Customs charge for imports

[kintbury jon]

I'd quite like to get hold of this n gauge chassis made by Bandai.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360426924033?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

At under £25 including delivery it loooks like a good buy. I am a little worried though by the potential customs charge that I may get. I am struggling to find an answer as to how much extra I may or may not get charged. Does anyone have any idea the maximum I may be charged?

 

Thanks,

 

Jon

[Andrew1974]

The main reason you will be struggling is that it varies so much depending on lots of factors.

 

Potential costs include:

 

Import Duty

Vat

Customs handling fees

 

I don't think model railway products attract duty (although they may be exceptions)

VAT will be 20% of the cost declared on the despatch form, plus the postage cost, plus duty (if there is any)

Many post companies will also charge you a fee for getting your parcel through customs, the price varies but typically around £10 for relatively low value amounts

 

So, assuming the £25 including postage is right the VAT will be another £5, plus there may be a handling charge (dependant on carrier)

 

All of a sudden the 'cheap' price may not be that cheap!

 

Regards

 

Andrew

[eldavo]

For Royal Mail the handling charge is 7 or 8 quid if I recall. Grrr....

 

Cheers

Dave

[petethemole]

They may levy VAT at 20% of the value declared on the customs declaration. If so, the Post Office will add £8.50 (i think) for collecting it!. You may escape; in my limited experience of buying from US and Canada sellers it seems a bit erratic whether HMRC charge for relatively small value items.

[Arthur]

My recent experience, 2012, has seen smaller items in packets (padded envelopes) from the US and Australia, some of high value, which were handled by the post office, escape any extra charges. Similarly, large parcels, which have been handled by Parcelforce, have had 20% VAT added plus a handling charge which seems to be on a sliding scale dependent on item value. On both recent items this charge was in excess of £15:00.

 

I've found for a a while now that Parcleforce, who handle the larger items, always add the charges.

[melmerby]

My recent experience, 2012, has seen smaller items in packets (padded envelopes) from the US and Australia, some of high value, which were handled by the post office, escape any extra charges. Similarly, large parcels, which have been handled by Parcelforce, have had 20% VAT added plus a handling charge which seems to be on a sliding scale dependent on item value. On both recent items this charge was in excess of £15:00.

 

I've found for a a while now that Parcleforce, who handle the larger items, always add the charges.

I believe Parcelforce (Royal Mail) have an agreement with HMRC to implement customs charges, where appropriate and hence VAT also. This can lead to anomalies such as I have mentioned before when some CDs (value £40) purchased by me from a UK seller (via Amazon) but sent from the US, incurred vat and customs charges plus the handling charge which made them quite a bit more expensive (£20 more) than the UK price. It's not as if they were being sold below the typical UK price either!

 

Edit: On the other hand I bought a couple of mp3 players from a UK seller (value £140) and they were sent direct from China and didn't incur any extra charges. I suppose it all depends on how the seller arranges the sale and whether they have paid the charges up front.

 

Keith

[Arthur]

I'm sure that you're right Keith. Doesn't surprise me that they've tightened things up. A few years back I'd say only one in ten items I ordered from abroad ever had any duties/tax slapped on them. Interesting that the smaller items delivered by the postman seem to slip through.

[DerekEm8]

I had two low value packages from the USA last year (1- $25 and the other just under $50) no duty on either but I was charged £13-50 for EACH of them by Parcelforce for them to get them from UK customs. So beware it ain't neccesarily cheap.

[Guest Natalie Graham]

They may levy VAT at 20% of the value declared on the customs declaration. If so, the Post Office will add £8.50 (i think) for collecting it!. You may escape; in my limited experience of buying from US and Canada sellers it seems a bit erratic whether HMRC charge for relatively small value items.

 

Not just small value items either. I had a hand-made item of jewellery, value in excess of £1500, sent from the US and although it was clearly marked with both description and value on the customs labels it just arrived through the post with no charges. That said it does seem that more things get caught now than used to be the case.

 

In the case of the OP's chassis that would attract 20% VAT plus the Royal Mail's handling charge if HMRC catch it on its way through. Even if it was subject to Customs duty, which it won't be, they waive this if it is less than £9. If it was worth less than £15 including postage (or a gift worth less than £40) then it should not attract any charges.

[£1.38]

I think these low value items from Plaza go by ordinary post, so Parcelforce is not involved. I have bought a number of chassis from them over the years without incurring a charge. High value items like complete locos and EMUs do arrive by Parcelforce, if I remember correctly.

[Andrew1974]

In terms of delievery in the UK it all depends on how the sender sends the item.

 

If sent by the state provider of mail services it will normally arrive via ParcelForce or Royal Mail, at one point (not sure if it is still the same) most incoming post was processed at the coventry processing centre where HMRC had permenant members of staff. Depending on how busy it was would depend on how many incoming parcels would be inspected (and therefore have VAT / Duty charged).

 

Other importers, such as DHL, UPS etc have their own processes and charges, and you never seem to get away with not paying the vat / duty.

 

Whilst you may 'get away' with not paying the VAT... it is still due and it is your egal responsibility to pay it, whether a postal carrier asks you for it or not, so you can't really complain if they do ask you for the money....well....you can complain, but I doubt many people will listen!

 

I (nearly) always buy from the UK, at least you know the total cost and it supports UK business.

 

Andrew

[mozzer models]

use this site to find out how much the customs chages Not just to the UK

 

http://www.dutycalculator.com/

[kintbury jon]

Many thanks everyone, I had hoped i'd wake up to one reply, but 11 really helpful replies is great!

 

I'd be happy to buy over here but have not seen this chassis available over here. I may well go for it, at the moment i'm waiting for the body to see whether the chassis and body will fit (it's an SNCF BB8100 electric).

[roundhouse]

I have had a small package of loco detailing bits worth £20.00 get slapped with VAT then £13.00 by the post office. This doubled the price of the items if they had been in stock by a trade over here so thye do sometines charge on low value small packages.

 

I have also had the opposite happen on large parcels of much higher value, so its very much hit and miss as to whether you will get a charge on a package from the USA.

 

I normally go on the basis that if its not in stock over here then I will order it over there rather than because of price.

 

Ian

[Guest]

Many thanks everyone, I had hoped i'd wake up to one reply, but 11 really helpful replies is great!

 

I'd be happy to buy over here but have not seen this chassis available over here. I may well go for it, at the moment i'm waiting for the body to see whether the chassis and body will fit (it's an SNCF BB8100 electric).

 

Try , as this is a chassis, to get the seller to mark it as 'spares', which drop through with no charges of any kind except inital postage.

[hollywoodfoundry]

Try , as this is a chassis, to get the seller to mark it as 'spares', which drop through with no charges of any kind except inital postage.

 

So you would ask the sender to falsify a customs declaration? Where I come from that could land you with a $200,000 fine. In these times of heightened airline security they don't take kindly to people making false declarations.

[Coldgunner]

Being someone who imports regularly, some of my goods requiring a legal declaration before it can go through. There is a threshold on item value in which VAT is not charged and your items will sail through. DO NOT falsify any documents as this will turn what was a molehill into a mountain.

 

If it goes via courier it will always be checked, if its via regular post, and its a small, low value item, you'll have no problems. Worst that will happen is you'll get charged £10-£15, its not the end of the world.

[Guest]

So you would ask the sender to falsify a customs declaration? Where I come from that could land you with a $200,000 fine. In these times of heightened airline security they don't take kindly to people making false declarations.

 

I haven't checked the item concerned here , but as it is described by the OP as a 'chassis' it can be correctly described as 'spares' or 'replacement parts'. Send a loco to the States for a DCC sound chip to be fitted , when its returned , its classed as 'repairs'......

[shortliner]

You could try Japan Model Railways in Germany - because it is in the EU you maywell skip the charge as duty will have been paid there. They were at Glasgow last year and may be again this year email is info@japanmodelrailways.com website www.japanmodelrailways.com

if you wamt a mail address or phone, PM me

[Talltim]

So you would ask the sender to falsify a customs declaration? Where I come from that could land you with a $200,000 fine. In these times of heightened airline security they don't take kindly to people making false declarations.

 

it is spares tho, so it isn't falsifying

 

On a seperate note, are you supposed to pay VAT on second hand items (in the UK)? If not why should you pay VAT on a secondhand item from abroad?

[Steven B]

I've never been stung for extra fees from that eBay seller (PlazaJapan). My last order from them (£60+) arrived within a week or clicking the "buy it now" button on eBay and in the UK was delivered by Parcel Force. I think the customs declaration was marked "Toy trains".

 

Perhaps I was lucky, or maybe UK customs/Parcel Force can't read Japanese (I don't think anything I've bought from a Japan/China based seller has attracted any fees unlike stuff from the USA).

 

 

Happy modelling.

 

Steven B

[petethemole]

Because VAT hasn't been paid on it previously, unlike s/h in UK? I got caught that way buying a rake of PC Models toplight coaches (made up and well-used) from e-bay Canada. I just hope that the original purchaser hadn't paid VAT in UK when buying them!

Pete

[Metr0Land]

One thing to be aware of when buying from abroad is the seller/shipper often pushes up the insured value for carriage, and this can be above the trigger point for attracting customs interest.

 

I had this happen with one US seller (not model railway items). Now if buying from abroad I make a point of asking the shipper to declare the insurance value as the sale price of the item, not some inflated value. ie not mis-declaring the value for customs which is an offence, simply making sure they don't have a disparity between value for customs, and insurance value.

 

Note also I think the Royal Mail/Parcelforce charge for presenting the item to customs is about to get quite a price hike? (Can't find the details at present).

[silverlink]

As others have said, sometimes you can be lucky & not have to pay anything but there again you can get stung & the item is no longer a bargain! I always add 25% to whatever I am looking at including the sellers postage & this way I get an idea of final cost. I think the Parcelforce/Royal Mail admin charges a total joke, they just keep moving the goal posts & making up whatever charge they want. As they say, their charges are for administration so why should they have a different charge for what you buy. The only difference from writing up a charge for something at £20 to something at £200 is one zero!!! I have been charged £8 for one delivery & the next delivery I get a charge of £13. Heaven help you if you don't pay up when that demand comes through your door as they then start adding to your bill on a daily basis.

silverlink

[ian]

On a seperate note, are you supposed to pay VAT on second hand items (in the UK)? If not why should you pay VAT on a secondhand item from abroad?

VAT applies to all sales except exempt items (food, books) and exempt sellers (basically people who sell less than £60,000 or so a year). Thus many secondhand sales from individuals and small traders don't qualify for VAT. Sales from larger retailers do.