoices are the same etc. So I think some are let slip through as its simply not worth the bother, which is definitely a potential reason as they have the €6 collection limit.

I cannot recall anybody ever posting about being charged a miserable amount, just over the €6 limit.

I was charged vat myself recently, they asked for the paypal invoice as the seller put a false price on it. I forwarded the paypal invoice in US$ and I also told them the euro price I paid as the rate was worse now. They charge the vat based on my claimed euro price, which had no proof behind it, but it was genuine. (this was over €100 value)

Michael OBrien

Can anyone help me with this question:
I have a niece that wants a christmas gift of a japanese dehydrated food. She sent me this ebay link.

However when I went to buy it I got this warning about restrictions and I am not sure what to do.
Certain food and nutritional related items may be prohibited from import into your country (e.g. meat or milk products) whereas others may be subject to quantity restrictions and/or licensure requirements for importation. Please check your local requirements.

I have no idea what I am supposed to do to see if buying this is ok. What would happen? Who do I ask about it? It seems pretty much harmless stuff that kids can make candy from.