Customs limits from U.S by post

[daleke]

I am buying some dolls from the USA and having them posted to me in the UK. Can anyone tell me when I have to pay customs and excise on the dolls, or what the upper limit is on the dolls worth before I have to pay any tax.I bought a doll a few years back and when it arrived here I had to pay �50 duty to get har released from customs.Whats the rules please?

[Catso]

NB These are from memory! I'm sure someone else will come along with accurate figures.

Anything valued at less than �18, they don't bother with.

Above that, your stuff is subject to import duties, the level of which vary from 0% to 40-ish%, typically around the 5-10% level.

Then you get VAT added onto the post-import-duty price. And (though I think this bit is a bit dubious) they VAT you on the carriage charges. (As these were paid (and taxed) in the country of origin, for a service in the country of origin, I don't think this is right - but what can you do?!)

Finally, the company handling all this for you EG FedEx, Royal Mail, will charge you for their services.

As a very rough rule of thumb, I always add 25% to what I paid to cover these charges.

However, if they are busy at the importation port, and you're lucky, you might get it through absolutely free. They don't check & charge every package.

[jennyp]

Is that why sometimes parcels are marke 'gift' to avoid the tax??????

[daleke]

It certainly is,But they have still got to be under a certain amount which is what I am trying to find out.

[Trotbot]

Catso, duty and VAT is charged on the freight and insurance costs under the WTO Valuation Agreement option selected by the EU. Signatories can choose between FOB (tax on F&I to the point of export) or CIF (tax to the point of import). 95% of signatories opted for CIF. Actually, the EU uses a pre-CIF, as they only take duty on the airfreight to the point the aircraft enters EU airspace.

The international freight is not normally taxed in the country of export as it is deemed to be an exported service.

25% - 30% is a good rule of thumb, more for textiles, less for hi-tech. Inspection charges for commercial shipments labelled as gifts can be higher!

[daleke]

Thank you for your answers.Catso was right about the �18.00.My parcel arrived valued at $40.00 and I was charged �3.72 tax and �4.00 from the post office for them to present it to customs.On the parcel is a note from H.M customs saying that anything over �18.00 in value will be subject to tax plus the �4.00 the post office charge for the presentation to customs.Thanks again.