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

mad muffin

Allyall wrote: »

The shipping is the main charge there.
23% of Aus$246 = Aus$56
+ 23% of Aus$50 = Aus$11.50
+ (DHL?) Handling = €12.50

You could see if you're eligible for anything here - http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vat/refunds/index.html

I think (not sure) you could have declared it as a gift. You could argue your case..

Thanks. Yeah I did d Clare it as a gift.

It was shipped using EMS post.

So basically I'm paying customs on the shipping cost?

Allyall

mad muffin wrote: »

Thanks. Yeah I did d Clare it as a gift.

It was shipped using EMS post.

So basically I'm paying customs on the shipping cost?

Yeah, pretty much. I have no idea the size of them but that seems mad expensive shipping anyway.
You could see if it's possible to get a refund as they were declared as a gift, I imagine that includes shipping. I have had to ring TNT and EMS on seperate occasions to tell them that they were wrong. One of the times I'm convinced it seemed like TNT were just chancing there arm.
But worth looking into anyway.

rubadub

Allyall wrote: »

You could see if it's possible to get a refund as they were declared as a gift,

Gifts only raise the value to €45 from €22 where VAT is payable.

As I said before I have anecdotally seen that an post possibly ignore the shipping costs when determining if VAT is due. So if it was valued at AUS$50 it is €33 and if marked as a gift it may have gone through. But if above €45 I would expect VAT on both the item and shipping value.

As the shipping was so much they might not have ignored it though. In the past when I saw it ignored was for the likes of DVDs with much cheaper postage.

I would wonder if they should have been declared as your own property that you were posting back to yourself. If you move house from Australia and shipped all your stuff in a container you would not have to pay VAT on it. This is transfer of residence. I am not sure if you can do the same with gifts like this.

ohnonotgmail

Allyall wrote: »

The seller should have an account with UPS, and when something is blank it shouldn't be too hard for UPS to contact them and find what it should say. Especially conisdering that they would probably have a couple of days to do it while it's in transit.
Ridiculous to expect the end customer to be have to deal with all of that nonsense and pay the extra charges.
If UPS don't want to contact the seller, they can charge them for their mistake. It makes zero sense the current way.

well two problems with that:
1. the seller might not have an account with UPS
2. The issue of customs only arises when the item arrives in the destination country. they cant do it until they have the parcel in-hand in the destination country.

Allyall

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

well two problems with that:
1. the seller might not have an account with UPS
2. The issue of customs only arises when the item arrives in the destination country. they cant do it until they have the parcel in-hand in the destination country.

They may not have an account, but that shouldn't stop UPS/EMS/DHL/TNT or whoever it is checking to see if shipping is marked correctly.
Or refusing to ship unless it is.
I'm sure most customers would prefer to have the shipping marked properly, rather than getting hit with a volumetric weight based guessed shipping price VAT charge.

ohnonotgmail

Allyall wrote: »

They may not have an account, but that shouldn't stop UPS/EMS/DHL/TNT or whoever it is checking to see if shipping is marked correctly.
Or refusing to ship unless it is.
I'm sure most customers would prefer to have the shipping marked properly, rather than getting hit with a volumetric weight based guessed shipping price VAT charge.

the customer is the seller's customer. they are not the customer of UPS.

Allyall

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the customer is the seller's customer. they are not the customer of UPS.

While that may be technically correct, it is not fully correct, especially if the seller/shipper doesn't have an account.

Both are definitely the customer. The end customer doesn't want to get hit with an extra charge.

I choose who ships my items now when possible. When I am ordering something from abroad, I ask them if they use x, y or z.
If they can't offer me the service of the couriers I prefer, or if they only offer me the ones I refuse to use, I won't buy from them. If I can't choose and need the item, I give specific instructions to avoid any unpleasant, unexpected extra charges.

ohnonotgmail

Allyall wrote: »

While that may be technically correct, it is not fully correct, especially if the seller/shipper doesn't have an account.

Both are definitely the customer. The end customer doesn't want to get hit with an extra charge..

Not true. UPS only have an obligation to the seller. It is the seller that are paying UPS.

Allyall wrote: »

I choose who ships my items now when possible. When I am ordering something from abroad, I ask them if they use x, y or z.
If they can't offer me the service of the couriers I prefer, or if they only offer me the ones I refuse to use, I won't buy from them. If I can't choose and need the item, I give specific instructions to avoid any unpleasant, unexpected extra charges.

all very prudent.

Allyall

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Not true. UPS only have an obligation to the seller. It is the seller that are paying UPS.

all very prudent.

You may consider it prudent, yes, I have been hit with charges where the courier refused to back down even when proven wrong, and some have even taken months. I think I am very much trying to ensure that I won't get hit with extra charges. It is my money, and I'm the one paying.

In any case, my point is that the courier should prevent these instances from happening when they are pricing the item and loading them. I mean how hard is it to check if the shipping price field has been left blank or not?
It would save a lot of headaches.

Discodog

Why are shipping costs allowed in the calculation ? Where did this originate ?

ED E

Discodog wrote: »

Why are shipping costs allowed in the calculation ? Where did this originate ?

From memory: Fair market value / equalization.

If Shop X sells A for €20 ex vat that includes cost to import and then tax is charged on the sum price when sold. In this way the delivery costs are taxed. If foreign purchases were not taxed on delivery then the overseas market has a n extra competitive advantage.

rubadub

Discodog wrote: »

Why are shipping costs allowed in the calculation ? Where did this originate ?

This is nothing new and in most countries, I think some said you are buying/importing a service and so paying VAT on that service. If they were not included it would leave them open to scams, like saying the goods are €1 and postage is €1000, just like ebay sellers already do since ebay% fees are not paid on the postage.

sboyle01

If a vat registered company in Ireland buys goods from China then the carrier (eg DHL) would pay for example €100 duty and €200 vat. The company would then pay DHL the €300. Would the €200 be recoverable for vat in the bi-monthly return as a normal input credit?

whiterebel

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

well two problems with that:
1. the seller might not have an account with UPS
2. The issue of customs only arises when the item arrives in the destination country. they cant do it until they have the parcel in-hand in the destination country.

Imagine Trying to check through thousands of parcels in and out every week to make sure paperwork has been filled out correctly? Everything is scanned to make it quicker, but they should check each consignment leaving to make sure they have filled out unnecessary (for the export) fields on the waybill? Shipper is responsible for the correct declaration. Asian shippers who ship express and show "free shipping" are asking for trouble.

Discodog

I may be selling some expensive binoculars & possibly getting another pair in a swop deal. If this was from outside the EU would duty be payable even though no financial transaction took place? I did hear about a guy who left his camera in the US & the hotel posted it on for him - he got charged duty.

kubi.on

Hi guys, i want to buy speakers from seller based in Denmark (its an actual shop but no buy online option). I know Denmark is in EU but read somwhere that i have to pay duty...can someone please clarify.

Gamer Bhoy 89

Ah lads this is all double-dutch to me Been reading through the OP about 3 times and going into the provided links to make sense of it and it's just going over my head.

I bought a video game from Japan for €79 (collector's item) and the latest tracking info says "Sent to Customs" in Athlone as of today @ about 3pm.

What am I looking to pay, here? I've no issue paying it - has to be done!!! - but I fear the unknown. I don't know enough about the topic of customs to get it. I'm a bit naive of the whole thing

rubadub

Gamer Bhoy 89 wrote: »

I bought a video game from Japan for €79 (collector's item)

Does this include postage? if not how much was postage. Was it via normal post or couriers.

If normal post it will be the full amount you paid including postage x 23% plus a 7 euro an post fee.

If it was a courier you could be screwed, especially DHL, they might invent a huge postage cost and slap 23% on that, and then charge 15 or 16 euro admin fees too.

Gamer Bhoy 89

rubadub wrote: »

Does this include postage? if not how much was postage. Was it via normal post or couriers.

If normal post it will be the full amount you paid including postage x 23% plus a 7 euro an post fee.

If it was a courier you could be screwed, especially DHL, they might invent a huge postage cost and slap 23% on that, and then charge 15 or 16 euro admin fees too.

Postage was free and was sent by JP Post to An Post

rubadub

Gamer Bhoy 89 wrote: »

Postage was free and was sent by JP Post to An Post

You are very lucky it went via normal post so, DHL and other couriers may not accept it is free and could have said the postage cost 80euro.

An post should have no problem accepting this. Your cost should be 79x0.23 plus the 7 euro handling/admin fee.

Gamer Bhoy 89

rubadub wrote: »

You are very lucky it went via normal post so, DHL and other couriers may not accept it is free and could have said the postage cost 80euro.

An post should have no problem accepting this. Your cost should be 79x0.23 plus the 7 euro handling/admin fee.

Does this have to be paid cash at the door? Or is Card/Paypal an option? (Yes, I am that type that doesn't carry money around at all :P)

ohnonotgmail

Gamer Bhoy 89 wrote: »

Does this have to be paid cash at the door? Or is Card/Paypal an option? (Yes, I am that type that doesn't carry money around at all :P)

cash only

Gamer Bhoy 89

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

cash only

Ah Jesus. A hop, a skip and a jump to the ATM in the morning then.

Thanks by the way I feel a bit more at ease now

ohnonotgmail

they also dont carry change

Gamer Bhoy 89

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

they also dont carry change

That's okay

Gamer Bhoy 89

Really sorry for hijacking this thread again but it took me about 4 hours to notice that the status of my item changed from "Sent to Customs" to now saying "On Route to Customer" since 11 o'clock this morning.

Is it a normal post after all?

ohnonotgmail

Gamer Bhoy 89 wrote: »

Really sorry for hijacking this thread again but it took me about 4 hours to notice that the status of my item changed from "Sent to Customs" to now saying "On Route to Customer" since 11 o'clock this morning.

Is it a normal post after all?

The postman will deliver it but you will have to sign for it and pay the customs charge.

whiterebel

Gamer Bhoy 89 wrote: »

Really sorry for hijacking this thread again but it took me about 4 hours to notice that the status of my item changed from "Sent to Customs" to now saying "On Route to Customer" since 11 o'clock this morning.

Is it a normal post after all?

Where are you checking it, anpost.ie? If so it is postal service.
If post is shown as free via a normal slow postal service, that is usually ok as it only costs a couple of euros. If they use a courier such as Fedex or DHL it is an express service and is extremely expensive in comparison. Customs are entitled to, and insist on, the full value of the transport costs for VAT and duty purposes. They will not believe that anyone sends a consignment as posted for free if they use a courier service.

Gamer Bhoy 89

whiterebel wrote: »

Where are you checking it, anpost.ie? If so it is postal service.
If post is shown as free via a normal slow postal service, that is usually ok as it only costs a couple of euros. If they use a courier such as Fedex or DHL it is an express service and is extremely expensive in comparison. Customs are entitled to, and insist on, the full value of the transport costs for VAT and duty purposes. They will not believe that anyone sends a consignment as posted for free if they use a courier service.

Yeah it's An Post.

The past few weeks I've been ordering games from Japan and I even got a games console sent from there - cost about €100 (60 for item roughly 40-50 for postage) and out of all the things, I got charged for customs once (well, potentially twice now) which was about 18-19 euro. All of them were delivered to my door by An Post

Is it just a matter of bad luck to get caught by them?

ohnonotgmail

Gamer Bhoy 89 wrote: »

Yeah it's An Post.

The past few weeks I've been ordering games from Japan and I even got a games console sent from there - cost about €100 (60 for item roughly 40-50 for postage) and out of all the things, I got charged for customs once (well, potentially twice now) which was about 18-19 euro. All of them were delivered to my door by An Post

Is it just a matter of bad luck to get caught by them?

it pretty much is just a matter of luck. they cant check every parcel that comes through. if you have an item delivered via courier you will find that you are a lot less lucky. their customs clearance fee is higher so they are incentivised to check more parcels.