buying from usa on internet

felix65

what are u entitled to before paying duty?
also does kids stuff have duty on it ?

plus any other info i need to know

Mrs_pbradley936

The best place to check is with the Customs because it all depends on what you are buying. There is an international shopping site that lists US stores willing to ship abroad but sometimes shipping and duty mean that it is not worthwhile. Catching a flight with an empty suitcase is ofetn a better way.
If the items are for you just wear them and/or take the labels off then you cannot be accused of bringing things in for resale - they will be your own personal effects.

Cook_County

Taking labels off to evade customs duty & UK VAT sounds like tax evasion to me - which is of course a criminal offence & potentially imprisonable. No-one reading this site should do so or they may find the Customs & police will start paying far too much attention to them.

The current limit is for goods carried in personally is £145 - altthough Gordon Brown has said frequently he wants this increased.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD_010220&propertyType=document

For internet shoppers:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&propertyType=document&resetCT=true&id=HMCE_CL_001454

bengal-stripe

The threshold for custom charges (on items being sent through mail or courier) is GBP18.00 and £36.00 for gifts. If the value is above that level, customs and VAT charges kick in (for the entire value, not only the excess). I believe children’s clothes are VAT exempt, don’t know about toys.

Good introduction:
http://www.sloanefox.freeserve.co.uk/importukduty.htm

Dazza.mk_2

Children's clothes are VAT Exempt, but the line between kid's & adults is a grey area.

All in all if you go over the duty free allowance you will probably be liable for VAT / Duty and a Fee from the carrier for clearing the goods through customs and collecting the Duty/VAT from you.

Depends on the item, but as a ballpark figure you'll probably be paying approx 25% extra in Duty / VAT

telly-addict

You can be charged excise duty on children's clothes even though there is no VAT. However I have bought a number of things from Gymboree in USA and didn't have to pay any duty.