Got stung by customs. Charges seem high.

bliss

bliss

bliss

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Just wondering if somebody can help me before i head down to my local sorting office.

I bought 2 t-shirts a couple of weeks ago from the US. The t-shirts cost $37.90 with a shipping cost of $7.50 for standard international; therefore a total cost of $45.40. I was charged £29.76 with the current exchange rate at the time.

The customs card shows up today with a fee of £12.18. Which is over 40% of the items + shipping price. Is this right? Or am i just thinking it's stupidly excessive.

Need replies asap. :D
 
So how is duty calculated? Just wanting to know as much as i can so save myself hanging around letting them explain it to me.

Still think it's stupidly high though. :mad:
 
Thanks MrLOL. Gonna work it out before i head out.

This is the first time i've been hit by customs. Hope it doesn't start happening too often. :(

Sp00n said:
^

I got raped with charges when I bought a couple of t-shirts from threadless last month, I shall not be doing that again.
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My t-shirts were from snorg-tees. Maybe customs are on the lookout for clothing? :P

I don't mind paying but the costs are almost the price of a 3rd t-shirt! Just another hate this country/government grumble moment i guess. :D
 
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When buying something like t-shirts you'll often find that buying them individually costs you less, even when paying two lots of shipping. Items less than £18 (inc. P+P) incur no duty charges.
 
Customs are odd. My wife is from America so her family send her packages pretty regularly. Sometimes we have to pay customs on them and sometimes (more often, thankfully) we don't.
When we do have to pay though it's often very high and on a couple of occasions has been more than the value of the items inside. We worked out that it's dependant on what they write on the label for the contents. Books etc or kids toys and bedding don't usually get charged.
When her family are honest about the contents (maybe dvd's or something electrical like a camera) customs make us bend over and touch our toes.
 
bliss said:
I don't mind paying but the costs are almost the price of a 3rd t-shirt! Just another hate this country/government grumble moment i guess. :D
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It is protectionism and is looking after our economy.

Buy here if you don't like import duty :)
 
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Building Candy said:
Yes thats too high, duty + vat comes to about 22%.

I know if its parcel force they add a handling fee, can be upto £10, other couriers may charge differently.
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Considering VAT is 17.5% and duty on clothes is 12% (shouldn't have changed in the last couple of years) then no it's not too high.
 
IIRC duty is added first, than VAT is added on to the total

total cost = (Item cost + duty) + VAT.

"Tax on tax" :eek:
 
Is vat applicable to clothing? I didn't think it was. I wou have just thought you wou pay import tax, which is a percentage of the items value.
 
I'm back with my t-shirts. Here's a rundown of the charges.

Import Duty £0.00
Excise Duty £0.00
VAT £4.18
Other £0.00
Royal Mail International Handling Fee £8.00

Wth is the handling fee about? Is it a just because we can charge? :confused:
 
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