i've also been given the royal screw-job by import taxes and i am still none the wiser how they work it out. i used to think it was done on weight (as dvd boxsets and the lke are pretty heavy) but im sad to say ive even been burned on lighter items. i probably should know this however, i did get an a-level in economics!
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I got three box sets of Shaman King from Hong Kong, for $1 on Ebay, but the p&p came to $45 or some such. I assumed tax was included. it's arround £25, and I was happy wiht it.
Right are you ready Import tax is just V.A.T on imported items that come from a non E.U. Country (as these countries already have V.A.T) so in this country it is charged at 17.5% but it is the percent of the price of the product here, or similar product if it is not avalible here so if you bought something for a dollar in the states on Ebay, lets say a dvd that was £20 over here, so even though you bought it for one dollar(78p I think at the minute) you would pay 88p + £3.50 + £2.99p&p(Postage in the UK) and a standard shipping cost of £20 so your grand total would be £27.37 so as you can see to import small items from the states is false economy
What I'm now telling you isn't exact but should give you a very good overview of what you need to know.
Firstly you will only pay this tax if you have ordered a DVD that costs £18 or more from any country outside of the EU. This figure does not include postage and packing. So let's say you bought a DVD for £17.99 and the postage costs you let's say £5 then you will pay no import tax. Remember that the exchange rate varies and it is based upon the exchange-rate when customs received the parcel.
Now if you bought a DVD which costs £18 and your postage costs were say £5 then you would be charged (assuming your parcel didn't sneak through which does happen) firstly you pay 4 per cent (I think it's 3 or 4 per cent for DVDs- I've gone with the higher to be sure - and I don't know what the tax is called, other items have different percentages) on the total cost of your parcel plus postage and packing. 4 per cent of £23= 92p.
You add on this 92 p which makes £23.92.
Next to you add on VAT at 17.5% = £4.19 + £23.92=£28.11
Next to you have to pay carrier fees(they pay customs this why you're being charged by them), if it happens to be the Royal Mail delivering your parcel this will be £4 (this figure will be higher if any other courier delivers your parcel!). So £4+£28.11=£32.11
If you buy multiple DVDs and their cost is going to be more than £18 order your DVDs separately keeping the cost before postage under the magic £18 figure. It doesn't matter how many parcels go through customs as long as they're under £18
Sorry discoDave you're wrong if you bought a DVD for $1 the only thing you would have to pay is postage and packing on top of that $1.
Originally posted by slapmatt: I've just bought a DVD on eBay for $0.01. Will the duty (if any) be a percentage of this, or is it worked out some other way?
I've been stunk for imprt duty before on more valuable items, but I'm hoping I might get away with it this time.
What I'm now telling you isn't exact but should give you a very good overview of what you need to know.
Firstly you will only pay this tax if you have ordered a DVD that costs £18 or more from any country outside of the EU. This figure does not include postage and packing. So let's say you bought a DVD for £17.99 and the postage costs you let's say £5 then you will pay no import tax. Remember that the exchange rate varies and it is based upon the exchange-rate when customs received the parcel.
Now if you bought a DVD which costs £18 and your postage costs were say £5 then you would be charged (assuming your parcel didn't sneak through which does happen) firstly you pay 4 per cent (I think it's 3 or 4 per cent for DVDs- I've gone with the higher to be sure - and I don't know what the tax is called, other items have different percentages) on the total cost of your parcel plus postage and packing. 4 per cent of £23= 92p.
You add on this 92 p which makes £23.92.
Next to you add on VAT at 17.5% = £4.19 + £23.92=£28.11
Next to you have to pay carrier fees(they pay customs this why you're being charged by them), if it happens to be the Royal Mail delivering your parcel this will be £4 (this figure will be higher if any other courier delivers your parcel!). So £4+£28.11=£32.11
If you buy multiple DVDs and their cost is going to be more than £18 order your DVDs separately keeping the cost before postage under the magic £18 figure. It doesn't matter how many parcels go through customs as long as they're under £18
Sorry discoDave you're wrong if you bought a DVD for $1 the only thing you would have to pay is postage and packing on top of that $1.
... I forgot to add that you will have to pay the postman this difference on the doorstep or possibly have to go down to your local Royal Mail depot. In the hypothetical I posted above this where the total came to £32.11 the bill you would have on your doorstep would be less the £23 you've already paid the DVD retailer. So you would have a bill of £9.11 on this hypothetical package.
i've always wondered about this as i have bought multiple DVDs many times from the US and never seem to have been hit with import tax. I've regularly bought things between the 40-80 dollar range. I assumes that amazon must pay the import tax and charge it to my credit card. i have the stuff delivered to work and have never had a request to pay import tax.
i'll have to see if anything happens with the current DVDs i have on order from the states
Originally posted by amnesic: i've always wondered about this as i have bought multiple DVDs many times from the US and never seem to have been hit with import tax. I've regularly bought things between the 40-80 dollar range. I assumes that amazon must pay the import tax and charge it to my credit card. i have the stuff delivered to work and have never had a request to pay import tax.
i'll have to see if anything happens with the current DVDs i have on order from the states
I think it's just that you have been lucky amnesic because Amazon don't pay the VAT. The only company that I have ran across that does pay the VAT so you don't get a bill on your doorstep is a company called yesAsia .
i think i must have been! there is an article on amazon UK explaining import duty as well
i've also had CDs from CD WOW in Hong Kong which have sometimes been opened by customs. a few times i've ordered a few CDs at one go and, again, i've been lucky and not had to pay anything. probably means my run of good luck is over!
