EU-UK Import Tax Ding-dong?

Dobearspoopinthewoods

This is for a friend. 
They purchased goods on ebay via paypal to the value of £505.60 from Poland, having spent around £150 with same company about six weeks ago.
Message today from DHL is that my friend needs to pay £112.12 in Custom`s clearance charges....supposedly before DHL deliver the parcel next Mon.
Friend has since read the ultra small print on the listing with a magnifying glass re possibility of Customs charges. I seem to remember this disclaimer being attached to every listing to cover ebay`s back. Bit different to private sellers putting their `small print` in large bold red.
Any ideas good people of MSE-land, to help them avoid ending up with a loss....so that excludes replies such as  `they should just pay up` 
Thank you

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

VAT is due on all imports from outside the UK, for under £135 eBay is bound to collect this and it is part of the BIN price.

For over £135 it’s payable upon import.

VAT on £505 is £101 so the rest is the fee the courier charges for handling the import. 

Unfortunately it is a case of paying as there isn’t another option.

Spoonie_Turtle

It seems for that money they've got off fairly lightly with little to no customs duty to pay on top of the import VAT.  Their only options are to pay it or refuse the item and just hope they get a refund, possibly minus the shipping cost.  They should check the terms of the listing if they consider the latter though, as I've seen some companies explicitly say they won't refund if it's refused on the basis of customs charges.

RFW

Dobearspoopinthewoods said:

This is for a friend.
Any ideas good people of MSE-land, to help them avoid ending up with a loss....so that excludes replies such as  `they should just pay up` 
Thank you

There are only two choices, pay up or don't pay up.

After paying they can dispute the charges with HMRC and/or the courier. That won't get them anywhere but it is an option. The seller doesn't appear to have done anything wrong.
Hopefully they voted for Brexit so they can blame themselves

martindow

If the Polish seller is VAT registered, they should be sending without charging local VAT in which case the goods will be sold at a lower price than to someone in the EU.  Inf so, the cost after paying UK VAT should not be very different from how it would have been in 2020 apart from the clearance fee and delay while it clears customs. 

If they are not VAT registered UK buyers lose out.  One of the joys of brexit, but at least £350 million is going to the NHS ...

Dobearspoopinthewoods

Thanks everyone, I`ve passed the info on and they`ll no longer deal with the EU.

theonlywayisup

Dobearspoopinthewoods said:

Thanks everyone, I`ve passed the info on and they`ll no longer deal with the EU.

A wise decision all round! 

RFW

Dobearspoopinthewoods said:

Thanks everyone, I`ve passed the info on and they`ll no longer deal with the EU.

I do know what you mean, but just in case others might not, it isn't a charge that's exclusive to the EU. It happens with any import. In simple terms, prior to Brexit there was no charge levied for items imported from EU countries.

KxMx

And the EU are abolishing it (low value relief) themselves within 2 months.
We just did it sooner as a result of Brexit.

Spoonie_Turtle

KxMx said:

And the EU are abolishing it (low value relief) themselves within 2 months.
We just did it sooner as a result of Brexit.

This is true, but irrelevant to items over £15.  Without Brexit we would still be in the EU and not need to pay anything for items from within the EU, only from the rest of the world.  Two separate issues, which both changed at the same time.

KxMx

You are quite right... I got the issues mixed up again over this!