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Being charged Duty charges (should I not be?)

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gohan2091
gohan2091 Posts: 301 Forumite
edited 29 August 2009 at 6:13PM in Consumer rights
I am in an ongoing dispute with FedEX over a letter I received from them 1 week after my order from American arrived at my home in the UK. Basically they are charging me £44 tax (Duty, VAT and Admin fee) for my £106 order. The problem is, the invoice they taxed me on is for the wrong amount (overcharged by $47 USD). Anyway this thread is specifically about the duty charges, not the incorrect invoice. I contacted HM Revenue & Customs about this Duty charge of £15.96, asking if I am right to receive this charge. This is part of their response:

I would like to explain that all goods both new and second hand, private or commercial, sent from outside the European Community are liable to Customs Duty and VAT. Customs Duty will not be charged for goods with a value of less than £120 and VAT will not be charged for goods with a value of £18 or less.

Duty is charged as a percentage of the value of the goods. The percentage varies depending on the type of goods and the country of origin. Duty is charged on the price paid for the goods including any Local Sales Tax plus postage, package and insurance costs. Customs duty is waived if the amount of duty is less than £7.


First they say and I quote "Customs Duty will not be charged for goods with a value of less than £120" then they say and I quote "Customs duty is waived if the amount of duty is less than £7"... don't these 2 statements contradict each other?. My order came to under £120, so am I right in saying I was charged duty when I shouldn't have been?

I replied back to them 4 days ago and have not received a response yet. Also, I emailed FedEX well over 2 weeks ago and have heard nothing back...
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Comments

  • depends how much the handling fee is, it should be about £25 duty (including handling fee) if royal mail deliver, im not sure how much fedex charge but parcelforce is about 13 quid, so it could easily be that.
  • gohan2091
    gohan2091 Posts: 301 Forumite
    So the duty fee is the handling fee? Isn't the handling fee the admin charges? If HM Revenue & Customs said duty should not be charged for goods under £120, is it still ok for me to be charged?
  • gohan2091 wrote: »
    So the duty fee is the handling fee? Isn't the handling fee the admin charges? If HM Revenue & Customs said duty should not be charged for goods under £120, is it still ok for me to be charged?

    the limit is about £28 (if it costs less it should get through) cant see why they would say £120.

    i expect it when buying anything expensive from abroad, standard practice to pay import tax and a handling fee to the courier that delivers.
  • deanos
    deanos Posts: 11,241 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Uniform Washer
    The import duty has been changed, its now £118 limit

    http://www.lyris-lite.net/2008/04/uk_people_our_import_troubles.html
  • lr1277
    lr1277 Posts: 2,137 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I think the £15.96 is the 15% vat on the £106. From the Revenue & Customs reply, there are two possible charges on importing goods; VAT and Customs duty. The vat is applied on goods more than £18 and the customs duty is applied on goods more than £118.

    So if you had imported something for £200 say, there would be VAT of £30 plus whatever the customs duty is on £200.

    HTH
  • deanos
    deanos Posts: 11,241 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Uniform Washer
    And you add charges onto the postage cost as they have to be incuded in the total
  • gohan2091
    gohan2091 Posts: 301 Forumite
    If the limit for duty is £118 and my order came to £107, I should not be charged duty? I don't think it's VAT, I've already been quoted that separately underneath the duty charge. Also, I already paid the postage costs to the retailer when I checked out.

    So I am not understanding if I should be charged duty or not, I believe I should not be. Admin charges yes, VAT yes, postage costs (already paid) but duty no?
  • deanos
    deanos Posts: 11,241 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Uniform Washer
    gohan2091 wrote: »
    If the limit for duty is £118 and my order came to £107, I should not be charged duty? I don't think it's VAT, I've already been quoted that separately underneath the duty charge. Also, I already paid the postage costs to the retailer when I checked out.

    So I am not understanding if I should be charged duty or not, I believe I should not be. Admin charges yes, VAT yes, postage costs (already paid) but duty no?


    You still pay VAT on the delivery costs as its over £18
  • gohan2091
    gohan2091 Posts: 301 Forumite
    deanos wrote: »
    You still pay VAT on the delivery costs as its over £18

    But wouldn't the VAT for delivery be classed under the amount for VAT? Why would it be under the duty charge? Sorry for the maybe dumb question, I am new to all this.
  • deanos
    deanos Posts: 11,241 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Uniform Washer
    Sorry i dont know,
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