Import Duty

sale_2

Hi all,

am i suppose to pay tax on items purchased from overseas. what's the limit? and where can i find the details. the customs dept. web site speaks about spirit/perfume etc.

i wanna buy a laptop from US since i am going on holidays. do i need to pay Tax and is it worth?

cheers......

jiblets1

I've been trying to find out about import duty too - for clothes from US.

The government website is impossible to decipher!!!!

susank

I have just bought a duvet (pure wool) from New Zealand - purchased on 7/8/06 dispatched on 8/8/06 and arrived last Tuesday - would you believe I am waiting for a british company for something else since 8/8/06!!!!! The parcel came in via customs who held it for 6 days and then I had a letter from Parcelforce to say it was £11.51 VAT to pay and parcel force paper shuffle charge of £8.00. This was not too bad but look up customs and excise site to see what purchases attract import duties.

Edit ]
The vat is payable on the purchase price stated on the parcel from the company sending it - mine stated it was a gift and slightly less than the purchase price !!! if you know what I mean

slowen

sale wrote:

Hi all,

am i suppose to pay tax on items purchased from overseas. what's the limit? and where can i find the details. the customs dept. web site speaks about spirit/perfume etc.

i wanna buy a laptop from US since i am going on holidays. do i need to pay Tax and is it worth?

cheers......

If purchasing while on holiday you could just get rid of all the packaging and say you took it over with you so they wont try and charge tax on the item

If you look on the customs & excise website where it says about tobacco etc it should also say how much in "goods" you are allowed. For example Tenerife and places outside the EU you are allowed £150 worth of goods before they can tax you on the items.

slowen

slowen wrote:

If purchasing while on holiday you could just get rid of all the packaging and say you took it over with you so they wont try and charge tax on the item

If you look on the customs & excise website where it says about tobacco etc it should also say how much in "goods" you are allowed. For example Tenerife and places outside the EU you are allowed £150 worth of goods before they can tax you on the items.

Edit - If an item is marked under the "real" or item is stamped as £gift" customs CAN still charge you duty on the goods if they feel any information is false and it is the buyer/receiver who will bear the duty prices

phatbear

your duty free allowance is £145 per person from any non-eu country, however this amount can not be rolled into a larger amount for groups, ie 4 in the family can not purchase one item for say £570 tax free.

Alas if i was at work I could check the tarrif for the duty on a laptop, however if you would like to give our folks a ring at the national advice line 0845 010 9000 they can let you know the duty rate on any item.

As far as marking goods as gifts, my experience in freight exams makes me very aware of whats a gift and whats not, of course you pays your money and takes your chances, if it stopped at the border then it can take quite some time to sort the issue out, therefore slowing the import situation down to a crawl.

Im not judging but as im sure your all aware it is illegal to be knowingly concerned with an attempt to evade tax and duty at the appropriate rate, which can, lead to the goods being seized and of course the potential of you getting any of your money back is non-exsistant.

all the best

the bear

susank

My purchase of a duvet was actually a gift anyway - was given the money and used it to buy this and I paid the tax on the price of the thing - its up to the shop to add their selling percentage to goods.
I willingly paid my duty as I thought it was a bargain anyway - could not get in this country the quality that I have and the customs can look at the website as I could and see what it cost. No tax evasion was envisioned at my end.

martindow

Customs and Excise has info here
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_001454&propertyType=document

Anything bought that is valued over 18 pounds is liable for duty and VAT. VAT is charged on the value of the goods and on the carriage cost. Duty varies according to what is being imported and where it has arrived from. You should reckon on paying about 20 per cent extra. If it gets through with less consider it a bonus. Carriers also charge a fee for customs clearance - typically around 10 pounds.

Sometimes things get delivered with no charge at all being taken even when they are clearly declared. I have found that if it is sent with the USPS (which often gets delivered by Parcel Force) you often seem to avoid payment. Carriers like Fedex always charge you.

This applies to things ordered and delivered. As other posters have said, bringing things back yourself has different rules.

sale_2

thanks for the advise.

as i said i am getting things myself and i expect a duty of around 20% (to be on the safer side). i will have to chk with the national advise centre for details as nowhere the exact information is given.

will let u all know what they have to say.