Import duty and Vat when buying form the USA?

Ian_Edwards

Ian_Edwards

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Yes, I know that both import Duty and VAT are payable, but does any one have practical experience of how rigorously it's applied to small items?

The item in question is a Yanmar 4JH4E exhaust elbow, value $200 (~£130), shipped by USPS priority mail.
 
In my experience small items shipped USPS often get through without taxes. I've no idea of the thinking behind it, but something the size and weight of an exhaust elbow might be on the cusp.
There have been reports of items marked "sample only" getting through, if it's not too late for that.
 
It's a bit random. I'd agree that USPS shipping might get through without penalties more easily than couriers such as FedEx.
 
We bought lots of items from Sailrite in the USA from Dabond UV resistant thread to Sunbrella canvas and a sewing machine. All attracted VAT and import tax. But as a rule of thumb products bought in the USA are cheaper than in the UK.
 
I received an exhaust elbow last month. Postie delivered a card saying I had to pick up at the post office. On the item that was $119 I had £3 import tax and £8 handling charge to the P.O. the £8 really annoyed me. But as said earlier. Some have had nothing to pay.
 
Thanks for the replies, I've asked for the package to be marked as a gift, I've heard that sometimes works.

It's a SS version from Ben Cotton, which I hope will last longer than the very expensive Yanmar version.
 
Interested to know how you get on. A few years ago I got stiffed for my exhaust elbow forget the actual numbers but it was pretty steep the handling charge this end was ridiculous.

I've have never bought from the states since.
 
Ian_Edwards said:
Thanks for the replies, I've asked for the package to be marked as a gift, I've heard that sometimes works.

It's a SS version from Ben Cotton, which I hope will last longer than the very expensive Yanmar version.
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I've had two exhaust elbows from him get through without problems.
 
Tia said:
The releif is under the low value import scheme, full details are here.https://www.gov.uk/hmrcs-national-import-reliefs-unit-niru#low-value-bulk-import

Value for import includes carriage to the UK border so you have to add that in.
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"Relief" is but a small part of what's at issue here. Items not eligible for relief (i.e. value £15+) regularly do get through untaxed, presumably because they slip through the net. In my experience (and that of others, judging by past similar threads), items posted USPS (which are thus received in the UK by our Post Office) are much more likely to slip through than items sent by private carriers.
 
simonfraser said:
they have options like, does this need unboxing ?, is it a sample ?, what is the value ?

i dont understand why, but there you go .........
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It works both ways. If you post stuff from the UK to the US, you'll have a small form on which to describe the goods, state whether a sample, indicate value. This is so that the receiving authorities can assess it for legitimacy and for tax due. I used to do it regularly and became adept at writing NCV (no commercial value).
 
macd said:
In my experience (and that of others, judging by past similar threads), items posted USPS (which are thus received in the UK by our Post Office) are much more likely to slip through than items sent by private carriers.
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Here in Switzerland ALL private carriers involve customs in their delivery chain; they will pay the duties and bill the recipient. As these companies are a classic case of globalisation with common practices for all countries, I would expect the procedure to be the same in the UK.

On the other hand, postal services are country specific with their own local methodology; they handle more non-commercial packages and use some form of discretionary judgement of what is passed to customs for duty calculation. While this often means physically smaller and lower declared priced items passing directly through, if diverted to customs they are often delayed and invoke higher handling charges than a courier service - at least here they do.

A reputable sales outlet will never mark an item as a "Gift" or undervalue it for price declaration, although some smaller ones may do and many eBay vendors in China do as a matter of course, although they usually do not use the big carriers.
 
Ian_Edwards said:
Yes, I know that both import Duty and VAT are payable, but does any one have practical experience of how rigorously it's applied to small items?

The item in question is a Yanmar 4JH4E exhaust elbow, value $200 (~£130), shipped by USPS priority mail.
Click to expand...

I paid nothing on mine, described as a "sample". Generally USPS is less of a pain than the other carriers who delight in collecting any dues, on behalf of the local government, adding their own margin and then charging you. Typically €84 on a $284 transaction.
 
macd said:
It works both ways. If you post stuff from the UK to the US, you'll have a small form on which to describe the goods, state whether a sample, indicate value.
Click to expand...

I have a ... friend who recently received a Matsutec HP-33A from China via DHL without any import duties, perhaps because it was labelled "Sample AIS transponder. Value $50.".

Doubtless a clerical error.
 
As said earlier, low value items do not get taxed - this is not a case of 'slipping through the net', it's a case of the amount of tax collected is not worth the time taken to collect it. The description needs to match the stated value as well - "Gents wristwatch - $10" is going to get checked. If the value of the item is greater than stated, you'll get taxed. The value is dependent on the value in this country. Also, I've found that US businesses are honest when stating the value of goods (presumably they have more respect for their authorities than we do!), and not many will lie. It's likely that the parcel will contain the invoice, and a business may be prosecuted for lying on it's declaration. Private individuals may mark it as NCV, but not often.
Something like an exhaust elbow is an obscure item and may not attract attention as it's value can range from $10 to $200. It could take time to find out that it is only worth $10 and is untaxed anyway. So it may go through untaxed, especially if it's carried by the national post service as there will be so many parcels to process. Items like books are not taxed.

The biggest sting is if Royal Mail picks up your parcel. They charge £8 to 'clear customs' (even though there may be no customs charges) so if you buy something at $15 or under, the cost is effectively doubled as if it was taxed! This even applies to books. I used to buy stuff regularly from the US - T shirts, books and CDs, but being stung for eight quid each time has put me off.

Luckily, since we're part of the European Union, there are no taxes from anywhere in Europe. With the poor Euro rate and flat rate shipping there are some bargains to be had. It's always worth checking German, French or Italian sellers. I've just bought a new guitar from Germany - in this country they were £880 (if you could find one!), from the us they were around £1100 with taxes, but from Germany - £700 delivered to my door free. No taxes, no duties no fuss. Result!

My attitude with anything over $50 from the states you should be prepared to pay duty, and take it as a bonus if you don't have to. And factor in Royal Mail's irritating charges.
 
Update as requested

The package arrived from Ben Cotton today.

It took 8 days to get here.

I cleared customs without a problem.

The exhaust elbow looks good and I hope it'll last longer the Yanmar's expensive steel part.
 
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