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

ohnonotgmail

xhun wrote: »

Thanks,

I couldn't find any info re Duty fees, it would be good if it is 0% for electrical goods,

the price did become a bit hefty there,

it seems addresspal will be sorting out the customs forms, don't know if their price includes handling fees or not,

but I guess the final price will stand somewhere around €600 which is around €200 more than the base price.

its probably not the best idea, however it's still tempting as it's the only Tuner Free TV in the market. assuming I won't have to pay the TV license fee, it might still be worth it.

Do you have any idea how much it will cost to ship a 16kg box from the US? you really need to factor that in as well. not forgetting that you pay duty + VAT on THAT as well. Plus the fact that it is tuner free doesnt necessarily mean you wont have to pay the tv licence. Plus the problems with the power supply already mentioned.

Oh yeah, you also wont have any warranty worth talking about.

ohnonotgmail

sugarman wrote: »

If you read any of the other posts you'll see Addresspal was mentioned, in which it costs €54.



Again, already mentioned:rolleyes:

Theres no duty on electrical items.



It does, actually.




Theres no issue, its 100-240v 50/60Hz from what I read.



Well you do, still your 1 year standard parts and service. You'd just have to pay shipping again. But any competent TV repair shop could repair it here.

At the end of the day, it still is a very good TV at a good price but its just dont worth the hassle and the possibility (It will) arrive broken and you'll have to chase that up.

No idea what the :rolleyes: is for.

I said no warranty worth talking about. If it costs more than a €100 to ship it there and get it back then you have no warranty worth talking about. and i cant imagine you will find anybody willing to ship it back to the US for €54.

And its not a "very good" tv. Vizio are a mid level brand at best.

The package is also oversize for addresspal

SweetCaliber

Anyone have a ball point figure on how much I will pay for customs if I order a 3D printer from China (TomTop) at a value of €122.54 ?

Am I right that because it is under €150 I will only have to pay VAT and the An Post handling charge:

Price: €122.54
VAT: €28.18
Handling Fee: €10

Total: €160.72

Or will I get stung for much worse?

Thanks!

jocko4

Don't forget the cost of shipping (or customs estimation of this cost) will be added to the cost of goods before VAT is calculated. I'm not sure if this also tips it over the €150 levy ceiling?

SweetCaliber

jocko4 wrote: »

Don't forget the cost of shipping (or customs estimation of this cost) will be added to the cost of goods before VAT is calculated. I'm not sure if this also tips it over the €150 levy ceiling?

Free shipping.

SweetCaliber

SweetCaliber wrote: »

Free shipping.

Just found the same one on AliExpress, ships from Germany and cheaper again, might buy off them instead.

jocko4

Free Shipping means nothing to customs - unless the shipper declares the cost of shipping (which they don't) customs section within courier company will estimate what is the highest (express) cost of shipping from Ireland to China for that package & that is added to cost of goods & VAT charged on that. It's s scam by courier firms, as they always overestimate the weight etc. I've queried it many times & just get blanked by them

jocko4

SweetCaliber wrote: »

Just found the same one on AliExpress, ships from Germany and cheaper again, might buy off them instead.

That's a much better option as you will get stung the other way!

SweetCaliber

jocko4 wrote: »

Free Shipping means nothing to customs - unless the shipper declares the cost of shipping (which they don't) customs section within courier company will estimate what is the highest (express) cost of shipping from Ireland to China for that package & that is added to cost of goods & VAT charged on that. It's s scam by courier firms, as they always overestimate the weight etc. I've queried it many times & just get blanked by them

Damn, that sucks. Yeah will go with Ali, Germany means no customs and faster shipping with DHL Tracked..

Thanks for the info.

whiterebel

jocko4 wrote: »

Free Shipping means nothing to customs - unless the shipper declares the cost of shipping (which they don't) customs section within courier company will estimate what is the highest (express) cost of shipping from Ireland to China for that package & that is added to cost of goods & VAT charged on that. It's s scam by courier firms, as they always overestimate the weight etc. I've queried it many times & just get blanked by them

You might explain how its a scam? A scam usually means someone profits by it.
The couriers are obliged to complete import documentation, using the value of the goods, and the freight amount paid to delivered to your door. If the exporter uses a courier, it is going to be a lot more expensive than ordinary post. This is for the VAT/Duty calculation, not for the couriers pockets.
The couriers have published rates to and from all their destinations which they use, its not like its a secret.

jocko4

whiterebel wrote: »

You might explain how its a scam? A scam usually means someone profits by it.
The couriers are obliged to complete import documentation, using the value of the goods, and the freight amount paid to delivered to your door. If the exporter uses a courier, it is going to be a lot more expensive than ordinary post. This is for the VAT/Duty calculation, not for the couriers pockets.
The couriers have published rates to and from all their destinations which they use, its not like its a secret.

In all cases I have encountered they have calculated shipping costs at a higher weight than was declared on the documentation. When questioned they claimed a typo. Once or twice, I would consider a mistake but when it's consistently done, I consider it duplicitous/disingenuous

It's a scam for the punter as he pays far more than he should. Who benefits? Well if we named this properly as a trade tariff, who would you consider benefits?

ohnonotgmail

jocko4 wrote: »

In all cases I have encountered they have calculated shipping costs at a higher weight than was declared on the documentation. When questioned they claimed a typo. Once or twice, I would consider a mistake but when it's consistently done, I consider it duplicitous/disingenuous

It's a scam for the punter as he pays far more than he should. Who benefits? Well if we named this properly as a trade tariff, who would you consider benefits?

but the courier companies dont benefit from the extra vat and duty. it goes to customs. the courier companies get the same fee regardless.

jocko4

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

but the courier companies dont benefit from the extra vat and duty. it goes to customs. the courier companies get the same fee regardless.

So? Just because they don't directly benefit (that we know of)?
Answer me this - If you are on the receiving end of this treatment will you feel that you have been fairly treated or will you feel like you have been scammed - even though you can't see who benefits from this?

ohnonotgmail

jocko4 wrote: »

So? Just because they don't directly benefit (that we know of)?
Answer me this - If you are on the receiving end of this treatment will you feel that you have been fairly treated or will you feel like you have been scammed - even though you can't see who benefits from this?

perhaps you need to find shippers that know how to complete a customs declaration correctly. it isn't that difficult. the only people who benefit from the extra charge are customs and they are not involved in the process.

jocko4

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

perhaps you need to find shippers that know how to complete a customs declaration correctly. it isn't that difficult. the only people who benefit from the extra charge are customs and they are not involved in the process.

I agree but language barriers seem to get in the way of this & in the absence of this, what I'm saying is that the courier firm overestimate the shipping costs (never underestimate) when shipping costs haven't been declared. That to me, smells fishy.

whiterebel

jocko4 wrote: »

In all cases I have encountered they have calculated shipping costs at a higher weight than was declared on the documentation. When questioned they claimed a typo. Once or twice, I would consider a mistake but when it's consistently done, I consider it duplicitous/disingenuous

It's a scam for the punter as he pays far more than he should. Who benefits? Well if we named this properly as a trade tariff, who would you consider benefits?

Are you sure its not being charged on volume, i.e. the dimensions? The ratio is small on airfreight/courier, and doesn't take too big a package before the volumetric weight exceeds the actual weight.
"Far more than they should?" - you would be paying Duty (if applicable) and VAT @ 21%, not the extra shipping cost. It all goes to Customs, unless the value is extremely high, when the charge for outlaying VAT/Duty and completing the customs entry goes up to 12.5-15%. Exporters know this and should fill out the customs declaration with the correct value and amounts.
As I advise anyone that is unhappy with the customs clearance, ask the agent for a copy of the customs entry, you can see exactly what they have paid out.

jocko4

whiterebel wrote: »

Are you sure its not being charged on volume, i.e. the dimensions? The ratio is small on airfreight/courier, and doesn't take too big a package before the volumetric weight exceeds the actual weight.
"Far more than they should?" - you would be paying Duty (if applicable) and VAT @ 21%, not the extra shipping cost. It all goes to Customs, unless the value is extremely high, when the charge for outlaying VAT/Duty and completing the customs entry goes up to 12.5-15%. Exporters know this and should fill out the customs declaration with the correct value and amounts.
As I advise anyone that is unhappy with the customs clearance, ask the agent for a copy of the customs entry, you can see exactly what they have paid out.

Yes but another factor that makes all this non-transparent is that you get handed a bill to pay but no breakdown of how this bill is calculated so one has to call them to see the basis on which the calculation is made. What's on the customs entry - just the amount paid or is the derivation of this amount shown?

whiterebel

jocko4 wrote: »

Yes but another factor that makes all this non-transparent is that you get handed a bill to pay but no breakdown of how this bill is calculated so one has to call them to see the basis on which the calculation is made. What's on the customs entry - just the amount paid or is the derivation of this amount shown?

Everything. Value, freight, rate of exchange, total duty, VAT, description of goods, Tariff code. You would then have a separate charge for their charge, usually about €12.50-15.00

jocko4

whiterebel wrote: »

Everything. Value, freight, rate of exchange, total duty, VAT, description of goods, Tariff code. You would then have a separate charge for their charge, usually about €12.50-15.00

Good - pity they don't simply print this off & give this as the bill, they have to do all these calculations anyway?

BTW, is VAT 23%, not 21%?

ohnonotgmail

jocko4 wrote: »

Good - pity they don't simply print this off & give this as the bill, they have to do all these calculations anyway?

BTW, is VAT 23%, not 21%?

the standard rate of vat is 23%

jocko4

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the standard rate of vat is 23%

Yes, is this not the standard VAT rate applied on normal imports, rather than the 21% stated by Whiterebel?

From RevComm "You will have to pay VAT at the same rate as applies in Ireland for similar goods."

whiterebel

jocko4 wrote: »

Good - pity they don't simply print this off & give this as the bill, they have to do all these calculations anyway?

BTW, is VAT 23%, not 21%?

Yep, my bad. 23% for quite a while now.

ohnonotgmail

jocko4 wrote: »

Yes, is this not the standard VAT rate applied on normal imports, rather than the 21% stated by Whiterebel?

From RevComm "You will have to pay VAT at the same rate as applies in Ireland for similar goods."

the 21% must be a typo. the rate is 23%

lensman

Books from The US? are you hit for vat/customs duty when they arrive in Ireland?..I used to upload wedding photos to a company in the US & they printed & returned the finished wedding albums, never got hit for vat or customs & some of the packages cost €100's so whats the story with importing books?

ldxo15wus6fpgm

Relative of mine is planning on sending me some clothes and shoes from the USA as a gift.
Is the cost of postage included in the vat and customs duty on goods sent as a gift? Is the customs duty threshold of €150 the same for gifts?
If she under declares the value of the goods at say €40 to try and get it to us without us paying tax and the box is opened what would happen?
I've read also that if she individually wraps the items and declares on the label that they're for different people in the house that we each get our own €45 gift allowance, is that correct?

nava

Katherine Delicious Wuss wrote: »

Relative of mine is planning on sending me some clothes and shoes from the USA as a gift.
Is the cost of postage included in the vat and customs duty on goods sent as a gift? Is the customs duty threshold of €150 the same for gifts?
If she under declares the value of the goods at say €40 to try and get it to us without us paying tax and the box is opened what would happen?
I've read also that if she individually wraps the items and declares on the label that they're for different people in the house that we each get our own €45 gift allowance, is that correct?

Customs charges are paid on the item price + shipping cost on the parcel.

MOD: Please do not ask on ways to avoid paying customs.

ldxo15wus6fpgm

I'll rephrase my question.
If someone sends a single box with multiple individually wrapped and labelled packages inside for people in the same household, does each package get it's own €45 gift allowance?
Does anyone know what happens if goods sent as gifts are marked below their actual value and they are checked by customs? How do they work out the value of an item?

ohnonotgmail

Katherine Delicious Wuss wrote: »

I'll rephrase my question.
If someone sends a single box with multiple individually wrapped and labelled packages inside for people in the same household, does each package get it's own €45 gift allowance?
Does anyone know what happens if goods sent as gifts are marked below their actual value and they are checked by customs? How do they work out the value of an item?

customs will use the retail value of similar items if they think the package is undervalued.

rubadub

Katherine Delicious Wuss wrote: »

I've read also that if she individually wraps the items and declares on the label that they're for different people in the house that we each get our own €45 gift allowance, is that correct?

no, where did you read this?

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

customs will use the retail value of similar items if they think the package is undervalued.

or they will email you and ask for the real value, I expect that would be more common than jumping straight to their own valuation. I have had things marked as $10, I paid a lot less than the retail price in Ireland and they accepted my (honest) valuation when I forwarded paypal receipts. They can check it out online themselves too, I had nothing to hide.

Suckit

Out of interest, when was the last time that the minimum purchase value moved (either direction)?