Unjustified Import Duties

z6vm1dobfnca3x

Hi,

About 10 minutes ago, I received a package that I ordered from a Chinese website that sells iPhone accessories. The total value of the goods I ordered came to €56.80, including insurance. When UPS called to my door, I was informed that I owed them €29.24 in VAT and other charges. I wasn't surprised about the VAT part, as I had researched citizensinformation.ie before hand. My issue is with the €14.00 I was charged, with additional VAT on top of that!

When I contacted UPS, I was told that the €14.00 is charged for a mandatory customs clearance which has to be paid for. This is where my problem lies. According to the above website, customs and import charges are only charged on goods that are over €150 in value.

When I complained about this, the UPS rep on the phone explained that this is outlined in their terms and conditions. But I didn't agree to UPS terms and conditions when I ordered the products. The shipment was automatically assigned to UPS. I agreed to the websites terms and conditions, but not UPS'.

Can someone tell me if I am right or wrong here? And if UPS/ The Customs Office are in the wrong, how can I get my €14.00 + the additional €3.22 VAT back?

Thanks in advance,
Hugo.

Paulw

Your only way to get it back would be via the Revenue. You can contact them and lodge a complaint/appeal.

The vast majority of websites that sell internationally state clearly that you would be responsible for all taxes and charges on import of the product. Check the website of the seller for that point.

The €14 sounds like the admin fee. They are acting as the Revenue agent, and are entitled to charge an admin fee.

I doubt you will have much luck claiming anything back.

Padraig Mor

Customs duty is not charged over €150, but VAT is liable over a value of €22 (shipping included) - presumably your charge is for the VAT and UPS' fee for collecting the VAT and passing it on to Revenue.

quaalude

Ty Few Supernova wrote: »

Hi,

About 10 minutes ago, I received a package that I ordered from a Chinese website that sells iPhone accessories. The total value of the goods I ordered came to €56.80, including insurance. When UPS called to my door, I was informed that I owed them €29.24 in VAT and other charges. I wasn't surprised about the VAT part, as I had researched citizensinformation.ie before hand. My issue is with the €14.00 I was charged, with additional VAT on top of that!

When I contacted UPS, I was told that the €14.00 is charged for a mandatory customs clearance which has to be paid for. This is where my problem lies. According to the above website, customs and import charges are only charged on goods that are over €150 in value.

When I complained about this, the UPS rep on the phone explained that this is outlined in their terms and conditions. But I didn't agree to UPS terms and conditions when I ordered the products. The shipment was automatically assigned to UPS. I agreed to the websites terms and conditions, but not UPS'.

Can someone tell me if I am right or wrong here? And if UPS/ The Customs Office are in the wrong, how can I get my €14.00 + the additional €3.22 VAT back?

Thanks in advance,
Ty Few Supernova

I've the same issue, Hugo - €14.00 + the additional €3.22 VAT on a package from http://www.thinkgeek.com delivered by UPS.
I'm going to email ThinkGeek and tell them that as long as they use UPS, who charge this €17.22 (they call it "ADDITIONAL CHARGES" on the invoice) that I will no longer buy from them.

(Just to be clear, I've no problem at all paying VAT on my package from the US, and of course had budgeted for this when buying - it was €13. It's the extra extortionate €17 I never agreed to pay I've a problem with).

Paulw

It shouldn't matter who they use for shipping. Even An Post issue charges for VAT/duty on the import of goods.

Anyway, you are still liable for the VAT and for any admin charges, upon import of an item from outside of the EU.

So, where possible, shop within the EU.

quaalude

Paulw wrote: »

It shouldn't matter who they use for shipping. Even An Post issue charges for VAT/duty on the import of goods.

Anyway, you are still liable for the VAT and for any admin charges, upon import of an item from outside of the EU.

So, where possible, shop within the EU.

Sure, I try to by locally where possible - but thinkgeek was the only place that had the things I wanted.

I have had other shippers charge an admin fee - from memory, An Post's is something like €6.50.
I'm just expressing that I don't think charging €17.22 to collect €13 is fair. Also, the extra €17.22 certainly would have informed my buying decision had I known about it before I bought.
I'm not looking to get it back, I'm just pointing it out so others are aware of it, and I'll be pointing it out to thinkgeek too.
Thanks.

Jarren

quaalude wrote: »

Sure, I try to by locally where possible - but thinkgeek was the only place that had the things I wanted.

I have had other shippers charge an admin fee - from memory, An Post's is something like €6.50.
I'm just expressing that I don't think charging €17.22 to collect €13 is fair. Also, the extra €17.22 certainly would have informed my buying decision had I known about it before I bought.
I'm not looking to get it back, I'm just pointing it out so others are aware of it, and I'll be pointing it out to thinkgeek too.
Thanks.

According to them


Customs Fees:

Customs fees (taxes, duties, processing fees, brokerages fees, etc.) may be charged upon delivery and required to obtain your order.
These fees are NOT included in your shipping charges.
We are not able to mark orders as "gifts" because we are a retail store.
We do not issue any refunds for customs fees, shipping, or the cost of your order should you refuse to pay the customs fees.
ThinkGeek has no way of estimating customs fees, taxes, duties, etc. so please do not ask us to do so - we don't have this information. Please contact your local customs office if you need to know more.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/help/shipping.shtml#int_Economy

Did you read that before ordering ?

quaalude

Jarren wrote: »

According to them


Customs Fees:

Customs fees (taxes, duties, processing fees, brokerages fees, etc.) may be charged upon delivery and required to obtain your order.
These fees are NOT included in your shipping charges.
We are not able to mark orders as "gifts" because we are a retail store.
We do not issue any refunds for customs fees, shipping, or the cost of your order should you refuse to pay the customs fees.
ThinkGeek has no way of estimating customs fees, taxes, duties, etc. so please do not ask us to do so - we don't have this information. Please contact your local customs office if you need to know more.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/help/shipping.shtml#int_Economy

Did you read that before ordering ?

I did read that before I ordered, thanks Jarren.
As I said, I am not looking for it to be refunded.
I am just posting as a warning to others to expect a (possibly large) "additional charges" fee when UPS is the carrier.

rubadub

Paulw wrote: »

It shouldn't matter who they use for shipping. Even An Post issue charges for VAT/duty on the import of goods.

As said other carriers charge less, in the other recent thread about DHL it was a min charge or %. (this is UK figures)

Copper_pipe wrote: »

http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/will-there-be-any-extra-charges-from-the-shipping-provider/

See below examples of additional charges on goods shipped to the UK:
Import handling fees by Royal Mail: £8 per parcel liable for customs charges
Import handling fees by DHL for import to UK: £1.25, or 2% of the import duty & taxes due, whichever is the greater.
Import ancillary service fees by FedEx vary on the country of import.
UPS charges include a disbursement fee of minimum $5, a transportation handling fee and a pre-release notification fee for import shipment

I believe the max couriers can charge here is €15, and not sure if that was supposed to include VAT. It is worth telling the company why he is no longer buying from them. They might include another option if enough people complained. I usually will only buy stuff from the US if it is via normal USPS (not UPS).

Some companies do offer different couriers. I know dvdpacific used to offer about 4-5 shipping options, one was very cheap and very slow, but as the €22 limit is based on postage too I went for it. I think komplett offered 2 options, though they are in the EU.

clint_silver

I buy from dhgate quite regularly. They ship regular post, If value is marked under 22e I get the package straight away otherwise it goes to an post customs area where they mail me asking for proof via an email how much i paid. They accept this valuation, on delivery I pay the estimated vat plus a 6e post admin fee for the privilege. Still works out far cheaper than buying from EU shops.
Sometimes the package value is over 22e and I don't get asked for the vat which means I also don't pay the 6e
Dhgate sellers seem to always put "gift" on the package. It doesn't matter, customs still get it.

Copper_pipe

DHL handling fee is 2% of the vat fee

Vojera

Copper_pipe wrote: »

DHL handling fee is 2% of the vat fee

I was about to say! I recently paid about €45 in VAT from a package from America and DHL's admin fee was 88 cent!

There seems to be a BIG disparity between companies!

djsim101

Ah man, U got stung also. A few months ago, I had the same issue with thinkgeek. Posted it up in the retro games forum.

Same as U, my total order was around 89 dollars. By the time i had to pay vat\ups admin fee etc etc it was nearly half the value of the shipping.

I rang Ups and asked why i was been charged admin fee, when already i was charged for shipping costs by them and was basically told this is basic practice by all of them.

I complained to thinkgeek, but im fairness, its not their fault, but they gave me a 15% voucher code ( which i can't use if i dont want to get.stumg again )

On the bright side, they are giving the option of normal post to Ireland in the near future.

Vojera wrote: »

I was about to say! I recently paid about €45 in VAT from a package from America and DHL's admin fee was 88 cent!

There seems to be a BIG disparity between companies!

newwifey

Just got stung too! :mad:
Dont mind the gov charges but €14UPS fee to collect €16 is madness.
I ordered from lightinthebox.com
Im starting to think that there is an agreement between these companies and UPS where lightinthebox gets a great rate from UPS for delivery in the knowledge that they will collect another €14 from the poor sod on the recieving end. In all honesty, how can UPS deliver a package from China to Ireland for just €12?
Should have picked the more expensive, slower surface mail rate and dealt with An Post :rolleyes:

BArra

because light in the box are a massive shipper, they send a rather large amount of packages daily. economys of scale

Dodge

Can the thread title be changed to something like 'unjust courier handling charge' or similar?

Tango One

I'm a bit pissed off with ups too. I bought an item including delivery 100 euro only to get hit with a bill of 50 when it arrived. I knew I was looking at paying vat but a 50 percent hike in price is a joke. It looks like the vat add on was wrong at 33 plus ups charges of14 plus 3 vat

clint_silver

Tango One wrote: »

I'm a bit pissed off with ups too. I bought an item including delivery 100 euro only to get hit with a bill of 50 when it arrived. I knew I was looking at paying vat but a 50 percent hike in price is a joke. It looks like the vat add on was wrong at 33 plus ups charges of14 plus 3 vat

I found the easiest way to stop using UPS was to use them once. lesson learned.

Tango One

I had been using DHL but ups worked out marginal cheaper well not in the end. Lesson learned not to use them again but think I will challenge them on the over billing of vat.