import charges

caprosyn

Hi,

I recently received an item from abroad. i was not aware of any import charges associated with this item for £270. However, once delivered by the courier while i was out, i was more than happy to receive my goods. 5 days later i received an invoice for £70 from the courier for import tax fees. Since i was not made aware of the charges, the courier did not try to collect the fees or give an invoice to reflect this fee at point of delivery, should i be left with the bill? my argument is simple, if i would have been made aware of the fees, i would have simply rejected the item. any help or guidance you can give would be most appreciative. 

many thanks
paul

pogofish

It is your responsibility to make yourself aware of any duties/charges that may be due on imported goods before purchase and to pay them in a timely manner when asked, so no the courier is not responsible.

It is actually quite lucky you got them delivered first - IME most couriers these days hold the shipment until all duties/charges have been cleared.

You can also potentially reduce any payment by doing your own import paperwork, which will limit any payment to the duty actually payable, without any other clearance/secondary fees but this can substantially slow delivery - the chapter and verse on how to do this has been on here for years now.

pogofish

Another thought is that this is the time of year for parcel/delivery scams going around, so can you absolutely and unequivocally link the invoice to your shipment? If you need to verify, ensure you contact the shipper directly, not whoever issued the invoice! 

Thrugelmir

Pay the bill. The shipping agent is going to pursue you whatever the cost. 

born_again

Most websites will have this covered that it is your responsibility to pay any charges for sending oversea's.
So you might want to check the retailers website on this.

Aylesbury_Duck

As suggested, do a double check that the invoice is genuine and not a scam. If it is linked to your delivery, you owe the money.  You're the importer and as such, it's your responsibility to understand what duties, taxes and fees apply, and to pay them.

user1977

born_again said:

Most websites will have this covered that it is your responsibility to pay any charges for sending oversea's.
So you might want to check the retailers website on this.

There is however absolutely no requirement for foreign websites to try to explain to UK residents that they might need to pay UK duties when they import goods. 

The_Fat_Controller

Ignorance of the rules is not a defence.

Brexit has complicated the issues for goods from the EU, but then again, it was hardly the best kept secret !

If the invoice relates to your delivery you need to pay it.

I was looking to buy a mobile phone from a Chinese site and to their credit they clearly stated that the recipient would be liable for any local import taxes.

pinkshoes

caprosyn said:

Hi,

I recently received an item from abroad. i was not aware of any import charges associated with this item for £270. However, once delivered by the courier while i was out, i was more than happy to receive my goods. 5 days later i received an invoice for £70 from the courier for import tax fees. Since i was not made aware of the charges, the courier did not try to collect the fees or give an invoice to reflect this fee at point of delivery, should i be left with the bill? my argument is simple, if i would have been made aware of the fees, i would have simply rejected the item. any help or guidance you can give would be most appreciative. 

many thanks
paul

I have highlighted the important line in bold. 

There have been import taxes and duty on most goods when importing for as long as I can remember.

It is entirely up to you to weigh up the cost of goods from abroad plus their import tax or whether it works out cheaper buying from the UK.

Pay the import duty, then pay for the goods to be returned and claim the duty back. 

I just sent a parcel off to Germany and I know that there is no import duty on gifts upto the value of £39 (including the cost of postage) so I made sure it was under this amount.

HeinzVarieties

pinkshoes said:

caprosyn said:

Hi,

I recently received an item from abroad. i was not aware of any import charges associated with this item for £270. However, once delivered by the courier while i was out, i was more than happy to receive my goods. 5 days later i received an invoice for £70 from the courier for import tax fees. Since i was not made aware of the charges, the courier did not try to collect the fees or give an invoice to reflect this fee at point of delivery, should i be left with the bill? my argument is simple, if i would have been made aware of the fees, i would have simply rejected the item. any help or guidance you can give would be most appreciative. 

many thanks
paul

I have highlighted the important line in bold. 

There have been import taxes and duty on most goods when importing for as long as I can remember.

It is entirely up to you to weigh up the cost of goods from abroad plus their import tax or whether it works out cheaper buying from the UK.

Pay the import duty, then pay for the goods to be returned and claim the duty back. 

I just sent a parcel off to Germany and I know that there is no import duty on gifts upto the value of £39 (including the cost of postage) so I made sure it was under this amount.

You can't reclaim the import duty/tax if you've simply decided you don't want the item, only if the goods are faulty.

visidigi

HeinzVarieties said:

pinkshoes said:

caprosyn said:

Hi,

I recently received an item from abroad. i was not aware of any import charges associated with this item for £270. However, once delivered by the courier while i was out, i was more than happy to receive my goods. 5 days later i received an invoice for £70 from the courier for import tax fees. Since i was not made aware of the charges, the courier did not try to collect the fees or give an invoice to reflect this fee at point of delivery, should i be left with the bill? my argument is simple, if i would have been made aware of the fees, i would have simply rejected the item. any help or guidance you can give would be most appreciative. 

many thanks
paul

I have highlighted the important line in bold. 

There have been import taxes and duty on most goods when importing for as long as I can remember.

It is entirely up to you to weigh up the cost of goods from abroad plus their import tax or whether it works out cheaper buying from the UK.

Pay the import duty, then pay for the goods to be returned and claim the duty back. 

I just sent a parcel off to Germany and I know that there is no import duty on gifts upto the value of £39 (including the cost of postage) so I made sure it was under this amount.

You can't reclaim the import duty/tax if you've simply decided you don't want the item, only if the goods are faulty.

And why do you think that?...

Bolding is mine. if you export them again you can claim it back - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/refunds-and-waivers-on-customs-debt

Claims for rejected imports

You can claim repayment or remission on goods imported from outside the UK when:

• you’ve rejected the goods because at the time of declaring them to a customs procedure they’re:
  • defective
  • damaged before being cleared by customs
  • not compliant with the terms of the contract you imported them under
• they’re the same goods from the original customs declaration
• you’ve not used any goods, other than the minimum necessary to establish they were defective or did not comply with the contract
• you’ve not sold the goods after finding them to be defective, damaged or not compliant with the contract
• you’ll re-export or destroy the goods

You cannot make a claim if you already knew the goods were damaged or defective when the contract for sale was made.

You must submit form C&E1179 at least 48 hours before the goods are packed for re-export or destruction.