| Author |
Message |
ChasKi 
|
|
Post subject: Import/Duty Fee's: Buying from the US
 Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 03:16 AM
|
|
First post: Mar 04, 2009
Total posts: 2601
Location: Plymouth/Stroud
Status: Offline
|
|
EDIT: This started out as a post r.e. marking as a gift on Haley.x's thread looking for a DC Biddy 149, where Loz46 found and bought one from the US. About an hour or so later it's ended up in a full blown importing stuff post! Sorry if it seems a little out of place, I got carried away  !! I figured it would be better posted as its own thread than as a post in Haley.x's as it was a little out of context there! I was trying to understand it all clearly and convey it in a simple/clear manner; I gave it some structuring to make it easier to read!
Please take the time to read up on this for yourself if you're looking into doing it - you only have yourself to blame if it all goes tits up if you don't! If anyone knows better, or if any of it's just plain wrong please feel free to correct me!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All figures/info taken from (unless otherwise linked) HMRC's website.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Import VAT
Is the level of VAT you would pay on a similar product for sale within the UK, which is typically 20%. It is waived if under £7 Import VAT is due.
It is calculated by taking that VAT level from:
HMRC wrote:
- Basic value of goods, plus
- Postage, packing and insurance, plus*
- Any import (Customs or Excise) duties charged.
Customs Duty
Is (usually) calculated as a % value (listed in the Duty Tariff) of the cost of the product, plus shipping and insurance costs*. For snowboards it's 3.7%.
HMRC wrote:
Customs duty - Customs duty becomes payable if the goods are over £135 in value but is waived if the amount calculated is less than £9.
Gifts
£40 limit.
Gifts under £630 value charged 2.5% flat fee, if Customs Duty fee is higher than 2.5%
*Postage is excluded in fee calculations, unless sent by an Express Mail Service. If shipping is 'free' from the retailer, I believe the actual cost of the shipping invoiced to the shop by the courier is used in calculations.
How to Calculate
UPDATE: For easy calculation (should you choose to rely on it!) http://www.dutycalculator.com/ offers two free calculations and will do most of the leg work for you. Find snowboards in: Sports & Leisure -> Snowsports -> Snowboards.
To calculate your total cost/charges, you take
1. Marked value of the product
2. Marked cost of postage/insurance (unless gift)
3. Add 3.7% (duty tariff) of the total of 1-2 (or 2.5% if 'gift' under £630).
4. Calculate 20% (Import VAT) on the total of 1-3.
5. Add courier fee for paying VAT/Duty (~£8 )
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example Calculation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using Loz46's figures for importing a board, HMRC should calculate:
- £100($160) board marked value.
- Postage: waived - marked as gift, not using Express Mail Service.
- Customs Duty: waived - £3.70(3.7%) is under £9 minimum duty threshold.
- Import VAT - £20(20%)
- Courier fee - £8
Total cost to Loz46: £128 + postage.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Info
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For anyone interested, I believe the Customs Duty for snowboards is 3.7% of the product value. The Taric code for snowboards (amusingly teamed up with monoskis!) is: 95061121. You can check it out here for yourself and see if I'm wrong. I used the guidance of this site to find it all and try and understand it! Bit complicated!
- The gift limit is now £40 and was never based on dollars($36 dollar limit was mentioned in original thread - it used to be £37 I think). You can send multiple gifts £40 and under each, in one package.
- If your item goes missing in transit you'll only receive the value of the product that was written down. A $500 board marked as a £40 gift is expensive if it goes missing - you'll only get the £40 you marked down and not the true value.
- It's illegal to mark stuff as gifts when they're not and is an attempt to defraud!
Penalties for sellers in the US:
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/13/9/305
U.S. Code: Title 13 : Section 305 wrote:
(a) Criminal Penalties. -
(1) Failure to file; submission of false or misleading
information. - Any person who knowingly fails to file or
knowingly submits false or misleading export information through
the Shippers Export Declaration (SED) (or any successor document)
or the Automated Export System (AES) shall be subject to a fine
not to exceed $10,000 per violation or imprisonment for not more
than 5 years, or both.
That's a pretty big fine, so don't be surprised if most won't ship to you marked as a gift! Buyers in the UK:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPort ... t#P47_7075
HMRC Reference:Notice 301 (September 2008) wrote:
For the vast majority of contraventions, a penalty will not be charged unless a warning letter has been issued for a broadly similar irregularity, within the last two years......
.......We are setting a minimum of £250, which will be the first penalty in all but the most serious cases. We will issue penalties for subsequent contraventions in progressively larger amounts until the maximum is reached. The normal progression will be £250, £500, £1,000, with additional steps of £2,000 and £2,500 for the higher maximum.
I would be very surprised if you didn't also have to pay any Duty/VAT due as well as fines on top. |
Last edited by ChasKi on Jan 21, 2012 - 12:14 AM; edited 6 times in total
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
snowgirl1324
|
|
|
Post subject: RE: Import/Duty Fee
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 10:23 AM
|
|
First post: Jan 26, 2005
Total posts: 3812
Location: Chippenham, Wiltshire
Status: Offline
|
|
Dont forget you may end up with a Criminal Record and all the joy that will to you if you are caught 'lying' on Custom forms 
Nice one though, this should be 'stickied' |
_________________
Oh don't be so silly!
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
CjKit
|
|
|
Post subject: RE: Import/Duty Fee
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 10:54 AM
|
|
First post: Nov 01, 2010
Total posts: 2130
Location: NW London
Status: Offline
|
|
Excellent work ChasKi, definitely should be a sticky.
You may want to put a disclaimer on it tho.
@snowgirl, surely the person posting it would get the criminal record not the customer.
Also I still think that if it did go missing in the post, it would be up to the shop to replace it or refund your money in full. If they marked it at a lower price then they'll have to swallow the difference themselves as it's their responsibility until you actually receive it. |
_________________
CjKitPhoto
Flickr
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
snowgirl1324
|
|
|
Post subject: Re: RE: Import/Duty Fee
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 10:57 AM
|
|
First post: Jan 26, 2005
Total posts: 3812
Location: Chippenham, Wiltshire
Status: Offline
|
|
|
CjKit wrote:
@snowgirl, surely the person posting it would get the criminal record not the customer.
If you have asked them to do this or have knowledge you are just as guilty  |
_________________
Oh don't be so silly!
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
CjKit
|
|
|
Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Import/Duty Fee
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 11:17 AM
|
|
First post: Nov 01, 2010
Total posts: 2130
Location: NW London
Status: Offline
|
|
| Yeah I know, but when I ordered my board from the States they marked it as a lower value than I paid for it without me even asking - so, in that situation they'd be liable not me. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
snowgirl1324
|
|
|
Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Import/Duty Fee
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 11:22 AM
|
|
First post: Jan 26, 2005
Total posts: 3812
Location: Chippenham, Wiltshire
Status: Offline
|
|
Indeed, so when you told C & E the error and paid up they were no doubt pleased LOL  |
_________________
Oh don't be so silly!
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
CjKit
|
|
|
Post subject:
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 11:40 AM
|
|
First post: Nov 01, 2010
Total posts: 2130
Location: NW London
Status: Offline
|
|
What error  |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
snowgirl1324
|
|
|
Post subject:
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 01:08 PM
|
|
First post: Jan 26, 2005
Total posts: 3812
Location: Chippenham, Wiltshire
Status: Offline
|
|
Dont know what ya mean?  |
_________________
Oh don't be so silly!
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
ChasKi
|
|
|
Post subject:
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 01:19 PM
|
|
First post: Mar 04, 2009
Total posts: 2601
Location: Plymouth/Stroud
Status: Offline
|
|
I did put a little disclaimerish bit at the top, though not really sure it's necessary, but I guess some people do believe everything they're told without checking it out/checking the sources  and we do increasingly seem to live in a litigation/blame culture I guess! (Something else we've 'imported' from the US? Trollolololol ) |
Last edited by ChasKi on Feb 15, 2011 - 05:34 PM; edited 1 time in total
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
nickmotture
|
|
|
Post subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Import/Duty Fee
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 01:52 PM
|
|
First post: Jan 09, 2006
Total posts: 11165
Location: Washington DC USA
Status: Offline
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
mrpugster
|
|
|
Post subject:
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 03:14 PM
|
|
First post: Apr 05, 2009
Total posts: 307
Status: Offline
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CjKit
|
|
|
Post subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Import/Duty Fee
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 - 06:17 PM
|
|
First post: Nov 01, 2010
Total posts: 2130
Location: NW London
Status: Offline
|
|
|
nickmotture wrote:
CjKit wrote:
Yeah I know, but when I ordered my board from the States they marked it as a lower value than I paid for it without me even asking - so, in that situation they'd be liable not me.
And if it had got damaged or lost in the post all you would have been insured for would be the cost that was declaired on the package rather than its true value.
The point I was trying to make before is that it's their problem until you receive it so all they will be insured for is the cost declared on the package. They'd still have to replace or refund you the full amount you paid if it gets lost so technically you shouldn't be out of pocket.
However, who knows what would happen in practice. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Loz46
|
|
|
Post subject:
Posted: Feb 15, 2011 - 02:33 PM
|
|
First post: Jan 12, 2011
Total posts: 52
Location: Hertfordshire
Status: Offline
|
|
The sender is the one signing the declaration and therefore taking the responsibility to send it under any false pretenses.
FYI they marked my board as $160, I had to pay £20 for import VAT, and £8 for a clearance fee. Total £28.
Nice  |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
ChasKi
|
|
|
Post subject:
Posted: Feb 15, 2011 - 04:00 PM
|
|
First post: Mar 04, 2009
Total posts: 2601
Location: Plymouth/Stroud
Status: Offline
|
|
EDIT: Removed, so as not to tread on any toes. Perhaps Ace could remove his quote of the text too.
Loz46, I used $160 in the example as it is roughly £100 at the moment so was easy to use as an illustration with percentages etc! |
Last edited by ChasKi on Feb 15, 2011 - 05:36 PM; edited 2 times in total
|
| |
|
|
|
|
ace_mcgraw
|
|
|
Post subject:
Posted: Feb 15, 2011 - 04:13 PM
|
|
First post: Feb 20, 2007
Total posts: 5385
Location: That snowboarding hotbed, Norfolk
Status: Offline
|
|
|
ChasKi wrote:
Loz46 wrote:
The sender is the one signing the declaration and therefore taking the responsibility to send it under any false pretenses.
FYI they marked my board as $160, I had to pay £20 for import VAT, and £8 for a clearance fee. Total £28.
Nice
Yup, you're listed up there in my example $!60 is roughly £100 atm which is nice and easy for an example As far as customs are concerned for calculation they're only concerned with the marked value, unless it's suspicious they have no reason not to believe it. And obvs, need to include postage for a total board cost!
If you know the sender's shipping you the board marked at an undervalued price and/or as a gift and especially if you ask them to do it, it's still technically an attempt to defraud HMRC and evade their charges! They'd find that pretty hard to prove though.. in my opinion!
unless there was a thread all about how it was done on the world wide web.... |
_________________
Fancy some lovely artwork ? www.ameliabowman.co.uk
Nice Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/ace_mcgraw/
Need your iPhone 5 panorama's printed out large? ipanoramaprints.com/
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Snowboard Club 
FAQ
Search
Register
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
Maximize
RSS Feed
