Quizzes & Puzzles2 mins ago
For Those Living Outside The Uk...
24 Answers
A surprise for you!
If you have to have anything sent to you by post, you will have to pay a tariff.
I had a wee shock last week, a package a friend sent me, which cost him £6, insisted on a 2nd charge of €6. The Spanish post office said it was a result of Brexit!!!
If you have to have anything sent to you by post, you will have to pay a tariff.
I had a wee shock last week, a package a friend sent me, which cost him £6, insisted on a 2nd charge of €6. The Spanish post office said it was a result of Brexit!!!
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.I never buy or sell anything from / too the EUSSR, they are all rip off merchants. If you sell they claim they haven't had it and Ebay always favour the buyer if you buy it either doesn't turn up or they charge you an arm and a leg on top. I had some Italian guy begging me to sell him a rare car part but I just couldn't take the chance, he probably was genuine.
>>> or are these customs charges?
They certainly are for anything coming into the UK from the EU (or from elsewhere, such as the USA).
For anything up to the value of £135 (excluding alcohol, tobacco and perfume) there's no Customs Duty or Import VAT to pay. Under those circumstances, there's no customs inspection fee to pay either.
However from £135.01 upwards, the first thing that happens is that Import Duty is calculated. (For some types of goods, that might be zero. For others though, such as cotton-based clothing from the USA, that can be as high as 27%). Then 20% VAT is added onto both the cost of the goods and the Import Duty. (Yes, that really is a tax on a tax). Then a £12 customs examination fee is added on top of all that lot.
The foregoing assumes that the items weren't sent as a gift. There used to be a 'gift allowance' that entitled someone in the UK to receive occasional gifts from overseas (such as those for birthdays) without paying VAT or Import Duty. i.e. the whole point of it was to create a concession. However the gift allowance now has exactly the opposite effect from the one originally intended, as any gift over £39 is subject to VAT (and consequently to the £12 inspection fee on top of that). So gifts valued between £35.01 and £135 get clobbered for charges, whereas other imports within that range of values don't!
They certainly are for anything coming into the UK from the EU (or from elsewhere, such as the USA).
For anything up to the value of £135 (excluding alcohol, tobacco and perfume) there's no Customs Duty or Import VAT to pay. Under those circumstances, there's no customs inspection fee to pay either.
However from £135.01 upwards, the first thing that happens is that Import Duty is calculated. (For some types of goods, that might be zero. For others though, such as cotton-based clothing from the USA, that can be as high as 27%). Then 20% VAT is added onto both the cost of the goods and the Import Duty. (Yes, that really is a tax on a tax). Then a £12 customs examination fee is added on top of all that lot.
The foregoing assumes that the items weren't sent as a gift. There used to be a 'gift allowance' that entitled someone in the UK to receive occasional gifts from overseas (such as those for birthdays) without paying VAT or Import Duty. i.e. the whole point of it was to create a concession. However the gift allowance now has exactly the opposite effect from the one originally intended, as any gift over £39 is subject to VAT (and consequently to the £12 inspection fee on top of that). So gifts valued between £35.01 and £135 get clobbered for charges, whereas other imports within that range of values don't!