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Being charged Duty charges (should I not be?)
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You say the order was £106. But what did the invoice say? You will also need to add the shipping charges too. If you do that you might get sloser to the figure.
At first glance though it does sound a lot.0 -
Shipping charges are included in the calaculation for the duty etc0
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Ok, the original invoice that FedEX saw shows $202 USD (which is over £118) hence why I think they charged the Duty. Yet, I actually only paid £106 for my total order because the retailer calculated it wrong. If I explain to FedEX about the incorrect amount, they should reduce the VAT, and REMOVE the duty charge altogether correct? Even if duty includes postage costs, I've already paid that when I placed my order at the retailer. Or have I got this all wrong?0
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I don't know if Fedex will refund the duty charges but I doubt they would do this without having a copy of the amended invoice. After all, they have calculated the cost according to the documentation they received from the retailer so they weren't to know it was wrong. Have you contacted them and offered to send them a copy of the correct invoice?
Your duty and VAT is calculated on the goods+carriage charges so if you order goods for £115 and the carriage is £10 then the calculations will be made on £125.0 -
Ivory_Tinkler wrote: »I don't know if Fedex will refund the duty charges but I doubt they would do this without having a copy of the amended invoice. After all, they have calculated the cost according to the documentation they received from the retailer so they weren't to know it was wrong. Have you contacted them and offered to send them a copy of the correct invoice?
Your duty and VAT is calculated on the goods+carriage charges so if you order goods for £115 and the carriage is £10 then the calculations will be made on £125.
Yes, I have contacted them via email but heard nothing back, I may have to phone them. I have the original and modified invoice which I said in the email I can provide them.
Is the £118 duty limit included with VAT? or is VAT separate? because my item comes to £107 total but if VAT is involved, it's going to go beyond the £118 limit.
I will keep you all updated with what happens.0 -
You will need to check what % the duty would be if payable. This page should help you with that (having said that on most things duties are only a few %).
You will need to go through this with a fine toothcomb. The invoice is really the only relevant thing (you can always argue that later with Customs if you wish)
How to calculate:-
Invoice + P&P Charge = Total amount liable to duty
This figure is then liable to VAT
You will then have a clearance fee to pay for the courier acting as your agent.
Personally I have always felt that couriers think of a number and double it and I normally try and get one off items sent USPS.
I bought a pram in the US for the wee one for $200, P&P was $100 but the seller added the P&P to the invoice. Thus invoice stated a total of $300 and when it arrived HMRC added the postage again and I was taxed on a total of $400. Sound familiar?
Have a look here gfor guidance:-
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P33_25480 -
FedEx have no idea if the invoice amount is wrong or not! They can only go by the documents presented with the goods, so if it said the goods value was $202 then that's what they used in their calculations for what they needed to pay HMRC on your behalf. It's the shipper/sellers fault, not FedEx!0
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I'd be tempted to refuse to pay, and let them huff and puff.
They'll most likely just go away......0 -
Thanks Hintza, if duty is invoice + postage (postage is actually quoted in the invoice) then I am under the £118 or £120 limit, hence I am free from duty charges. Yes, I understand it is the retailers fault and not FedEX but I still need to nortify them. The retailer stated to me recently that they were under federal law to enclose the ORIGINAL invoice, this has caused me a lot of problems. I rang FedEX today and the woman asked me to email them which I already did, she then asked for my invoice number which I gave and I was told they are still reviewing it.
People, I already have the item I ordered, I received it one week BEFORE I knew or received anything about a VAT and duty charge. If I was told about this charge before I was given the parcel, I would have refused it. This is not fair, FedEX shows no transparency, I was forced to accept it without knowing all the facts/issues. If I am correct, the VAT should be reduced reflecting the correct invoice amount and the duty dropped altogether.0 -
Hmm it's a difficult one.
Duty must be collected on goods imported into the EU if the amount of duty due is over €10. Last year, the rules changed, for postal imports only, in that duty would only be due on imports valued at over €150
http://http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_PublicNoticesAndInfoSheets&propertyType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_PROD1_028770
You would normally be charged duty based on the price paid for the goods, which would include the invoice price, postage/delivery charges etc. You would then be charged VAT on the total cost of goods plus duty.
Fedex (and customs) can only go by the amounts shown in the invoice, and companies have to show the true value for customs purposes on the invoice, regardless of what you've paid. Even goods sent free of charge must show a customs value.
It sounds like something you may need to take up with the retailer - it may be possible for them to send Fedex the revised invoice and then have the entry amended.0
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