Importing from Non EU Countries. Duty and VAT Demand

56cheffy

Apologies because this is probably posted in the wrong place.
In MAY I received a parcel from Thailand.
It was a gift of clothing (5 items) with a value of less than £100.
It is obvious from the Customs Debit note that is it clothing but values each item differently. even though they are exactly the same.
The parcel was delivered by DHL
Today I received an invoice for Duty and VAT to the value of £596.05!
This was made up of Duty £182.72 (12%)
VAT £398.79 (20%)
Other costs £14.54
If I had known that there was this ludicrous amount of money to pay then I would have refused to take delivery back in May.
There is a NOTE on the back of the invoice: 
REJECTED IMPORTS
If you need to return your goods you must contact HMRC beforehand. Failure to do so may result in these charges being irrecoverable.
The VAT alone seems ridiculous. £398.79 would indicate the value to be close to £2000!
I thought that I would have been informed of this cost prior to taking delivery.
The way I see it is that DHL have spent the best part of £600 without my permission.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

powerful_Rogue

What value was on the customs declaration?

Options - Either pay, or return the goods, making sure you notify HMRC beforehand.

56cheffy

powerful_Rogue said:

What value was on the customs declaration?

Options - Either pay, or return the goods, making sure you notify HMRC beforehand.

All I have is a Customs Debit Note!
Should DHL have informed me of this cost before I took delivery and not 3 months later?

Aylesbury_Duck

56cheffy said:

Apologies because this is probably posted in the wrong place.
In MAY I received a parcel from Thailand.
It was a gift of clothing (5 items) with a value of less than £100.
It is obvious from the Customs Debit note that is it clothing but values each item differently. even though they are exactly the same.
The parcel was delivered by DHL
Today I received an invoice for Duty and VAT to the value of £596.05!
This was made up of Duty £182.72 (12%)
VAT £398.79 (20%)
Other costs £14.54
If I had known that there was this ludicrous amount of money to pay then I would have refused to take delivery back in May.
There is a NOTE on the back of the invoice: 
REJECTED IMPORTS
If you need to return your goods you must contact HMRC beforehand. Failure to do so may result in these charges being irrecoverable.
The VAT alone seems ridiculous. £398.79 would indicate the value to be close to £2000!
I thought that I would have been informed of this cost prior to taking delivery.
The way I see it is that DHL have spent the best part of £600 without my permission.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, as I understand it, import duty is your responsibility and there isn't an obligation on the courier to notify you of the cost beforehand.  That's what I've learned from many, many threads on the subject on here.  It's not a case of DHL spending £600 without your permission.  They aren't an import duty determining service, simply a courier.  They don't have a massive warehouse where they hold parcels until the duty amount is established and then contact the recipient for their instructions.  HMRC charge them and they pass that onto you.

I believe you can report an apparently incorrect calculation, though.

Spank

Who set the values DHL or HMRC?

DCFC79

OP why did you not research possible costs when importing.

powerful_Rogue

56cheffy said:

powerful_Rogue said:

What value was on the customs declaration?

Options - Either pay, or return the goods, making sure you notify HMRC beforehand.

All I have is a Customs Debit Note!
Should DHL have informed me of this cost before I took delivery and not 3 months later?

On the front of the package would be a CN22 which would declare the goods and their value.

The onus is on you as the importer.

DCFC79

Spank said:

Who set the values DHL or HMRC?

I would say HMRC set the values, whether the couriers add any extra or not is up to the couriers.

noitsnotme

I wonder if the figures on the customs declaration were in Thai Baht but DHL/HMRC have taken them as either USD or GBP.
2000 Baht is approx £50 which is more like the value the op says the clothes are.

theoretica

When you receive a parcel from abroad it has a sticker on it with the value filled in by the sender.  I see a number of possibilities.  The sender could have messed up - for instance written the wrong currency.  Somewhere between sender and customs there could have been a misreading eg 20.00 becoming 2000. DHL could have messed up and sent you the bill for the wrong parcel.    I don't suppose you still have the parcel wrappings and the vital sticker?

This page says you can apply to have HMRC errors corrected - but not how! https://www.gov.uk/guidance/refunds-and-waivers-on-customs-debt#content

56cheffy

noitsnotme said:

I wonder if the figures on the customs declaration were in Thai Baht but DHL/HMRC have taken them as either USD or GBP.
2000 Baht is approx £50 which is more like the value the op says the clothes are.

That is exactly what I think!