steve1 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I have just had a 1/25 scale car kit delivered from a US supplier and, although, I was expecting to get stung for customs duty, there wasn't any! This seems odd as every time I have had any model railway equipment from the US, the customs duty has been painful. Was I just lucky, or are the rules different for car kits? Or could be something to do with cost, the kit was less than 19 dollars? steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 It's not import or customs duty, it's VAT. One thing to remember for the future is that if you do get charged for the VAT it's for the item value plus the postage cost. Thus something that might seem like it will fall below the limit may be pushed above by the postage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 It seems a bit cheeky to charge VAT on the postage! steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Yes, very Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted December 3, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 3, 2014 It seems a bit cheeky to charge VAT on the postage! steve No change there. I find France is more liberal than the UK, with anything lower than $100 being left alone, and a few above that have crept through. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 No change there. I find France is more liberal than the UK, with anything lower than $100 being left alone, and a few above that have crept through. Fortunately the US is reasonably liberal about such things. I believe the 'personal use' limit is $200.00 in the US but they don't seem to check. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianusa Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Agree with Ozex, I have never paid any duty on items bought in and shipped from the UK and there's been a few expensive items over the years. My only experience with the UK has been a nightmare. I sent a Hornby engine to be repaired by a well known repair guy and before customs would let it go, they wanted all sorts of money presumably VAT and tax. He doesn't have CC or PP so fortunately I have relatives who had to send him a cheque. The declaration was clearly marked 'for repair and return to the US' but was either ignored or not seen. Is there any way this kind of thing can be avoided; any special forms, etc? Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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