Import Tax On Usa Clothes?

[EDDIE51]

I have bought my wife a dress costing $ 18 from a USA web site , the site warns I may have to pay Import tax and VAT. I do not mind paying but I just wonder how much it might be so as I can have the cash ready, as it is payable on delivery. Any one done this and know?

[wolf63]

You have bought your wife a dress - brave man.

I bought t-shirts from a US site and they were only valued at about $20 and I didn't have to pay import tax etc. But not sure how long ago that was

[EDDIE51]

She choose it I just paid for it!

[wolf63]

That's okay then :-)

[ummmm]

There was a thread on this recently. I'm almost certain Chris answered saying if the value of goods was less than XYZ then there was no import tax. I think he said $35

[follyfancier]

I bought jewellery from the USA on Ebay recently which cost about £30.00 and had to pay £11.00 customs tax on it before they would deliver it from my local post depot,they sent a postcard asking for the payment within 14 days,it was quite a shock as the ebay listing said there wouldn,t be any more import charges

[Buenchico]

I gave a detailed explanation of the rules recently in my post here:
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Law/Question1549636.html

At $18 ( = £14.05) the value of the goods is just under the critical £15 mark, so there shouldn't be anything to pay.

However be wary of buying anything from a non-EU country which costs more than £15 because the charges can add up very quickly. (They can be particularly steep on cotton-based goods from the USA because, on top of the 12% Import Duty which applies to such goods from elsewhere outside of the EU, there's a 15% penalty tax to pay. That's charged on cotton goods from the USA because their government is in breach of World Trade Organisation rules through providing state subsidies to US cotton farmers).

As an example, if the dress had cost $25 + $10 carriage ( = £27.31 in total) there would be no Import Duty but there would be £5.46 VAT and an £8 customs examination fee to pay, making the total charges come to £13.46.

If the dress had cost $200 +$10 carriage (= £156.06 + £7.80 ) there would be 27% of £156.06 (= £42.14) Import Duty to pay, plus 20% of {£156.06 + £7.80 + £42.14} as VAT (= £41.20), plus an £8 examination fee, making a total of £91.34 in charges.

[ummmm]

Don't know where I got $35 from...

[EDDIE51]

Thanks, the dress was a real bargain an 85% reduction from the original price. My wife want's it for a wedding she has been invited to.
Hope it's ok as it will be 'my fault' if she does not like it!!

[Old_Geezer]

Better to go holiday there in just your jeans & tee shirt, and come back with a normal sized wardrobe's worth that you obviously haven't just bought.