The family bought me a couple of Xmas items from the USA, unaware that they might have to pay import duty & VAT etc. The customs declaration on one of the items said it was ‘merchandise’ and gave it a sub $5 value. The other one had a realistic value and there was duty to pay but the postman left it anyway.

I’d like to order some more of the same but have I dodged a duty bullet

Yes you have dodged a duty bullet. The postman should have left you a card which you take to collection depot and have to pay before collecting your item. It will have import duty but also £8 handling charge.

Make the most of it, that postman probably won’t be in his job for long.

have I dodged a duty bullet

Looks like it.

Generally speaking duty is based on the description and value declared by the seller. There are different rates of duty depending on type of goods and value. In addition to duty, the company that processes the delivery through customs will charge an ‘administrative’ charge plus the duty plus VAT on the total.

It will have import duty but also £8 handling charge

Yes the label mentioned £8 handling as well as VAT on the item and the postage!

Thanks folks

Import Duty Calculator

Quick check to see what it should cost

Yes, I think you have- almost every Christmas present we’ve been sent by my wife’s family in the US has incurred some kind of duty and an excessive charge from the postage company. We’ve had to pay duty even when it’s marked gift, on gift vouchers, and when my mother in law has been returning my wife’s property, even when it’s marked as property of a citizen (we got charged something like £45 duty on her old dressing gown and two sets of pyjamas).

Assume you’re going to have to pay duty on it.

In my experience (in France) anything sent by a courier firm (DHL, UPS, FedEx etc) will definitely get taxed, and they won’t deliver until it has been paid. If sent by USPS however (to France, at least) it gets handed over to the French postal service for final delivery and I’ve never had them ask for duty. I think because the customs are less effective than the private couriers at collecting because it means actually checking parcels rather than doing it at point of collection.

We’ve had to pay duty even when it’s marked gift, on gift vouchers, and when my mother in law has been returning my wife’s property,

Yep, no gift exception (not sure there ever was), on returning your own property there is a form ToR 01 I think that you can get and submit if your returning goods, you get a number that goes on the shipping label and it passes through without duty if you are eligible.

Took a bit of time so makes the £8 see like a bargain. Basically anything that is over the threshold needs to be a great deal to order from outside the EU, for gifts Amazon was great as it sorted out most issues and wrapped stuff up. Also avoids the great present anti climax of the customs declaration.

So from a customs POV what’s the value of an item – is it the cost or the price?

The item marked up as < $5 was probably accurate in terms of materials but retailed for a lot more

So from a customs POV what’s the value of an item – is it the cost or the price?

Should be the price, which will be the insurance value you put on the package. Under value and under insure to avoid duty and you risk the thing going missing with no refund – bad idea as a seller if you are responsible for delivery.

If bought from a business it would be the price advised by the seller which would usually be the selling price (less any local taxes). If it is something sent by friends/family they would need to declare a value.
There is always scope for values to be misrepresented but that could potentially cause problems for the business/person declaring the value.

You also pay Vat (and maybe import duty to0 – can’t remember) on the shipping cost.

Should be the price

If bought from a business it would be the price advised by the seller

Right. So in a way the seller was doing me a favour by declaring the cost at the risk of non-delivery

Under value and under insure to avoid duty and you risk the thing going missing with no refund – bad idea as a seller if you are responsible for delivery

I understand now. Many thanks

Declared price + shipping

+ duty based on the item (have to look it up with HMRC) if over £135

+ VAT if applicable to the total of all this inc shipping (VAT applies to anything over £15 in price before shipping, except VAT exempt items).

Gift does not exempt. It raises the base for paying VAT to £39 and can affect duty rates. A business sending as gift would be making an illegal declaration, and this includes eBay sellers. It’s supposed to be for a personal gift sent from an individual, not someone ordering a birthday present from a retailer.

Also applies to second hand items (valuation is the price you paid second hand).

There’s an exemption if it is your own personal item that you’ve taken to another country and are having it sent back.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

Royal Mail doesn’t always charge on every item. It’s too much hassle, so some things go through, especially if smaller values.

Couriers pre-charge. Most won’t hand over until paid, though some will invoice you later.

If an item is clearly illegally declared it can be confiscated or HMRC (or courier on their behalf) will value it themselves.

Amazon sort out the import duty for you now if you order from their US site. I use it fairly often to get some bargains or harder to get items.

Some compliant USA sellers will mark up the carnet with ‘Sample goods, Value $5’ or similar I’ve heard. Royal Mail/ HMRC will not bother to charge duty then

Some compliant USA sellers will mark up the carnet with ‘Sample goods, Value $5’ or similar I’ve heard. Royal Mail/ HMRC will not bother to charge duty then

Had similar ordering brand new camera lenses from Hong Kong. Labelled as “returned/repaired item”.

Totally illegal though. If you’re aware they’re doing it and are shown to have accepted it then technically you can be fined or prosecuted.

Some sellers will refund any fees if you get hit. They insure themselves effectively for the few occurrences.

@Deadkenny has it.

It is very much a lottery as to what you get charged, if at all. I ordered a couple of lightweight bivy bags from the States, the vendor marked up the carnet with the price of one and I just had to pay the £8 courier charge/release fee.

It’s not the duty, that’s just a few percent on most items, but the VAT that’s the stinger.

In my experience anything that UPS ship into the Paris hub then overnight by lorry into the UK hasn’t been charged whereas direct always has.

Labelled as “returned/repaired item”.

You still have to pay duty and vat on it.
You are the supposed to claim back the tax and import you payed on it originally.
I got stung big time on this with a broken/repaired American made Ti frame that I no longer had the original import paperwork for.
Yes you also pay tax on the shipping costs too.
On the flip side I’ve never been charged anything on imports from Hong Kong

Its been over 20 years since I worked in the Heathrow transshipment hub for the courier TNT, but anything that was declared as “Gift” or “Sample” had to be opened up and have the real description written on the invoice/declaration (we didn’t alter the value though).
It was amazing how much cash was being sent this way, so if you wanted your package to slip under the radar then it was a very poor way of doing it.

I recently tried to buy a shop sample Gerber Legend MP800 multitool from the States, cost around $49, but eBay/Paypal refused the sale, possibly because it has a knife blade. I kept looking for one, and found another, a shop clearance item, for $59.95, and the sender dealt with all shipment and duty costs. It came straight to my door, and I paid a total of £69.90, or thereabouts. That’s almost exactly half the price I’d pay for a new one here, £129. Occasionally you find someone in the States who’s helpful and does everything needed to make everything go smoothly.
Certainly I couldn’t be happier with the item or the service given.

I bought a RWC bb for Mrs M’s bike, had to pay import duty/VAT/handling charges. It failed so they sent out a warranty replacement (marked as such) and the b’stards at HMC and post office screwed me over again!

Smeg head gits.