parcel force clearance fee

System

RFW wrote: »

That's how it works. Different countries have different levels of what is accepted as "a gift" it's usually a relatively small amount. If it wasn't it would be open to even more abuse.

here's the thing though, I don't think that is how it works. from everything I have seen, it has become increasingly clear that the tax is due on the items, not the person receiving them. The language in all the information I have received from parcel force supports that stance. It's not even as if it changes anything materially. parcel force still gets their charge, hmrc still get their vat, I'm not even challenging that.

I am mainly looking at this from the point of view, if somebody buys a gift for me from a uk store, they pay vat on it. if they buy something from overseas, they may pay vat on it if it is intercepted by customs. It makes sense and is just that somebody who buys something will pay the vat on it. If that person is overseas at the time, then they send the parcel, then the vat is still due. it's their purchase, so it's their vat. If they buy a thing from overseas, for themselves, and I am the only one at home to sign for it so they put my name on it, It's still their vat bill because it's their purchase.

d123

tremault wrote: »

here's the thing though, I don't think that is how it works. from everything I have seen, it has become increasingly clear that the tax is due on the items, not the person receiving them. The language in all the information I have received from parcel force supports that stance. It's not even as if it changes anything materially. parcel force still gets their charge, hmrc still get their vat, I'm not even challenging that.

I am mainly looking at this from the point of view, if somebody buys a gift for me from a uk store, they pay vat on it. if they buy something from overseas, they may pay vat on it if it is intercepted by customs. It makes sense and is just that somebody who buys something will pay the vat on it. If that person is overseas at the time, then they send the parcel, then the vat is still due. it's their purchase, so it's their vat. If they buy a thing from overseas, for themselves, and I am the only one at home to sign for it so they put my name on it, It's still their vat bill because it's their purchase.

You really need to calm down and start thinking a bit more rationally.

Yes, you are responsible for any import vat or duty, and yes, under UK law you are considered the importer for any item posted or couriered to you from abroad.

Here’s a few easy to understand government web site pages.

Anything posted or couriered to you goes through customs to check it isn’t banned or restricted and you pay the right tax and ‘duty’ (customs charges) on it.

This includes anything new or used that you:

buy online
buy abroad and send back to the UK
receive as a gift

Your responsibilities
You may have to pay VAT, Customs Duty or Excise Duty on goods sent from outside the European Union (EU) before you can collect them.

You don’t pay VAT or Customs Duty when your things are sent back to you – they must be described as ‘personal belongings’ on the customs declaration.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad

Tax and duty

You’ll be contacted by Royal Mail, Parcelforce or the courier company explaining how to pay any VAT, duty and fees for dealing with customs.

They’ll normally hold your parcel for about 3 weeks. If you haven’t paid the fee by then, it’ll be sent back.

VAT
You pay VAT on goods sent from non-European Union (EU) countries and EU special territories (eg the Canary Islands) if they’re:

gifts worth more than £39
other goods worth more than £15
alcohol, tobacco products and fragrances (eg perfume, eau de toilette and cologne) of any value

You have to pay VAT on all goods sent by mail order from the Channel Islands no matter what their value.

You’ll be charged at the VAT rate that applies to your goods. VAT is charged on the total value, including:

the price paid for the goods
postage, packaging and insurance
any duty you owe
Customs Duty
You’ll be charged Customs Duty on gifts and other goods sent from outside the EU if they’re above a certain value.

The value includes:

the price paid for the goods
postage, packaging and insurance

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty



And to show you the sender is not the importer

Documents

Check that goods sent to you from outside the European Union (EU) are declared to customs correctly.

If they’re not declared correctly, your goods may be seized.

You must either:

check that the sender fills in the customs declaration form correctly
fill in the customs declaration yourself - this can delay getting your goods by at least 4 weeks

Filling in the customs declaration yourself
The sender must write ‘goods to be declared by importer’ on the customs declaration form.

Before you can collect your goods, you’ll be sent:

a full customs declaration form to fill in
a letter explaining how to pay any tax or duty you owe

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/documents

System

your first page says "You may have to pay VAT"



second page also says "They’ll normally hold your parcel for about 3 weeks. If you haven’t paid the fee by then, it’ll be sent back."
since the parcel was not mine until I accepted it, they are not referring to me with that page.



The third page says "If they’re not declared correctly, your goods may be seized." which indicates that this page refers to people who have bought goods because a purchase causes transfer of ownership.

let me say this much. if you believe that page says you personally are legally obligated to pay vat on gifts given to you, then you ought to be outraged. if people think this then i am shocked that people accept this. because that concept is absolutely disgusting.


edit:

it should be noted, that website is not the law. it is an advisory, just like the highway code.

System

actually I noticed something very interesting here ..

You pay VAT on goods sent from non-European Union (EU) countries and EU special territories (eg the Canary Islands) if they’re:

• gifts worth more than £39

this says you pay vat on goods sent from, it does not say you pay vat on goods received from. this is quite important.


also important to note the definition of 'goods' .

items held for sale in the regular course of business, as in a retail store.

which means the section that refers to goods, it clearly talking about purchases, and not about gifts.

d123

tremault wrote: »

actually I noticed something very interesting here ..

this says you pay vat on goods sent from, it does not say you pay vat on goods received from. this is quite important.

Mangling English doesn’t help you, the goods were sent to you by the sender.

tremault wrote: »

also important to note the definition of 'goods' .
which means the section that refers to goods, it clearly talking about purchases, and not about gifts.

You can’t make up definitions to suit yourself.

goods
/ɡʊdz/
noun

merchandise or possessions.

System

Actually I used the legal definition. In law, the legal definition is a bit more applicable.

System

d123 wrote: »

Mangling English doesn’t help you, the goods were sent to you by the sender.

I mangled nothing. When the word sent is used its referring to the act of sending something. It is specifically pointing out that it is the act of sending the goods that incurs the vat.
If receiving an item incurred vat, it would specifically say "you pay vat on goods you receive from non eu countries."

d123

tremault wrote: »

Actually I used the legal definition. In law, the legal definition is a bit more applicable.

The US definition from “The People’s Law Dictionary” by Gerald Hill , which has no standing in the UK.

So completely not applicable...

d123

tremault wrote: »

I mangled nothing. When the word sent is used its referring to the act of sending something. It is specifically pointing out that it is the act of sending the goods that incurs the vat.
If receiving an item incurred vat, it would specifically say "you pay vat on goods you receive from non eu countries."

The .gov.uk pages are simplified explanations of the UK law to a sufficient level for most people to understand, I’m sorry that doesn’t include you.

The goods were sent to you, that’s just plain easy primary school English comprehension.

System

It's applicable.