Rotty said:
£18 inc post , not 36 iirc
£0-£18 on the value means the type of import is generally irrelevant, no charges are given on most things. Exceptions to this rule include goods which require Excise to be paid, or ones which are applicable to a CAP duty rate.
[Edit2] Oh yeah, you can't actually import things with a value of £0, everything needs some sort of value, and it's quite irritating when shippers try to claim goods have no value at all in the slightest.
£18-£36 on the value of the goods and a gift will get full relief from import duty and VAT.
[Edit] Forgot to say, this type of gift the postage is irrelevant, it's not included.
£36-£290 on the value + the freight charge for the next segment of gifts will give you a flat duty rate of 3.5% and standard VAT rate of 17.5% or whichever rate is normally charged for the goods. Children's clothing for example don't get charged VAT and works of art are applicable to a 5% rating of VAT. This procedure is only of any use if the duty rate is normally higher than 3.5%.
If you have a gift with a higher value the only way it can be applicable for a gift entry is if it's a wedding gift which requires various proofs.
And the HMRC website isn't that hard to use if you know what they're talking about, but if you don't then do a lotta background reading first on the subject!!
