cut a long story short
i bought a 2012 ibis mojo sl frame from ebay USA two weeks ago

had good communication with seller and had tracking number.

frame has landed in uk and is being held at Gatwick Post Office depot.

says under tracking event on website “Awaiting payment of charges”

who’s responsibility is it to pay these (import charges i guess)??

i dont know how much it is yet…will find out tomorrow when i call

i hope its not shed loads

The shipping company will pay it, then get it back off you with some added (possibly illegal) charges.

you, but the courier will most likely do it on your behalf then charge an admin fee on top.

It will be VAT + Import Duty + Handling fee

it was posted USPS us postal service and is at the gatwick post office depot, so i dont think there is a courier involved.

Royal Mail/Parcel Farce will be taking over for there (obviously someone needs to get it to your door)

RM probably, you are the importer therefore you are responsible for all duty and tax. If you have a tracking number then give them a call.

The courier is Parcelforce at this end. They will charge you VAT and duty (20% and 4.7% respectively – both of which apply to the price including shipping) plus a (£12 IIRC) handling fee.

Hi I imported a frame and it was sent UPS. Once into the UK it it went to a royal mail parcelforce depot local to me and I was sent a customs invoice (import duty) This had to be paid before they would release the frame.

The short answer is………..you pay……..

I had to cough up import duty and comedy handling fees on importing a Trance X frame from the fools ok US of freakin A. I did expect to have to pay this though – you should have received a note through the post wight the amount owing clearly written out – I think mine came from Parcel Force/Royal Mail.

(20% and 4.7% respectively – both of which apply to the price including shipping)

20% and 4.7% off what??
the cost the seller paid for shipping?

No, the value of the item. This makes the assumption that the seller has declared the true value for insurance purposes.

EDIT: In other words, unless you got it very cheap or the seller is cheating the system and put a lower value on (therefore sacrificing insurance), prepare to have to bend over.

No, the value of the frame (as declared on the shipping docs) + the shipping cost.

(20% and 4.7% respectively – both of which apply to the price including shipping)
20% and 4.7% off what??
the cost the seller paid for shipping?

The cost of the item the frame.

The value of the frame should have been declared on the postage details when they sent it to you.

If you paid £1000 then you will be asked for 20% of that value.

Ah so the mark up charged by UK distributors doesn’t look so unreasonable now.

**** bullshit….if i had known any of this i would of bought in UK..

my fault for not checking though i guess..i didnt even realise there would be import charges ontop.

in case anyone was wondering..i paid £850 for the frame from eGAY…

im going to go drink myself into an early grave so im so hung over in the morning it wont hurt as much when i ring the post office..

WILL WORK OUT ABOUT £241

death to the postoffice

SUIP 😉

yes, that’s why it’s called VAT – the value the british government adds due to the fact you imported it in to the country for your own use… Agreed – the whole VAT system is a complete joke.

geetee1972 – Member
Ah so the mark up charged by UK distributors doesn’t look so unreasonable now.

POSTED 8 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
proflexforever – Member
**** bullshit….if i had known any of this i would of bought in UK..

Let there be light!!!!

It still amazes me how people forget these things. Even US retail is always quoted without sales tax (not the price they pay) The thread about the Blur Tr being a massive rip off compared to the states and coming in within about £100 of the US price once imported and taxed.

yes, that’s why it’s called VAT – the value the british government adds due to the fact you imported it in to the country for your own use… Agreed – the whole VAT system is a complete joke.

Most goods I buy are for my own use should I not pay VAT on anything?

Avoiding VAT is one step towards being an amazon/Starbucks/RBS!!

Think of the children

im going to go drink myself into an early grave so im so hung over in the morning it wont hurt as much when i ring the post office..

I wouldn’t bother ringing them. They will let you know when it’s ready to collect. Clearing customs can take a while.
They will deliver or let you know where to collect it from once its cleared.

Most goods I buy are for my own use should I not pay VAT on anything?

Yes you should, in most cases there is an actual value added by a UK economic agent, which is what the government collects VAT on. You pay it on the whole amount, but the people supplying it to you deduct the VAT paid on their input costs, so that VAT collected is truly on the value added in the UK. Simple e.g. I import something for £100, sell it to you for £150 (ex VAT) the government only collects VAT on the £50 value that I add. The VAT I paid on importation I claim back from the government which nets against the VAT you pay on the full amount.

In the case of you importing something for your own personal use, there is no domestic value add, no work being done, which is (supposed to be) the fundamental underlying principle of a value added tax. The government collects tax on VALUE generated by a UK based economic agent – the expectation being that they have relied on government provided services and infrastructure to help generate that value.

That actual process by which this convoluted shitfight is administered and the huge burden it places on small businesses is an issue completely overlooked in the frequent ‘look at everything we are doing for small business’ protestations put forth by the government….

Royal mails handling charge will be £8. Not bad on a £240ish bill. But a pain in the arse.

What’s the uk RRP? £1899 with frames being sold off for around £1399. Hmm

This is quite a funny thread. I’m stunned the OP wasn’t aware..

Although someone asked me something similar recently on another forum so maybe i shouldn’t be…

I’ve been lucky sometimes with imports… but my Yelli frame cost me £130 import duty on a used frame…. I wasn’t best pleased.

You live and learn eh.

*awaits thread on shonky frame packaging and opening international ebay disputes*

I once bought some cheap music from ebay US and the seller bumped up the value considerably to ‘cover him/me’. I nearly left the package at the post office when i was given the bill.

IIRC:

1. Cost of frame + 2. Shipping + 3. Import Duty on sum of 1 +2 + 3. VAT on sum of 1, 2 and 3.

That will be converted by HMRC from $ to £.

Then you have UK charges in £:

1. Clearance and handling (including a charge for the use of the Clearer deferment account)+ 2. UK delivery charges.

I have no doubt it will still be cheaper than sourcing UK. However, good luck with any warranty issues.

As the saying goes: if it were that easy….

I think there have been 3 threads on here recently about massive bargains until duty is calculated.

I’ve imported two used frames from the USA back when it was almost $2 to £1. The first was with Royal Mail and I had to wait for them to tell me it was being held in their customs yards and to pay VAT, import duty and holding fee and it took 3 weeks. The second was with UPS and it came straight to my door and the courier had a hand held debit card wotsit and I paid VAT and import duty on the spot with no extra holding charges or delay.

Ideally you need to get the item listed as a gifted so you can cheat the tax system but then you are stuffed if it gets damaged…

>Ideally you need to comply with the tax system but then you are stuffed if it needs warrantied…<

FTFY

Ideally you need to get the item listed as a gifted so you can cheat the tax system but then you are stuffed if it gets damaged…

Proper illegal tax evasion, thats nice, no wonder there are cuts everywhere.

The first was with Royal Mail and I had to wait for them to tell me it was being held in their customs yards and to pay VAT, import duty and holding fee and it took 3 weeks

As soon as you see it’s awaiting payment on the tracking info, you can go and collect it yourself, no need to wait for them to send you a letter.

Sadly listing an item as a gift won’t make an iota of difference- we just had to pay £65 duty and handling on a box from my in-laws in the US at Christmas. The box contained 2 chocolate Father Christmases, 2 cards and a bath robe that my wife had owned for 3 years. Given what they charge for this I have no qualms with people scamming the system.

Is the frame used? If so then you can raise an appeal as, depending on age and condition, you may not be liable for as much tax as they are charging. Also, the post office are NOT legally allowed to charge you a handling charge- do some googling and point out to the parcel force depot the legality of it (It’s something to do with withholding mail).

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/complaints-appeals/how-to-appeal/indirect-tax.htm

It gets to the point where I often just have the following conversation with them-

Me- “How much will cost for me to collect this?”

Them- “£65”

Me- “How much will it cost me to send it back to the US?”

Them- “Nothing”

Me- “And how much will it cost you to send it back to the US?”

Them- “Lots”

Me- “Do that then. Bye”

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion/hotline.htm
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/tax-evasion-costing-uk-52-billion-a-year-8474240.html

it all adds up….

Keep your fingers crossed and hope the sender didnt put the full price of a new frame on the declaration for insurance reasons.

Do what a friend of mine does, wait until you go to NY or Florida on holiday, buy it from local shop/Jesen USA etc. pay for next day delivery. Get it delivered to hotel and bring back as luggage because fat Americans need 1 million KG of baggage allowance so there’s often space for a complete bike if you’re careful let alone a frame or components.

That’s still tax evasion if you don’t declare it when you enter the country.

bencooper – Member
That’s still tax evasion if you don’t declare it when you enter the country.

But it’s friendly low level tax evasion not like those nasty companies

And it’s me doing it, can’t be tax evasion if it’s me doing it.

mikewsmith – Member
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion/hotline.htm
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/tax-evasion-costing-uk-52-billion-a-year-8474240.html

it all adds up….

See – this is the kind of insane deduction which drives me crazy. Where do they think that £52bn is coming from? It may be tax revenue which by some warped reasoning they feel they have a right to collect, but it’s not a cost to the nation. If I had the vaguest notion the government might spend that tax money in some useful and productive way I’d be a bit more concerned….

Ah back to the one where tax only applies if I agree with it….

No – there needs to be some logical and consistent process for applying it. What I’m saying is that even allowing that the figure may be £52bn, it’s not lost to the country – it may be lost as tax revenue, but it still exists.

I don’t mind paying tax where it’s fairly and equitably applied.