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Royal Mail - Customs Charge on an item less than 135GBP
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englishwhistler
Posts: 20 Forumite


Hi everyone, a family member bought a record for 75EUR from Germany (discogs - think eBay for records). Today they received an email from Royal Mail asking for over £140
My understanding of Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad: Tax and duty - GOV.UK - was that only if the item was over £135 would this attract any additional fees.
So if an error has been made, do you pay the additional fees and claim back? or raise a query to get the charges removed?
Any advice gratefully received
My understanding of Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad: Tax and duty - GOV.UK - was that only if the item was over £135 would this attract any additional fees.
So if an error has been made, do you pay the additional fees and claim back? or raise a query to get the charges removed?

Any advice gratefully received
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Comments
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AIUI any charges will be based on the value decleared by the sender.
What did they declare the value to be?
(Is it possible there is some confusion between the european numbering convention of using a comma where we would use a decimal point?)0 -
Not seen the declaration but the value was 75EUR0
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englishwhistler said:Hi everyone, a family member bought a record for 75EUR from Germany (discogs - think eBay for records). Today they received an email from Royal Mail asking for over £140
My understanding of Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad: Tax and duty - GOV.UK - was that only if the item was over £135 would this attract any additional fees.VAT
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
That being said that would indicate that the goods have been incorrectly valued. The correct value for VAT to be charged upon is the value of the Goods, Insurance and Delivery fees combined. Most people seem to think it is only on the goods for some incorrect reason.englishwhistler said:So if an error has been made, do you pay the additional fees and claim back? or raise a query to get the charges removed?
Any advice gratefully received
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-apply-for-a-repayment-of-import-duty-and-vat-if-youve-overpaid-c285
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I think the taxable value is the price of the item plus shipping.If it was subject to import duty, then add that.And then the courier company pay it on your behalf and add a service fee on top.So actual cost = price of item + VAT + duty + fees2
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englishwhistler said:Not seen the declaration but the value was 75EUR2
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https://support.discogs.com/hc/en-us/articles/26428614456077-Discogs-Taxes-FAQ#:~:text=Does%20Discogs%20collect%20VAT%20o,e%2Dcommerce%20marketplaces%20like%20Discogs
Discogs has been required to collect and remit VAT on sales of goods in the UK if the order value is below GBP 135 and shipped from outside the UK.
Shouldn’t be any customs/VAT/import fees, never used Discogs, do they offer customer service or buyer protection for orders, if they do I’d contact them in a hope of a refund for the record, rather than paying out £150 then trying to get the money back.In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces0 -
Royal Mail do not charge customs duty.
HMRC set the the charge and Royal Mail pay it on your behalf to release the item from Customs and then deliver to you.
You need to take up the query over the custom charges with HMRC.0 -
Totally of no help, but I am curious to know what record cost 75Euro and why from Germany?0
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oldagetraveller1 said:Totally of no help, but I am curious to know what record cost 75Euro and why from Germany?
A rare one, presumably. One that you can't simply order from your local record store.If it sticks, force it.
If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.0 -
oldagetraveller1 said:Totally of no help, but I am curious to know what record cost 75Euro and why from Germany?0
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