hi , does every flashlight which comes into the UK, say from the US, or Hong Kong, always get checked to see if VAT has been paid?..cos the thing is, I have had a PD32UE from a US store come to me in the UK with no notice that VAT was not paid, as it arrived and that was that. now some weeks back, I got another PD32UE from the same US seller, but this time, I got a notice from royal mail post office here in the UK that a package has not been paid for, something like VAT, and I need to go to the delivery office and pay a fee to release it. I paid like £16.88.
if I didn’t pay, it would of been held onto and sent back to sender.
so would this mean if I buy US, or Hong Kong again, would I always have to pay this charge, or is it just luck of the draw if my package is stopped?.
adding the cost I paid to the post office and customs, comes to just as much I would pay if I bought the same flashlight here in the UK.
is it just best to buy from the UK rather than having to go to a post office and pay that VAT and collect…
what do you do?.
It is luck. I have been stung a few times with customs charges and the Royal Mail “handling fee” is ridiculous.
I used to buy more from the US when the USD was weaker, but with the postal charges and exchange rate now it doesn’t seem worth it. More so, it seems things I buy from HK etc. tend to go under the radar.
It is prudent to calculate customs and weigh up if it is worth the risk to import. Sometimes good deals can be had within the EU too. But it can be costly to send things back.
Of many shipments into the UK (mostly Asia, little bit of US), I only got stung on a US shipment that arrived via fedex. I did appreciate when some of the Asian vendors accidentally under-declared the value…
I’ve been stung a few times importing stuff from across the pond customs seems to be more particular in recent years with imports from USA. I think the maximum import allowance is £18.00 including shipping costs.
Not had any problems as yet with china although I don’t go stupid, tend to keep values lowish and make multiple orders.
All stuff goes through customs and is scanned. Then luck will out….US stuff probable, far eastern less so, and as said if the value is put down at a lower figure (by mistake obviously ) that helps. Also if a value of over £135 import duty can also levied.
The max gift value is £35 if they choose to enforce it.
I would like to know why we are held to ransom by the various carriers and have to pay their iniquitous charges to collect the vat. Should be possible to pay direct to c&e. Royal Mail charged £8 to collect £19 now who is the highwaymen!.
As Chloe says, factor in the charges when buying. Then if you have to pay you are prepared, if not you won a lottery. Also as others say rather than putting in one order of several items do more less value orders.
Unfortunately though I prefer to deal with US dealers the far east is often cheaper, but less reliable, pot luck really. One of the pleasures of living in ‘Treasure Island’ Britain I’m afraid.
Last year Uk Customs & Excise limits dropped from £18 to £15. So if the value of something is above £15 they may sting you for import VAT, with the post office stinging you again for them paying HMRC the import VAT . So you end up stung twice and charged for the honour of it.
One thing to watch out for is the item could cost £15 but if there is postage or delivery charge that gets included too and you get charged the VAT on both.
Anything bought inside the EU is as though you had bought it in the UK. So there should be no VAT or duty.
I have heard it said that imports from the USA go through a different unit and tend to be checked closely (looking for weapons etc) as a lot of guy on British Blades have had issues with over zealous classifications of standard knives as ‘gravity knives’. The same knife being available in the uk or from the EU with no problems)
I’ve tended to stick to budget lights ordered from China. Singapore etc that come in under the £15 mark and have had no issues at all, I’d be more inclined to purchase from the EU than from the USA as the duty on a ‘cheap’ light deal from the USA would kill any saving.
Never been stung on LOTS of packages from China, mostly low value but several $100 ones. The exact opposite has happen with packages from the US, 100% I’ve been hit with charges. So much for being the 51st state or helping trade with a close allie vs communist states!
If I buy a torch from the United States
to uk with import tax and delivery included in price, will I pay vat on top of that or is import the vat basically
Basically this is this what most EU states have been doing for years anyway, has to be below 15EUR, or else you get VAT on both the item cost and shipping cost, at higher cost you also pay other custom fees. Seems like there is no actual enforcing of this just taxing on a whim, now tax, tomorrow not, random people, etc.
) that helps. Also if a value of over £135 import duty can also levied.
thanks for heads up