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Have I been charged too much on import duty fees?
icicat
Posts: 237 Forumite
in Cutting tax
Hello all,
I bought an item off a friend in the US. Declared value was $250. Postage came to $17.85 for a total of $267.85 which in GBP roughly works out as £226.66.
To my complete shock the total customs charge was £85.28!? I have imported much more expensive items from the US and the total import fee was less, so I wasn't expecting this amount.
To break it down it works out as:
Import Duty: £26.98
VAT: 50.32
Royal Mail Handling fee: £8
Does this seem to check out? Maybe it's the VAT. I've never been charged VAT on a second hand item before.
I bought an item off a friend in the US. Declared value was $250. Postage came to $17.85 for a total of $267.85 which in GBP roughly works out as £226.66.
To my complete shock the total customs charge was £85.28!? I have imported much more expensive items from the US and the total import fee was less, so I wasn't expecting this amount.
To break it down it works out as:
Import Duty: £26.98
VAT: 50.32
Royal Mail Handling fee: £8
Does this seem to check out? Maybe it's the VAT. I've never been charged VAT on a second hand item before.
0
Comments
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Also to note he marked it as 'merchandise' does that make a huge difference?0
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VAT is also levied on import duty so sounds about right."Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius1
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Only second hand articles that are antiques or works of art are VAT free.1
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