Import fees from USA.

doom

Hi all,
I was thinking about buying some shoes from USA, and does anyone know if any customs duties etc are payable on items like this. I will probably not pay any more than £20.00 GBP.

Has anyone reading this bought any shoes from 'gothamcityonline' ??

Any help appreciated...:beer:

cranhill

Hi, Taxes will be added if the item including shipping comes to over £18.00 GBP. You will then pay a total of tax of around 25%. However, you may be lucky and and not pay anything at all, it's all down to luck.

nightswimmer

doom wrote:

Hi all,
I was thinking about buying some shoes from USA, and does anyone know if any customs duties etc are payable on items like this. I will probably not pay any more than £20.00 GBP.

You can buy thing up to a value of £18 without the need to pay any duties. The HMRC sets it's own exchange rate though, so if buying in the future you need to check their site (HERE) as it changes monthly. Currently £18 is the equivalent of $35.48.

You can find out more info on Customs Duty and VAT here

I believe I'm right in saying, on something costing £20 you will only have to pay VAT plus a handling charge which can be anything from £4 or more depending on the postal carrier.

ormus

ive bought many items from the usa. never once had any problems with the customs.
try and get the vendor to mark the item as a gift.

you would be very unlucky to get a pull from the excise men!

nightswimmer

ormus wrote:

try and get the vendor to mark the item as a gift.

Whilst this is often done, it is actually illegal and something that shouldn't really be advised on these boards (see 5th sticky down), however well intentioned.

It should also be noted that you still have to pay tax on gifts if they have a value greater than £36.

BexTech

cranhill wrote:

Hi, Taxes will be added if the item including shipping comes to over £18.00 GBP. You will then pay a total of tax of around 25%. However, you may be lucky and and not pay anything at all, it's all down to luck.

If the item itself excluding P&P is under £18, you don't pay duty. That means the item can be £17.99 and the P&P £5 for example and you still won't pay duty.

If the item is over £18 then you will pay VAT not only on the item but also the P&P, and could be liable to duty.

You will be charged:

* Customs duty - if the amount of duty is £7 and over and
* Import VAT - if the value of the goods is £18 and over.

BexTech

nightswimmer wrote:

Whilst this is often done, it is actually illegal and something that shouldn't really be advised on these boards (see 5th sticky down), however well intentioned.

It should also be noted that you still have to pay tax on gifts if they have a value greater than £36.

Indeed.

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

Note: Some unscrupulous overseas suppliers openly advertise on the internet, or on their web-sites that they will deliberately either mis-describe items or under declare their value in order to evade customs charges that are legally due on importation. You should be aware that although the foreign sender may have completed the customs declaration form on the parcel you are regarded (in law) as the importer of the goods and responsible for the information on the declaration, and any customs charges that may be due. This means that if you purchase goods from these suppliers and the declaration is found to be false or misleading you may be liable to financial penalties or criminal prosecution. Furthermore the goods themselves will be liable to forfeiture. It is in your own interests to ensure Customs declarations are completed properly.