requesting an import declaration form from seller abroad

eskimo26

First of all its not any kind of goods where i will need consumer protection and it's not something that i can afford to buy in the uk.

So i remember reading a post on here somewhere that you can avoid the post office 'handling fees' by requesting a form from the seller and basically doing the paper work to declare everything yourself.

In essence dealing with the relevant Government department yourself i think.

How viable is this and what's involved pls?

bris

Far to complicated for a novice, let the courier co deal with it.

Not only do you have to fill in the paperwork correctly but you still have to clear customs and then arrange delivery or collect it from the customs depot. The P.O charge a relatively low fee to do this and you still have customs charges anyway so why bother with all that hassle for 8 quid.

System

Is it really cheaper after paying import tax & VAT?

paddyrg

If only there was a service I could use that would do the clearance, handle the documentation, and the onward transit at a single, fixed low cost. Under a tenner, say. Better still, £8. ;-)

I suspect once you get into it, you'll wish you hadn't, but you could start with http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/tax-and-duty.htm

Have fun!

Money-Saving-King

I did wonder this as well after ordering something from Amazon.com that you can't get in the UK and having it sent over via shipito as Amazon.com won't deliver to the UK. The item was about £16 in value so just went over the VAT limit so I was wondering if I could have sorted it myself to save the £8.

Now seeing that I would have to arrange collection from a customs department the £8 seems good value now!

eskimo26

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

I did wonder this as well after ordering something from Amazon.com that you can't get in the UK and having it sent over via shipito as Amazon.com won't deliver to the UK. The item was about £16 in value so just went over the VAT limit so I was wondering if I could have sorted it myself to save the £8.

Now seeing that I would have to arrange collection from a customs department the £8 seems good value now!

Don't quote me on this but i believe Amazon have a shipping method where they estimate customs charges and add it to your bill to pay off customs on your behalf which i think avoids the handling fees from the carrier.

You'd have to look into it yourself.

Hintza

OP are going to travel to Harwich (or wherever) to sort it out or collect, if not you will then need to employ another courier.

So unless you are bringing in say a container let the guys who know what they are dong and more importantly have the logistics in place deal with it.

mattyprice4004

I vote do it, work out the total cost against the £8 fee, and then we can use this thread as an example next time someone whinges about the fee.

Plus point of clearing it yourself - day out to the port, save £8! Woo.
Bad point of clearing it yourself - £xx of fuel, day lost, hassle of paperwork

Your call...