Beware - import tax!

Money-Saving-King

Scarpacci wrote: »

To clarify, the £15 threshold does only relate to the merchandise - not the shipping. It's only when this threshold is crossed that the merchandise and shipping fees (& insurance, etc.) are then considered.

So a £14.99 item with £10 shipping would not be subject to customs charges, while a £15.00 item with £10 shipping would be charged VAT on the full £25. This is, as mentioned above, dependent on the customs form being filled in correctly - with the values listed in the correct categories. Of course, as also mentioned above, this is moot for items coming from within the EU.

No it includes postage however the customs form was filled out.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P138_10750

"The percentage varies depending on the type of goods and their country of origin. Duty is charged on:

the price paid for the goods, plus
any local sales taxes, plus
postage, packing and insurance

The value of the goods for import VAT is based on the:

basic value of goods, plus
postage, packing and insurance, plus
any import (Customs or Excise) duties charged"

Scarpacci

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

No it includes postage however the customs form was filled out.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P138_10750

"The percentage varies depending on the type of goods and their country of origin. Duty is charged on:

the price paid for the goods, plus
any local sales taxes, plus
postage, packing and insurance

The value of the goods for import VAT is based on the:

basic value of goods, plus
postage, packing and insurance, plus
any import (Customs or Excise) duties charged"

Yes, VAT and duties are charged on the total price - including shipping - but my point is that shipping is not included when determining whether a consignment is liable for import VAT to be charged. The £15 threshold relates solely to the value of the goods.

Relief from import VAT on commercial consignments, excluding alcohol, tobacco, perfumes and toilet waters, with a value below £15 - The Value Added Tax (Imported Goods) Relief Order 1984:746, Schedule 2, Group 8 item 8 provides relief from import VAT on consignments of goods not exceeding £15 in value.

Money-Saving-King

Scarpacci wrote: »

Yes, VAT and duties are charged on the total price - including shipping - but my point is that shipping is not included when determining whether a consignment is liable for import VAT to be charged. The £15 threshold relates solely to the value of the goods.

Yes then 3 paragraphs below it says:

"Inclusion of postage charges in customs value - Article 165 of EC Regulation (EEC) 2454/93 requires all postal charges levied up to the place of destination in respect of goods sent by post to be included in the customs value of the goods."

APennySaved

What a palaver re ascertaining what the £15 threshold is . . .

I am impressed that you guys&gals have worked out the key data from all that legalese. :T

Ha-ha! I am reminded why I myself gave up on the myriad of webpages about tax, duties, etc. etc. at the .gov.uk website!

IMHO, I think the govt website would do well to ascribe to the Plain English Campaign (www.plainenglish.co.uk/: "Plain English Campaign is an independent group fighting for plain English in public communication. We oppose gobbledygook, jargon and legalese.").

I mean, I know they need to cite all the legal facts, but still . . . !