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novaturbo

UK Customs Charges

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Hi folks,

I ordered a RSR Porsche (GT01) from hong kong. Got it cheaper than in the UK and thought it would arrive ok as all my parts usually come from Hong Kong.

However got a letter today from parcel force asking for £35.31 VAT and £8 handling charge.

Does this amount sound right? The car only cost £68 plus postage so £35.31 vat sounds excessive to me.

Has anyone got kits sent from abroad without incurring any charges? I'd like to know if this is really common as I'll know in future to just buy in the UK.

Keith

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They also put VAT on top of the postal charge as well!

It isnt far of the mark value wise.

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Depends on the price of the Porsche

The £35 odd is based on the total declared cost of the goods - and is made up of around 4% duty and 20% VAT

So if the car and shipping was around £160-£180, that's about right.

If the car was significantly less than that, then someone's made a mistake either declaring the value or reading the declaration, in which case you have a few options;

Refuse to pay which means the parcel will be returned to seller (takes a fair while) and start again

or

Pay the fees, see where the mistake was made and apply for a refund of the over charge - takes about 6 weeks for refund.

The third option is refuse the parcel so it gets returned and, if you paid by paypal, start a paypal claim - it's kinda abusing the system, but you just cite 'non-receipt of goods' as the reason.

The mistakes usually happen when someones read HK dollars as US dollars etc.

If you decide to go for a refund, HM Customs need the original declaration label off the box (so don't rip it up opening the box) and also proof of what you paid - Paypal transaction screen print-off etc.

I've had to get a couple of refunds and there's no problem doing it, but going via HM Customs is your only option, the parcel handler won't do anything about it (from past experience)

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parcel force asking for £35.31 VAT and £8 handling charge.

Does this amount sound right? The car only cost £68 plus postage so £35.31 vat sounds excessive to me.

£35 vat on £68 is more than 50%.

Before you pay the bill, send them a letter of complaint, and include the bill from paypal which proves how much you paid.

Then conclude the letter with "according to my calculations I should only pay X pounds. I await your response within 10 days, and I dispute your demand for payment until such date."

Hope this helps.

68 x 0.20 should be about £17. So £35 is twice what you should be paying.

!!!I would not pay the bill!!!!

I stress this. Don't pay it straight away, send the letter of complaint and dispute it, then await their response.

Getting money back will be near to impossible after you have paid.

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Having read this its even more reason to try to only buy from uk suppliers - what a total and utter rip off and the nerve of royal mail for adding tax onto postage beggers belive . Rip off Britain . :(

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Having had this a couple of times now, the Royal Mail/Parcel Force will not change their bill, so writing to them is just extending the time before you get a refund.

They base their calculations based on the seller's declaration, so it could well be the seller's made a mistake on the declaration or not made it clear what currency the declaration is based on.

The quickest way to resolve it is pay then request an over-payment refund

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Having had this a couple of times now, the Royal Mail/Parcel Force will not change their bill, so writing to them is just extending the time before you get a refund.

They base their calculations based on the seller's declaration, so it could well be the seller's made a mistake on the declaration or not made it clear what currency the declaration is based on.

The quickest way to resolve it is pay then request an over-payment refund

Thanks. It's paid now and I'll find out why it's so high when it arrives :-)

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Even if they've declared a higher £ value you can still get a refund by proving to HM Customs what you paid

Refund info here;

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/paying-tax.htm#6

http://search2.hmrc.gov.uk/kb5/hmrc/forms/...&formid=178

http://search.hmrc.gov.uk/kb5/hmrc/hmrc/re...und+import+duty

Or try ringing 'em first to ensure that's the right section - they're very helpful! http://search2.hmrc.gov.uk/kbroker/hmrc/co...=&tx0=49682

Getting the money back is not difficult, you're only obliged to pay what's due, it just takes a few weeks.

The courier either will have paid, or are down as having to pay HMRC £35.31 on your behalf, so they won't refund your ££ or amend their records, but HMRC are obliged to refund overpayment as it's monies they've obtained in error.

It's a pain in the derriere having to wait because of someone else's foul-up, but you will get it back

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