HMRC and Tax / Customs

[Richard_H]

Ok guys, I have a letter from Border Force and this is what is states:

ALL goods from outside the EU are liable to VAT (if valued at over £15) and Customs Duty (if over £135).

If the item is marked clearly as a GIFT then the limit is £34 (previously £36).

All fees are calculated on the total and not the total over the threshold. Duty is calculated on % including postage and insurance. If the total duty is under £7 (previously £9) they will waive it.

There will be a £13.50 handling charge as Parcelforce Worldwide pay the fees and deliver the items to HMRC to process. This is their charge and non-refundable.

And this is what I am deducing:

How to be charged the correct 5% VAT and not full 20%:

Codes are meaningless. Totally pointless. The seller must clearly fill in the customs form with the following information:

This item is a gift valued at £XXX. It is a vintage star wars XXXX still in it's original packaging and has been out of manufacture for over 30 years.

How to avoid all fees:

The item is marked clearly as a GIFT and valued at less than £30 (personally I'd go to £25) however, you are running the risk of insurance claims and potential mail fraud.

Regardless, it is still very clear that it is dependent on the customs officer. If they read it properly then it will be processed correctly.

 

[Frunkstar]

I did a post about this some time back, if you have a search Rich, there is a commodity tax code which make the tax 5% rather than 20 but it has to be on the parcel but they just ignore it & you have to make a claim for the extra back.

The postage comes into the equation as well, if sent standard or priority the parcel force charge is 8.45 or 8.50 but if you have it sent express it jumps (stupidly) to the 13.50 you quoted.

Also worth bearing in mind they actually have the cheek to include the value of the postage cost to the value of your item & then tax you on that as well, so the more you paid for a premium postage service the more it continues to snowball.

This country as we all know is a laughing stock when it comes to taxes, ****ed if you do ****ed if you don't mate, I have everything sent gifted low value priority now, I tried playing their game & they still wanted me over a barrel so screw them I'd rather run the gauntlet & keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Richard_H]

I've been told that the code does not apply to SW items. My parcel had the code in large writing but the Border Force lot said Vintage SW items are not covered by any code.

 

[spoons]

I was once told that too Rich - told the code only applied to vintage cars and car parts

But next parcel I tried again and they paid up. As you say it's all down the individual customs official

 

[Frunkstar]

That's total BS I claimed back when they charged me, you need to quote them what is written in their own rules - vintage toys in original packaging and has been out of manufacture for over 30 years.

 

[spoons]

have you got a link to that statement Frank?

 

[Frunkstar]

not off hand mate, spent forever going through all the crap on HMRC site when I did the looking into importing "legally" what a waste of time that was, the commodity code is on here in one of the threads in large red font though.

I also rang them direct to confirm all the details were correct & they confirmed it for me.

 

[steve obi wan]

That's the problem , they make it so bloody hard to understand the forms , they know hardly anyone follows it though !

:twisted:

 

[spoons]

When I got told about the car thing they told me to ring to dispute it - impossible to speak to anyone who made sense. All bastards

 

[theguiltyone]

Does anyone have a contact number for the International Hub in Coventry?


Thanks
marc

 

[lejackal]

Does anyone have a contact number for the International Hub in Coventry?


Thanks
marc

0344 800 4466 although this is from Google so could just be a call center.

If I can help with collecting and forwarding anything I live in Coventry

 

[theguiltyone]

Thanks!
Im probably just being impatient, they have had the package since the 5th.
Can you break in and grab it please

 

[steve obi wan]

No problem , go for it :lol:

 

[theguiltyone]

Parcelforce advised that up to 14 days is the standard, any less and its just luck

 

[rdpla]

I have found when sending items to the UK, if i write plastic action figure, they dont usually bother
if i send a robot, and even dont mention tin, they charge..
jsut sold a whitebackground darth to a chap in the uk..would have cost over a grand in tax...
just packed it really well to avoid any damage and sent as plastic action figure by regular post...no charge...everyone happy...

Robert.

 

[yoda]

So does all parcels leaving US need stated on them there content and value. I was looking at an item to buy on e-bay in US seller says that using global shipping there is no extra cost only postage which could be about $15-20 Item is $80 I contacted him about that and that was the response he gave me. Also noting he never posted overseas before so I am confused now by him.
If I go ahead and pay him will I have more fees? I have been reading the posts about the value but this guy says he won't have to state value on the parcel.

 

[Richard_H]

If he usesGSP then you pay no more than the eBay quote. I'm sure the fees are added on postage though and it'll be more than you've stated. It should tell you next to the p and p amount

 

[lejackal]

Buying from the US the limit before the GSP adds fees as well as postage is $75, anything over this is 20% or so of the total value, not just the bit over the 75

 

[yoda]

Ok thanks for the help I checked the item again. The cost is $80 +$18.18 international priority shipping.
Total $98.18
So I am hoping that is my total? Does that look ok?
This is why I don't buy from US much. I need to learn more about these charges and understand them better
Thanks for the help guys.

 

[lejackal]

Looks like the limit may be $80 now, just did a quick search for $80 GSP items and there is no extra charges but at $85 you pay an extra $23 in fees.
Here is an example of one with the extra fees

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Wars-T...718406?hash=item3d1692b506:g:hyMAAOSwOfxXBHUr