Am I required to pay import duty if I refuse delivery of the package?

guygraham84

On June 08 2021
I purchased a sleeping bag from a website Enlightened Equipment based in the USA. I received an email from FEDEX saying I would need to pay import duty. I refused delivery of the package and asked for it to sent back to the company in the U.S.A.

On June the 15 2021
I received an email from Enlightened Equipment saying…
“You will receive the full £265.00 that you initially paid for the quilt as your refund once we have received and inspected your return”
which is bizarrely was more than I paid for it.

On June the 15 2021
I received an email from Enlightened Equipment saying…
“I have been informed by our shipping department that once the package is processed, customs fees and duties will be charged to whoever receives the package, so we will deduct from your refund whatever customs charges we are presented with when the package arrives. I apologize for not letting you know about this sooner, I just learned about this myself this morning.”

On June the 28 2021
I got an email from Enlightened Equipment to say they had received my package So it will be restocked by them and sold on to someone else.

I received a letter through the post today from FeEx demanding I pay import duty of £60. 24.

It says I have 10 days to pay to avoid further action being taken. The letter gives a web address to go to that that doesn't work (see photos attached). Also there is no contact email address or telephone no. on the letter.

It’s July 23rd today and still no refund from Enlightened Equipment
 
 Can someone please kindly advise?

Sandtree

As per the link below, you need to pay them the import costs and you can then reclaim the VAT/Duty component from HMRC given that you exported the item again.

https://ask.fedex.com/help/en-pt/something-went-wrong/reject-import

The parcel should be declared to US tax officials as a return and so is unlikely to attract taxes but these things are set at state level in the US

p3ncilsharpener

Sandtree said:

As per the link below, you need to pay them the import costs and you can then reclaim the VAT/Duty component from HMRC given that you exported the item again.

https://ask.fedex.com/help/en-pt/something-went-wrong/reject-import

The parcel should be declared to US tax officials as a return and so is unlikely to attract taxes but these things are set at state level in the US

You can only reclaim the duty/VAT when the goods are defective, not simply because you refused delivery.

mattyprice4004

Goods from the USA have always been subject to VAT and duty, surely the extra charges couldn't be a surprise? 

Sandtree

p3ncilsharpener said:

Sandtree said:

As per the link below, you need to pay them the import costs and you can then reclaim the VAT/Duty component from HMRC given that you exported the item again.

https://ask.fedex.com/help/en-pt/something-went-wrong/reject-import

The parcel should be declared to US tax officials as a return and so is unlikely to attract taxes but these things are set at state level in the US

You can only reclaim the duty/VAT when the goods are defective, not simply because you refused delivery.

It depends where you look, Which? state its much wider and certainly others include damaged, don't comply to the contract etc in addition to being defective. If you complete the C285 online it gives three options of goods returned, overcharged and special circumstances... it doesn't specify the reason for return nor does it ask for you to declare the reason.

The OP also hasn't said why they decided they didn't want it, the reason could be that they discovered it wasn't what they thought/quality they thought etc 

sheramber

  I received an email from FEDEX saying I would need to pay import duty. I refused delivery of the package and asked for it to sent back to the company in the U.S.A.

That sounds like they refused delivery as they did not want to pay import duty.

visidigi

Quick Google shows this is the link....

https://dutyandtax.fedex.com/gb/en#/

If you don't pay (you should as FedEx did its job it was asked to do by the shipper on behalf of your request when you purchased). You could call FedEx (very busy) and tell them it was refused - they may deal with it for you (they don't have to). The reason you got the letter is in order to attempt delivery the clearance is already completed - your refusal came after FedEx fulfilled this process.

Dependent on the shipper terms of sale - The shipper is entitled to deduct from your refund the cost of shipping the goods to you AND the return should they wish (they will be charged for both). They should not incur duties for the return so this should not be taken from you (they can file rejected return paperwork with US customs).

Because this is a 'you had a change of mind' after agreeing to the fact the delivery would have additional charges levied on it and that those costs would be your responsibility I would be very surprised if the shipper takes the total hit for this...I have to say they have made this as clear as I have ever seen to buyers:

https://support.enlightenedequipment.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000791872-Import-duties-taxes-and-fees

guygraham84

@visidigi the page you have linked to in the Enlightened Equipment website was created on the 24th of July. So when you say
"I have to say they have made this as clear as I have ever seen to buyers". That might be the case now, but that page didn't exist before 24th of July.

My Parcel was being held in limbo at a FeDex depot in the UK whilst I contacted Enlightened Equipment. When i recived an emai; saying... 
“You will receive the full £265.00 that you initially paid for the quilt as your refund once we have received and inspected your return” 
I acted on this straight away by contacting FeDex telling them to proceed with the return. If a company states in writing I will get a specific monetary amount in a refund are they Obligated to pay me that?  

sheramber

The company explained that they did not realise they may have to pay reimport duty. You changed your mind because you found out that you had to pay customs duty.

They changed their refund offer because they found out they may to pay customs duty.

visidigi

guygraham84 said:

@visidigi the page you have linked to in the Enlightened Equipment website was created on the 24th of July. So when you say
"I have to say they have made this as clear as I have ever seen to buyers". That might be the case now, but that page didn't exist before 24th of July.

My Parcel was being held in limbo at a FeDex depot in the UK whilst I contacted Enlightened Equipment. When i recived an emai; saying... 
“You will receive the full £265.00 that you initially paid for the quilt as your refund once we have received and inspected your return” 
I acted on this straight away by contacting FeDex telling them to proceed with the return. If a company states in writing I will get a specific monetary amount in a refund are they Obligated to pay me that?  

Well on the 11th of July it looked like this....

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:D9tUUJ91kmIJ:https://support.enlightenedequipment.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000791872-Import-duties-taxes-and-fees+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

Which was last updated 7 months prior.

They could inspect your return and adjust your refund based on that inspection, which doesn't necessarily limit itself to the goods returned but could be the entire process. So yes, they can make deductions as the amount quoted was based on an 'inspection'