Her Majesty's Customs and Excise

[daffy]

It would be nice if Forum members could give good examples of the amounts of duty they end up paying when buying from various parts of the world to their respective countries, so that we can all get a good idea of what could be charged.
I have noted many buy from Japan into the U.K., for instance, but don't recall seeing any details of what duty and other charges had to be paid. I know some packages have been received without levy (there seems to be some that 'get through' the HMRC rules) but it would be nice to know what should be, and is, charged.
I for one am put off by buying from the States or the Orient due to the uncertainty of what might get bolted on to the otherwise highly attractive prices quoted in distant lands. I buy a lot from Germany but while we are still in the E.U. there are no duities. Indeed, I can often get packages from Germany delivered for far less (or for free) than some U.K. sellers charge for the same items!

(If none of this makes sense it's cos I've got an awful headache! )

[Ian Morton]

In simple terms you should expect to pay 20% of the item value plus postage plus £8 if Royal Mail are handling it or £12 if Parcel Force are doing the job.

However:

• If the total value is less than £15 and for an individual it should come through free
• If the item has been mis-described and gone into the wrong customs category you may get an extra 2% (or possibly more) duty - and 20% VAT on the duty.
• If the item is examined by HMRC and they think it has been mis-declared (e.g. a £500 model declared as a £5 toy) they may get upset and sieze the goods - if they think that you are trying to dodge the charges (e.g. asked the seller to label it as a gift) they may fine or prosecute you.
  

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

Sometimes things heading to a private address (but not to commercial premises) will slip through the net - but don't rely on that when making your purchasing decision.

[daffy]

Many thanks Ian for your comments and the link.

I had felt that the simple addition of U.K. VAT was the essential charge, but so often folks here have mentioned buying from, say, Japan, that I had wondered if there was more to it.

For example: Whenever I check suppliers prices in Japan I have a habit of mentally adding on that 20%, as well as the postage charges levied by the seller. When I compare that result with a price given by some U.K. suppliers for the self same item, I usually fail to see any great attraction of buying from Japan. In fact, on occasion a price here has proved to be cheaper, even with the import duties added to the alternative.

Of course, if it's a Japanese manufactured item then it may be available earlier than here in the U.K., but with the physical risks of very long distance transport (loss, damage etc) and the greater hassle of returning a faulty item, I have so far concluded that it is simpler to wait and buy locally.

Others of course may have an alternative view, which is of interest to me.

[woodbury22uk]

Of course, if it's a Japanese manufactured item then it may be available earlier than here in the U.K., but with the physical risks of very long distance transport (loss, damage etc) and the greater hassle of returning a faulty item, I have so far concluded that it is simpler to wait and buy locally.

Others of course may have an alternative view, which is of interest to me.

I do careful calculations on total Japanese/US prices v. UK prices, but only for items I can actually get here in the UK. More often than not a decision to buy from the US or Japan is driven by availability rather than price. I take as my example the Tomytec WBM-L01 motorised bus chassis which is available sporadically at DMToys in Germany, listed at Osborn's in the UK but unavailable, listed and available at Walthers in the US. DM Toys want EUR79.99 euros plus shipping (free over EUR300), Osborn's want GBP59.95 plus shipping, and Walthers want USD52.99 plus shipping/documentation and an inevitable customs and RM handling charge. The item is not available in Japan. For my recent order I latched on to a one day discounted price at Walthers. Even with discounted shipping DMToys is not in the race, but if they were available at Osborn's my order would have gone to them, simply because it would have been quicker and about the same price as from Walthers in the US after the Walthers add-ons and the importation costs.

[crepello]

I've just seen this thread. As an ex-employee of HMC&E (as it was then) I find the tone of the original post rather objectionable and inappropriate for this forum and rather reminiscent of certain tabloid newspaper journalism.  I'm glad to see that various subsequent posts have set the record straight.

[daffy]

Thanks Mike @woodbury22uk 
I have noted DM are on the dear end of most items, so I am not surprised to see such a high price from them. Osborns are good - when they have the stock. I shall take a look at Walthers.

I recently bought two Tomytec WB006 MB Citaro 0530 PTT buses from DM and paid more than I like, so maybe should have gone for the direct from Japan route. they would probably have escaped any duty. (Faller item number 264569)

Re those buses: they have fitments for the WBM-L02 chassis/power unit, which I shall not need. As you have an active interest in the motorised bus system, and have produced some really good mods shown elsewhere on the Forum, I wonder if they are of interest to you? If so pm me and I can get them sent to you.

[woodbury22uk]

Thanks Mike @woodbury22uk 
Re those buses: they have fitments for the WBM-L02 chassis/power unit, which I shall not need. As you have an active interest in the motorised bus system, and have produced some really good mods shown elsewhere on the Forum, I wonder if they are of interest to you? If so pm me and I can get them sent to you.

Thanks for thinking of me @daffy . PM sent.

[thebrighton]

I have to agree with the 'pay up and look big' opinion regarding taxes but truly resent the £8 fee charged by the PO who do pretty close to nothing for the money.

You may resent the £8 fee charged by Royal Mail but I could counter that by saying you are making accusations from a position of complete ignorance.
When the plane lands with your parcel on it RM would gladly just load it on to their lorry and transport it to the nearest mail centre but if it is amongst the ones that HMRC decides to check RM have to spend time transporting and storing it prior to its inspection. If a levy is subsequently raised RM initially pay the tax to speed up the items release for delivery and are then tasked with recovering the tax and the administration involved. RM have to write to you not the HMRC and transport the parcel to your local office. Once the tax has been paid RM have to confirm it to HMRC then deliver the parcel which they have had to store. If you decide you don't want to pay RM have to advise HMRC and arrange to return the parcel to the sender and recover the tax they have paid on your behalf.
If you believe that to be 'close to nothing' and doesn't justify £8 I suggest you set up your own courier company and attempt to do it for less. Yes I do work for RM.

[daveg]

Appreciate that my parcel, along with a fair quantity of others on any day, is passed through the hands to RM and there is a cost attached to that.

I also appreciate the quite reasonable price of letters and parcels the PO charge. What I don't appreciate is poor customer service that I have paid for on top of whatever I was charged to ship it to my address by the supplier.

Dave G

[texhorse]

[quote author=daveg link=topic=39109.msg470420#msg470420


If you believe that to be 'close to nothing' and doesn't justify £8 I suggest you set up your own courier company and attempt to do it for less. Yes I do work for RM.

I also work for Royal Mail.  I always wondered what happened with the £8 surcharge on the Customs jobs, as although I worked in "The Cage" for a time, nobody ever explained to me the full process of these.

I still stand by what I said in my original posting though, even if Crepello isn't very happy about it.  There seems to be no standard charge.  How can I have been charged two different prices for exactly the same locomotive, one price being exactly double what the other was, with no explanation? 

Andy
UK

[texhorse]

Oh and "Thebrighton".....

Stand Up Brother!  You know what this means!

Andy
UK

[keithfre]

How can I have been charged two different prices for exactly the same locomotive, one price being exactly double what the other was, with no explanation? 

Was the first one declared at a lower value or as a different category of goods, Andy?

[Yet_Another]

• If the item is examined by HMRC and they think it has been mis-declared (e.g. a £500 model declared as a £5 toy) they may get upset and sieze the goods - if they think that you are trying to dodge the charges (e.g. asked the seller to label it as a gift) they may fine or prosecute you.
  

I don't know it this is still the case, but some time ago, I bought a very small camera from Japan, for railway video purposes, for a very good price, as advertised in RM.

On arrival in the UK, HM Customs decided I hadn't paid enough for it, and applied a 'notional value' which was more than I paid, and then taxed me on that value.

Also, based on past research,  as the importer of goods from abroad, the receiver is responsible for the customs declaration, not the sender (which makes complete sense when you think about who pays the duty/tax).

[texhorse]

How can I have been charged two different prices for exactly the same locomotive, one price being exactly double what the other was, with no explanation? 

Was the first one declared at a lower value or as a different category of goods, Andy?

Actually Keith, the first loco was £79 and the second was £85 in value as I got them from different sellers, the first in Washington State, the other in Chicago.  So can we assume if you buy a loco just £6 more expensive, or from a state nearer to home, you get charged more customs?

Andy
UK

[daffy]

I have some very vague memory that US States each have different tax rates. Could this apply to goods shipped abroad, that is, goods from one State having a different State tax applied than that from another?

As I say, a vague memory, and one that may not apply at all to shipped goods. Just thought I'd put it out there.