Import Duty Faq

[tomturd]

Stolen from another forum,

Guide to Import Duty:

Worked out using £1 = $1.89

If the item is Under £18 ($34) - Inc Delivery and/or marked as "Gift", There "Should" be no import Duty.

If the item is Under £36 ($68) - Inc Delivery and is being sent from one private individual to another, There "Should" be no import Duty.

If the item doesnt meet the above you will have to pay Import duty, and its worked out like this:

Duty can be upto 85% (in extreme cases)

Duty is based on the type of item being imported - its worked out using a rating system, that dosnt seem to listed on the net, but heres a crazy example:

A Leather handbag would have a duty of 8%

A PLASTIC handbag would have a duty of 14.7%

Ring these ba$tards to find out the duty on your item before you order:

Customs National Advice Service: 0845 010 9000

(They'll ask a lot of questions, its not as easy as; "its a digital camera", oh no, the duty is effected by all-sorts of things - the functions, if it can work as a webcam, all-sorts, make sure you know about the item before you ring, or just lie )

Anyway, Duty is worked out like this:

(Price of item) + (Delivery) = Total Cost.

(Total Cost) * (Duty%) = Total Duty

But it doesnt end there  Now us lucky brits have our good old 17.5% VAT to pay, which is:

(Total Cost) + (Total Duty) * 17.5% = Sub Total

Thats it, in a way. The Sub Total IS the total Import Duty, but the delivery company now adds some on, called "Customs Clearance Fees":

Royal Mail Charge: £4

Parcel Force Charge: £8

etc, etc.

Then there could be an "administration fee" - this is for items held up in customs, late payment etc

A Quick example after all the above: 

This is importing a very basic digital cam worth $100, and the duty is 7% (to make it easy)

Duty:

(Camera) $100 + (Del) $10 = (Total Cost) $110

(Total Cost) $110 * (Duty)7% = $7.70

Total Duty = $7.70

Vat:

(Total Cost) $110 + (Total Duty) * 17.5% = $20.60

Sub Total = $20.60

Total: $130.60 or £69.10

£69.10 + (Import Charge)£4 = £73.10

All Done, your getting the $100 camera for $138.10

or a £52.95 camera for £73.10

£20.15 Duty costs, import charge, and vat

[Phatmike]

Aye, i was gonna do something like this, i've been hit a few times.

To put something in perspective that's relational to something we'd buy:

"Bike Parts", $240 + $25.75 postage (or shipping if you're american (N) )

£0 Import and Excise Duty. (Weird actually!)

£25.65 VAT

£13.50 Parcel Force Clearence fee.

£39.15 total. (N)

The thing that bums me is that it makes no difference to Customs if a person writes the value as $20 not $200, (although this IS illegal), yet they can charge £40! :(

Ah well.

Mike. :lol:

[Haz]

Just incase, I found THIS this link on the customs and excise website.

It shows the duty payed for loads of commonly imported items. :-

[sfboy]

Just incase, I found THIS this link on the customs and excise website.

It shows the duty payed for loads of commonly imported items. :huh:

←

Well thats gay:

MP3 ( without radio ) 2%

MP3 ( with radio ) 10%

radio 0%

hmm

Edited August 8, 2005 by sfboy

[rich4130]

So a helmet, costing approx $40 inc shipping, will have no extra charge?

Need an answer asap!

Cheers.

Edit: Being sent from one individal to another, from ebay.

Edited August 15, 2005 by rich4130

[Michael Hardman]

Does anyone know how to pay the excess import taxes.

If I bought something from US and it was shipped and I needed to pay some extra do they hold the item and contact me or does it get delivered and I pay at a later date.

[Phatmike]

Does anyone know how to pay the excess import taxes.

If I bought something from US and it was shipped and I needed to pay some extra do they hold the item and contact me or does it get delivered and I pay at a later date.

If it's been sent by USPS, then you'll have to pay by cash or cheque when you receive the item on your doorstep.

If it's been sent by FedEx, then they'll send you a bill after.

Mike.