Why do some items get customs duty when bought in UK?

[angiebabes]

Can anyone explain to me why some items bought in uk and shipped here by retailer attract no customs duty, others do? I'm particularly interested in clothes shopping. Over the past two or three years I have bought dresses from BODEN - no customs to pay - dresses from ARTIGIANO, WALLIS, - customs to pay - beauty items via AMAZON, EBAY - no customs to pay. Problem is, there seems to be no consistency at all and so it is difficult to factor in a customs' charge when deciding whether to buy from UK based retailers. Same thing has happened when purchasing via USA.

Any light you are able to shed on this scenario??

[casabonny]

It seems as you have found out to be very hit and miss! As a general rule of thumb if items are sent via courier then you will always have to pay duty here. With regard to items sent in normal post they usually do not attract the attention of customs but those that require a signature do. I agree it's very frustrating and now if an item has to be delivered by courier I don't bother as its usually not cost effective and with signed for post it depends on who is sending and the value of the item as declared on the UK customs declaration.

[universal]

I have just received an item from Germany via UPS/CLC, value 11.26€ plus 10.84€ express shipping, total 22.10€
Price to receive goods 26.37€ for "taxes" when I inquired I was informed it was because the value was over 22.00€!
Only in Tenerife..............................

[primrose]

I have had lots of parcels from the UK and have only ever had to pay Customs Duty on one, it was a parcel from Marks and Spencers and I had 7 euros to pay, but have had quite a few from Marks since and never had anything to pay. It is very hit and miss and you can just be unlucky.

[timmylish]

As others have said, I don,t think its hit or miss at all. In the 3 years we have used Amazon, 32' TV, 2 lap-tops, full size HP printer/fax/scanner and about 40 other items, all smaller, we have never had to pay duties, even when having to sign for the items in question. Earlier this year we ordered 2 small electrical items and they came from Amazon in Germany thru' a courier system and bang. Had to pay duty! A casual enquiry revealed that due to the volume of postal traffic the Excise people generally don,t look at the post. However the courier system is much, much easier to look at. Makes sense. Problem is Amazon will not be dictated to on delivery of goods. I have tried to persuade them to send a recent item by post but they said that they could not deal with individual requests. I tried all sorts of arguements on the basis of lost business since people will stop using them but, to no avail, unfortunately.
So there you have it. A full explanation.

[angiebabes]

I didn't think electrical goods were allowed to be brought into the island??. Ha e tried to order replacement heads for toothbrushes via Amazon, to be told electrical goods not allowed?? On a facetious note, that must be one hell of a living room you have for your t.v.!

[timmylish]

Ooooooppppppppps. See what happens when typing at 02.30!
As for the matter of electrical goods, are tv,s laptops etc not electrical or is it something else?

[finca18jrl]

Ironically, just paid 36 euros on a DHL delivery...Early Xmas pressie from sister consisting of Xmas goodies valued at £45. Do I tell her or not???

[Fivepence]

Ironically, just paid 36 euros on a DHL delivery...Early Xmas pressie from sister consisting of Xmas goodies valued at £45. Do I tell her or not???

I wouldn't tell her finca. :wave:

[languagefan]

My friend who is based in the US sent me 2nd hand a 4GB usb stick (worth less than 4 eu) that contained a few family videos through fedex and they asked 18 euros duty! She sent me the same thing through snail mail and I rcvd it without any hassle!

[arthur]

I had my electric piano sent from the UK by courier, I had to pay €72 tax, even though I sent it to myself and bought it over 10 years ago. Still, there's no other way I could have done it I suppose!

[Fivepence]

I had my electric piano sent from the UK by courier, I had to pay €72 tax, even though I sent it to myself and bought it over 10 years ago. Still, there's no other way I could have done it I suppose!

I don't know anything about this topic Arthur but that seems wrong.

You hadn't purchased it from a retailer at that time, it was your own possession.
If you moved over and sent it in a container with other stuff, would they still have charged you? :dontknow:

[arthur]

The courier (TNT) said that everything is subject to duty that comes in through them to Tenerife, even if it's from Spain. The guy said that his family in Madrid no longer send him Christmas presents because each time he gets landed with a bill, they just transfer some money into his bank account so he can buy himself something instead. It's something to do with Tenerife not being part of the EU I think.

[Suej]

I didn't think electrical goods were allowed to be brought into the island??. Ha e tried to order replacement heads for toothbrushes via Amazon, to be told electrical goods not allowed?? On a facetious note, that must be one hell of a living room you have for your t.v.!

If you look at my Amazon thread angiebabes you will see that a member received a vacuum cleaner recently from Amazon UK! sometime ago I also received a slow cooker sent from a friend in UK!

[angiebabes]

Thanks for that thought electricals were not allowed. Will try again

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The courier (TNT) said that everything is subject to duty that comes in through them to Tenerife, even if it's from Spain. The guy said that his family in Madrid no longer send him Christmas presents because each time he gets landed with a bill, they just transfer some money into his bank account so he can buy himself something instead. It's something to do with Tenerife not being part of the EU I think.
Funnily enough about 10 years ago we too brought out our electric piano. Got a price to freight it out which was about £300 and would take about 6weeks and necessitate paying duty at Santa Cruz. Then phoned monarch who we were flying out with and they said yes we could fly it out on the plane we were travelling on. At the airport in Manchester they couldn't have been more helpful. Said it was classed as sports equipment as it was a hobby (!) and it cost £60 which was amazing. Caused a few comments when the piano came up onto the conveyor belt at TFS but it was all ok.

[navycut]

I just received a delivery via Fedex, having paid the supplier for shipping.
The delivery driver demanded 33.74. 3.74 for igic and 30 for Customs Clearance. Is this a rip off?
Fedex use a local courier company here.

[Pooh]

I just received a delivery via Fedex, having paid the supplier for shipping.
The delivery driver demanded 33.74. 3.74 for igic and 30 for Customs Clearance. Is this a rip off?
Fedex use a local courier company here.

Probably correct. You should have received a statement showing the declared values and the duties. (Sometimes they send that to you later.)
You didn't mention the value of the goods; It's dependent on that (including freight costs), AND on the type of goods (different customs tariffs), but with a minimum of something like 12 Euros, no matter what the value is. (Most of that fee is actually the fee the Courier charge you for handling the customs clearance.)

Stuff sent via Courier are always subject to duty because Customs have delegated the handling to the Courier companies, which means they have to do it, and never forget. (Since they would be fined if customs found out.)
Stuff coming via regular mail is more hit and miss (more miss), since that depends on the actual Customs having to get an eye on it, and the post office to bother.

[Balcony]

Normaly good ordered from within the EU attract no new duty. Certain things bought from the US, like cameras may attract some duty. Certainly I've bought clothes on line and usually what is delivered by the Post Office never gets charged.

Some delivery companies do, in my opinion, take the pee by raising a charge which I think does nothing but go into their coffers. Simply refuse to pay it and let them send it back. Tell the seller and request a refund as good have not been received.

I appreciate you might not want the bother, but I'm a bolchy git sometimes about stuff like this.

[bonitatime]

Everything should have tax due from 3% to 33%.
If anyone checks their paperwork they can read how much was tax And how much was courier paperwork charges.

[DeeD]

Are books, DVDs etc still getting through from Amazon without charge? Thanks.

[golf birdie]

Everything should have tax due from 3% to 33%.
If anyone checks their paperwork they can read how much was tax And how much was courier paperwork charges.

they seem to be having a purge on items from abroad. last week I had an item that cost 7 quid and they wanted 29€ in charges. 25€ was for processing the paperwork. I refused to accept it and they took it back. This is the 3rd item this year I have refused due to the costs. Don't have any problems with paying the IGIC but last year the cost for clearing customs was never over 12/13 euros, this year it has doubled. I have now started buying from Germany and so far there has been no problems.

[Sombra]

Anyone any idea how much customs I might expect to pay on a pair of trainers worth €55? €65 if you include shipping but I think it's calculated on the value of the goods which I imagine excluded shipping? As many people said before, usually it's hit and miss but I'm expecting to be taxed on these as UPS just called asking for my NIE. Thanks for your help

[golf birdie]

Anyone any idea how much customs I might expect to pay on a pair of trainers worth €55? €65 if you include shipping but I think it's calculated on the value of the goods which I imagine excluded shipping? As many people said before, usually it's hit and miss but I'm expecting to be taxed on these as UPS just called asking for my NIE. Thanks for your help

7% IGIC plus about 25€.

[bonitatime]

Depends if they are coming by post or courier