UPS import and duty fees...Help!

Parkingmad1

So, we have ordered Wedding rings to the value of £770 from the states recently and finally they have arrived in the UK and are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. We then had an invoice for £197 from UPS stating import and duty fees needed to be paid upon delivery. How Much!!!

Ok, a nominal fee is fine, but that's a quarter of the items original cost for crying out loud. 

How is this even calculated and why have i not been given a breakdown of these costs? 

How can i challenge this? 

Anyone else experienced this extortion? 

Thanks all.

DullGreyGuy

Parkingmad1 said:

So, we have ordered Wedding rings to the value of £770 from the states recently and finally they have arrived in the UK and are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. We then had an invoice for £197 from UPS stating import and duty fees needed to be paid upon delivery. How Much!!!

Ok, a nominal fee is fine, but that's a quarter of the items original cost for crying out loud. 

How is this even calculated and why have i not been given a breakdown of these costs? 

How can i challenge this? 

Anyone else experienced this extortion? 

Thanks all.

Given VAT is 20% and is paid onto of the value of the item, the P&P and the import duty then 25% total cost is not extortionate at all and is actually almost the minimum. 

What the import duty is will depend exactly on what the rings are made of/their commodity code. 

It's one of the reasons US prices look cheap to us because they are showing it tax free. In the US sales tax is between 0% and 11% as it varies by state and city, in the UK its 20% and the UK is about average for Europe. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Parkingmad1 said:

So, we have ordered Wedding rings to the value of £770 from the states recently and finally they have arrived in the UK and are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. We then had an invoice for £197 from UPS stating import and duty fees needed to be paid upon delivery. How Much!!!

Ok, a nominal fee is fine, but that's a quarter of the items original cost for crying out loud. 

How is this even calculated and why have i not been given a breakdown of these costs? 

How can i challenge this? 

Anyone else experienced this extortion? 

Thanks all.

It's not extortion.  You've imported goods from the US and as the importer, the onus is on you to pay any relevant charges.  The onus is also on you to understand what fees and duties apply, because you're the importer.  Why were you expecting a "nominal fee", and how did you expect that fee to be calculated?

What you can challenge is the detail - you should have a breakdown.  It will be largely made up of customs/duty fees, and UPS will have added an administrative charge because they've performed the customs clearance on your behalf, which you agreed to when ordering.

You can try challenging it, but from previous threads on here, the courier will have correctly calculated the charge, it's legally due and enforceable and they'll probably pursue you for the debt.

Ayr_Rage

20% VAT, 2.5% Customs Duty plus UPS's handling fees.

Caz3121

Parkingmad1 said:

So, we have ordered Wedding rings to the value of £770 from the states recently and finally they have arrived in the UK and are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. We then had an invoice for £197 from UPS stating import and duty fees needed to be paid upon delivery. How Much!!!

Ok, a nominal fee is fine, but that's a quarter of the items original cost for crying out loud. 

How is this even calculated and why have i not been given a breakdown of these costs? 

I am guessing you did not realise that there is VAT and import duty to pay when you purchase goods from overseas
VAT will be £154 on the ring price alone (and more if there are delivery charges) Import duty will depend on the commodity code https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff
no way to avoid these charges

There are plenty calculators available to work out the breakdown including the government website (usually best to do this before ordering goods so you can see what the total price is for comparison purposes)
UPS will have a charge for clearing the goods through customs on your behalf (which is likely cheaper than if you were to travel and do it yourself)

DullGreyGuy

Caz3121 said:

Parkingmad1 said:

So, we have ordered Wedding rings to the value of £770 from the states recently and finally they have arrived in the UK and are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. We then had an invoice for £197 from UPS stating import and duty fees needed to be paid upon delivery. How Much!!!

Ok, a nominal fee is fine, but that's a quarter of the items original cost for crying out loud. 

How is this even calculated and why have i not been given a breakdown of these costs? 

I am guessing you did not realise that there is VAT and import duty to pay when you purchase goods from overseas
VAT will be £154 on the ring price alone (and more if there are delivery charges) Import duty will depend on the commodity code https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff
no way to avoid these charges

There are plenty calculators available to work out the breakdown including the government website (usually best to do this before ordering goods so you can see what the total price is for comparison purposes)
UPS will have a charge for clearing the goods through customs on your behalf (which is likely cheaper than if you were to travel and do it yourself)

VAT is paid on top of import duties so VAT will be over £154

Ergates

Base cost: £770
Import duty @ 2.5%: £19.25
VAT @ 20% on £770 + £19.25:  £157.85.

That comes to £177.1
Add on a £20 handling fee (which is about standard I believe) and that brings us to £197.

So... sounds exactly as expected.

powerful_Rogue

Before the question crops up, they can do it under s105 (3) Postal Services Act 2000.