Customs charges UK

[CrimsonCoscrafts]

I've sent out a couple belt buckles and costuming items, and one person I sent to was nipped hard. The item was 125US ( £79ish), the shipping was somewhere around 30, and they got pinged with £39 in VAT. I wouldn't be surprised of others were hit with customs as well, but this one emailed me to inform me they couldn't afford to cover the fees, and the package will be coming back (it was later resolved fortunately)

Thank you Who for the rundown, once i send one out, it pretty much disappears into the ether, and its rare to hear from anyone that they received it.

The prices for customs are definitely making twitch, I will be devastated if I have to pay another 500 on top of what I am already paying...

I guess the only way around it is to say it is worth less than what it is??

Anybody confirm this the best route?

 

[Psammead]

I guess the only way around it is to say it is worth less than what it is??

Anybody confirm this the best route?

Well it depends. Sure you can avoid some of the charges but it's illegal and it obviously decreases the amount any insurance will pay out if something goes wrong, which with large purchases just isn't worth the risk. Of course if the seller marks down the price on the package of their own volition that's up to them.

As a guide on large purchases, I normally expect to pay £100-120 duty per $500USD I spent on the item.

 

[CrimsonCoscrafts]

Well it depends. Sure you can avoid some of the charges but it's illegal and it obviously decreases the amount any insurance will pay out if something goes wrong, which with large purchases just isn't worth the risk. Of course if the seller marks down the price on the package of their own volition that's up to them.

As a guide on large purchases, I normally expect to pay £100-120 duty per $500USD I spent on the item.

I suppose your right, with the amount being spent, its too risky I guess to wing it if any happens to go wrong.

 

[88reaper88]

Also; some insurance companies won't pay out at all if the tem was obviously marked down in price. Something to do with them being involved in 'illegal' activity.
But I'm guessing that all depends on what the item is and how much less it was marked down.

Complicated stuff when you look into it!

 

[Monster]

I've known people have HMRC (or whatever it is now) not convert USD into GBP before calculating VAT - so instead of being charged say, VAT on £200, they were charged VAT on £350, because the item was $350. There is a process you can go through to have the item re-evalued if you think you have been overcharged. I think this happened to me once, but it was on quite a low value item so I never bothered to resubmit.

If your picked up for charging (not every package is, even though the vast majority coming into the UK are subject to VAT, there is just too many to be processed) you'll pay VAT at 20% of the combined value (item+shipping) plus the handling charge, which is basically just an excuse to squeeze more money out of you, but expect that to be between £7-13 IIRC)

Basically at today's rates expect to pay in the region of £20 for every £100 spent. So for, say, a $800 suit, costing $100 to ship, you should expect to pay in the region of £100-120 in VAT (depending on their $-£ conversion rate) plus whatever customs handling fee the courier charges, so IIRO £130 all in. With that worked out you can then see if you've been overcharged.

Hey, and the upshot is you might get lucky, and avoid it altogether - Ive had plenty of stuff from both Hong Kong and the States - had quite a few things charged from HK, but everything i've bought from the US has come straight here with no charges.

 

[sskunky]

I've known people have HMRC (or whatever it is now) not convert USD into GBP before calculating VAT - so instead of being charged say, VAT on £200, they were charged VAT on £350, because the item was $350. There is a process you can go through to have the item re-evalued if you think you have been overcharged. I think this happened to me once, but it was on quite a low value item so I never bothered to resubmit.

If your picked up for charging (not every package is, even though the vast majority coming into the UK are subject to VAT, there is just too many to be processed) you'll pay VAT at 20% of the combined value (item+shipping) plus the handling charge, which is basically just an excuse to squeeze more money out of you, but expect that to be between £7-13 IIRC)

Basically at today's rates expect to pay in the region of £20 for every £100 spent. So for, say, a $800 suit, costing $100 to ship, you should expect to pay in the region of £100-120 in VAT (depending on their $-£ conversion rate) plus whatever customs handling fee the courier charges, so IIRO £130 all in. With that worked out you can then see if you've been overcharged.

Hey, and the upshot is you might get lucky, and avoid it altogether - Ive had plenty of stuff from both Hong Kong and the States - had quite a few things charged from HK, but everything i've bought from the US has come straight here with no charges.

Yep, I think that's happened to me on numerous occasions.... I've lost count how many times I've been charged for £'s instead of $'s...... It's just too long and drawn out to bother trying to get the money back.... Then I bet your marked if you do so it's not worth it.

 

[CrimsonCoscrafts]

Cheers monster for the details!

You have all been great and a massive help!

Merry Xmas everyone