ETSY and FEDEX Duty Charge

Larry9999

Hi all,

I've read a few posts about this but most of them seem to be under the £130 limit or from sellers but my son bought a rug off ETSY and paid the delivery charge etc and the rug was deleivered but now FEDEX have sent him an inovice for £55 for duty and import ? This rug was about £200 and i've checked over the advert on ETSY (and gone through the steps to purchase it etc) and it doesn't say ANYWHERE about Duty or Import taxes might need to be paid ? I've raised this with FEDEX and just waiting on a reply but i get the impression that this WILL need to be paid so is there no way around this or do we need to pay it and then somehow claim it back off the seller (bearing in mind they are in China) or anything else ?

Thanks in advance,

Ian

Aylesbury_Duck

It's a common question on here and I'm afraid that yes, it needs to be paid.  Your son is the importer and it's up to him to understand what charges he would be liable for.

It's unrealistic to expect retailers to list every single type of charge that might be payable when sending to any one of the many countries they deliver to, the onus is on the importer, I.e. the purchaser.

born_again

It;s made clear by ESTY

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115015691007-Will-I-Have-to-Pay-for-Tax-or-Customs-on-My-Order-?segment=shopping

Most customs charges are due once the package arrives in the destination country. The cost of the charges is based on: 

• The price and type of item 
• The package weight and dimensions, 
• The origin country the package is being delivered from 
• The taxes, duties, and fees of the destination country

If you buy a package from a seller located in a different country, a notice is displayed at checkout saying that additional fees and duties may apply. However this notice does not mean that additional charges for your order are guaranteed. Your local customs office can be contacted to see if additional charges need to be paid for your order.

DullGreyGuy

Larry9999 said:

Hi all,

I've read a few posts about this but most of them seem to be under the £130 limit or from sellers but my son bought a rug off ETSY and paid the delivery charge etc and the rug was deleivered but now FEDEX have sent him an inovice for £55 for duty and import ? This rug was about £200 and i've checked over the advert on ETSY (and gone through the steps to purchase it etc) and it doesn't say ANYWHERE about Duty or Import taxes might need to be paid ? I've raised this with FEDEX and just waiting on a reply but i get the impression that this WILL need to be paid so is there no way around this or do we need to pay it and then somehow claim it back off the seller (bearing in mind they are in China) or anything else ?

Thanks in advance,

Ian

Import duty, what's legal to import etc at a minimum varies by country and in many places can vary by state as well. There are very few people who have in-depth knowledge of every importation law and tax in every state, province and country in the world. The chances a random seller in China is one of those people is fairly slim. 

Since importation taxes were created several hundred years ago it's always been on the importer to know the rules of their home country and the taxes that apply then factor that in when buying. It's not up to the seller to tell you.

For £200 rug, assuming that includes delivery, you'd pay 2.5% importation duty taking it to £205 and then 20% vat on that so £46. The courier will have cleared customs for you and paid the £46 to HMRC. For doing that they are entitled to charge you a fee for their work and given the invoice is for £55 it seems its a fairly reasonable £9 (some charge a fair bit more, outside the UK some charge massively more)

No right to claim it back from China. If you were to decide not to keep the goods and return them you may be able to reclaim the tax elements (not the fee) but the cost of shipping to China is likely not to be too far off £46 anyway. 

Hoenir

For clarity and future reference. 

VAT

VAT is charged on all goods (except for gifts worth £39 or less) sent from:

• outside the UK to Great Britain
• outside the UK and the EU to Northern Ireland

VAT is not charged on goods that are gifts worth £39 or less.

You pay VAT when you buy the goods or to the delivery company before you receive them. If you have to pay VAT to the delivery company, it’s charged on the total package value, including:

• the value of the goods
• postage, packaging and insurance
• any duty you owe

VAT is charged at the VAT rate that applies to your goods.

Goods worth £135 or less in total

If you bought the goods yourself and they are not excise goods, the seller will have included VAT in the total you paid.

You will need to pay VAT to the delivery company if the goods are:

• gifts sent to you by someone else and worth more than £39
• excise goods

Goods worth more than £135 in total

You will have to pay VAT to the delivery company either before the goods are delivered or when you collect them.

Customs Duty

You’ll be charged Customs Duty on all goods sent from outside the UK (or the UK and the EU if you’re in Northern Ireland) if they’re either:

• excise goods
• worth more than £135

If you’re charged Customs Duty, you’ll need to pay it on both:

• the price paid for the goods
• postage, packaging and insurance

DullGreyGuy

Hoenir said:

For clarity and future reference. 

For full clarity really need to include about Excise Duty