I had a nasty shock recently, courtesy of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.
A very kind friend in the United States had sent me a beautiful gift – an Alaskan Ulu and chopping board.
It really is the most wonderfully crafted piece of kit and Ruf absolutely adores it. My friend carefully chose the handle to be made from Alaskan wood, rather than the normal bone so it is completely vegan friendly.
I have had an enormous amount of vicarious pleasure watching Ruf contentedly chopping up all the garlic, herbs and vegetables that he likes to mix together to provide me with the most amazing vegan sustenance.
It was the perfect gift. Thank you, Michael x
But, back to the Customs problem. I knew that the parcel had arrived in the UK, because I got a letter from a courier service stating that they were holding an international parcel on my behalf, but that they would not deliver it until various charges had been paid.
These were detailed as VAT (that’s value added tax) at £13.88 plus a Customs clearance fee levied by the courier company of £8.
On researching this further, I discovered that this is not a new thing, it has been going on for some time, although I had been unaware of it.
Basically, for anyone else sending gifts to the UK from outside the European Union, the facts are these:
Any goods imported into the UK over the value of £18 are liable to import VAT; gifts between private individuals over the value of £40 are also liable for VAT. Goods and gifts over these values may also be liable for Customs duty. As of the 1st of December 2008 you will no longer be required to pay customs duty for goods up to the value of £135, however you will still be required to pay import VAT and excise duty where applicable.
Customs duty is a tax charged on goods produced outside the EU. It is controlled by HM Revenue & Customs. The purpose of Duty is to keep competition equal and fair and to bring the cost of imported goods up to the same cost as those produced within the EU. Once duty is paid, the goods are in ‘free circulation’ and can move throughout the EU without restriction.
Certain goods such as wines, spirits, cigars, cigarettes and tobacco are subject to what is called excise duty. When you buy excisable goods in the UK the price you pay includes this tax. However, if you import these goods either from the EU or from outside the EU, you will have to pay Excise Duty and VAT on them. The Excise Duty is often more than the cost of the goods, and private consumers buying excisable goods over the Internet should be extremely careful as there are different regulations governing the purchase of these goods on the Internet.
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax normally charged on the supply of goods (and services) made by a VAT registered business. However, imported goods are also subject to VAT. This is to prevent a purchaser gaining an unfair advantage by buying non-EU goods VAT free..
Gifts sent as parcels from the US are examined by Customs officials there and can be sent to the UK free of Duty and VAT only if they comply with these rules:
* The value of the goods must not exceed £36 (approximately $72).
* Packages must be correctly declared.
* They must have been sent by a private person abroad to another private person in Britain.
* The gift must be for the use of either yourself or your family.
* There is no commercial or trade element.
* Any alcohol, tobacco products, perfumes or toilet waters are within the Customs allowances and costs (see above).
* They must be of an occasional nature only, such as a birthday or anniversary.
It is possible for the sender to pay these charges in advance or in retrospect but no parcel will be released, unless the fees have been paid.
Unpaid parcels, resulting from disputes about Customs charges, cannot be delivered and will be returned to sender if they have been held at the depot for more than 20 days.
Naturally, because of the holiday period, I paid up promptly and the parcel arrived the following morning.
I suppose I should think positively because I believe VAT went up at the beginning of this year, so it could have been even more, but it just seemed very wrong that a gift could incur these charges; something that was not going to be sold on or used for commercial gain.
You have been warned!
I just had to post this, since it really made me laugh… and the original Proclaimers’ video has had embedding disabled by request.
my son encountered this a few years ago when he bought a laptop from US through ebay. It took us a while to track down where it had gone to only to discover that we had to pay import duty before he could collect it.