Can I claim back import duty costs and Fedex charges after partial return

emese_m

Hi, 
Similar questions have been discussed here but I couldn't quite find the answer to my exact question.

I have made a purchase recently from a retailer from the EU (Germany) and as my order was above 135 GBP it has incurred customs duty fees (as expected). The shipping handler (Fedex) is also charging me a 9.25 GBP disbursement fee on top of the 30.85 GBP VAT.

I am however making a partial return (the order was 8 clothing items, 2 of which didn't fit in size, if that matters) that would bring the total value of the order just below 135 GBP.

So my questions are:

1. Do I have any grounds to dispute the 9.25 GBP disbursement fee with Fedex? There seem to be conflicting opinions about this on this forum/elsewhere online.
2. Can I reclaim the duty (or any of it) from HMRC after the partial return has been made and accepted?

I would really appreciate advice on this! 

sheramber

The disbursement fee is a fixed fee for their work in clearing customs for your parcel.
That is what they have done so why would you be due any refund?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/refunds-and-waivers-on-customs-debt

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

emese_m

sheramber said:

The disbursement fee is a fixed fee for their work in clearing customs for your parcel.
That is what they have done so why would you be due any refund?

Thank you for your response!

I don't order much from abroad so I simply haven't run into this fee before (in other cases they have just held my parcel until I paid so this is what I was expecting).

A quick google search of course told me this was common practice but I have come across several threads suggesting people have successfully disputed it on the grounds it was not a service they requested or have been made aware of prior to purchase. The reasoning seemed a bit fishy to me hence why I thought I would ask for opinions here

bris

You are the importer, it not anyone else's responsibility to tell you their will be customs fees and charges to pay, you should already know that if you are importing from abroad.

Personally I think £9 is a bargain to get all the hard work done for you.

If its been delivered and you don't pay they are very unlikely to be chasing you for it and instead will go on their blacklist of people who refuse to pay.

emese_m

 bris said:

You are the importer, it not anyone else's responsibility to tell you their will be customs fees and charges to pay, you should already know that if you are importing from abroad.

Personally I think £9 is a bargain to get all the hard work done for you.

If its been delivered and you don't pay they are very unlikely to be chasing you for it and instead will go on their blacklist of people who refuse to pay.

Thanks for the confirmation!

sheramber

there is a different form here

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

If you’re charged too much or return your goods

Ask for a refund of VAT or Customs Duty if you:

• return your goods
• think you’ve been charged too much

Download and fill in:

• form BOR 286 if Royal Mail or Parcelforce delivered the goods
• form C285 if a courier or freight company delivered the goods

DullGreyGuy

sheramber said:

The disbursement fee is a fixed fee for their work in clearing customs for your parcel.
That is what they have done so why would you be due any refund?

Its not a fixed fee, FedEx say for the UK they charge:

• If Duty/Tax 0.01 - £42.50 then Fee is 30% of the Duty/Tax with a minimum of £4.25
• If Duty/Tax £42.50 - £510.00 then Fee is £12.75
• If Duty/Tax £510.00+ then Fee is 2.5% of the Duty/Tax

https://www.fedex.com/en-gb/ancillary-clearance-service.html 

Each carrier has slight different approach but most are a percentage with a floor... FedEx have some of the lower fees with many being closer to 2.5% of amount due with a floor of circa £12. It's not just for the effort of doing the inputs etc but also for offering the credit given they often pay first and recover second. 

Whilst if the OP had imported less the fees would have been less its irrelevant, they got the credit for the amount they imported, they dont get a discount if they subsequently re-export some of the items and get a rebate from HMRC. Just in the same way that if you got a loan for home refurbishments and the works come in under budget you can't ask the bank for the interest back on the portion of the loan you ended up not needing.