Customs tax

Are you sure it's not a scam?

Sounds a bit suspicious to me.......I wouldn't be paying until I had done some more research.

I'd try contacting the seller on Etsy.
Ask if they were aware of the custom tax.
It is possible, as others have said, be a scam.

Sounds like a scam - they wouldn’t deliver the goods and ask for tax later.

Contact Fedex and ask for confirmation.

Well, I did wonder, but the details of the bag are with the letter, so how would a scammer know that?

I googled, and Fedex do charge customs tax. I agree that it seems more likely that the tax would be charged at the time, but this is not a situation I have been in before.

Has anyone on here had this happen?

No- I don't buy stuff on-line. Fed ex is an American company.

Friend bought a made to measure wedding dress from Bulgaria. Got a not from Customs that she had to pay £350 import tax before it could be delivered. She has been in denial about the damage done by Brexit- but she phoned me to say she'd got the message now!

I'm not sure what to do. I will start by contacting the seller, and see what happens. I know a few companies have stopped trading in the UK since the Brexit rules came in (eg Yves Rocher), but others are up-front about taxes. I used to buy from Onling (a yarn shop in Denmark) and VIBAe (footwear in Finland), but their import charges are so high now that I have stopped doing so. The charge seems very high for a bag, unless it is based on the weight and size of the parcel.

Claremont

Friend bought a made to measure wedding dress from Bulgaria. Got a not from Customs that she had to pay £350 import tax before it could be delivered. She has been in denial about the damage done by Brexit- but she phoned me to say she'd got the message now!

Yes, it's the retrospective nature of the charge that is so annoying. If they had stated in the listing that there would be a charge I could have decided whether or not to go ahead. There are plenty of bags in the world - I don't know that I'd have bought this one if I'd known.

keepingquiet

No- I don't buy stuff on-line. Fed ex is an American company.

Fed ex are world wide now keepingquiet
I’d still check it out Doodledogs most payments like this are required before or on delivery, no payment, no goods.

Since Brexit you have to pay customs duties on anything you import from the EU and the EU countries have to pay duties on stuff they import from the UK.

Your purchase is usually held up until the amount is paid. Some companies arrange for the customs duty to be paid in advance when you purchase (M&S, Amazon etc) but probably not a small Etsy shop

Doodledog

I'm not sure what to do. I will start by contacting the seller, and see what happens. I know a few companies have stopped trading in the UK since the Brexit rules came in (eg Yves Rocher), but others are up-front about taxes. I used to buy from Onling (a yarn shop in Denmark) and VIBAe (footwear in Finland), but their import charges are so high now that I have stopped doing so. The charge seems very high for a bag, unless it is based on the weight and size of the parcel.

Customs duty is based on the value of the item - plus there may be a customs handling charge.

Not sure what the seller can do - usually the buyer is responsible for paying the taxes for the goods to enter their country.

Hotter shoes have stopped selling to the EU but when they did I used to have to budget an extra £40 per pair of shoes.

Cold

Since Brexit you have to pay customs duties on anything you import from the EU and the EU countries have to pay duties on stuff they import from the UK.

Your purchase is usually held up until the amount is paid. Some companies arrange for the customs duty to be paid in advance when you purchase (M&S, Amazon etc) but probably not a small Etsy shop

I bought some fabric last year that was despatched from Germany - the enclosed paperwork, one sheet of A4 per cut length of cloth, stated that NO customs duty was payable. I did keep the paperwork as it included the cost off the fabric and I presented copies to my customers once their garments were ready for collection.

Not sure what the seller can do - usually the buyer is responsible for paying the taxes for the goods to enter their country.
The seller can tell me if this is usual, so I know whether or not it is a scam.

I would take a look at the seller’s T&Cs Doodledog .

Astitchintime

Cold

Since Brexit you have to pay customs duties on anything you import from the EU and the EU countries have to pay duties on stuff they import from the UK.

Your purchase is usually held up until the amount is paid. Some companies arrange for the customs duty to be paid in advance when you purchase (M&S, Amazon etc) but probably not a small Etsy shop

I bought some fabric last year that was despatched from Germany - the enclosed paperwork, one sheet of A4 per cut length of cloth, stated that NO customs duty was payable. I did keep the paperwork as it included the cost off the fabric and I presented copies to my customers once their garments were ready for collection.

I believe there is a minimum amount before you have to pay duty. Somewhere around £40

Although when Brexit first took effect Sweden used to charge duty on everything - speaking as the person who once paid £10 in duty for Branston pickle (£2.50 for the duty and £7.50 in customs admin fee)

Doodledog

*Not sure what the seller can do - usually the buyer is responsible for paying the taxes for the goods to enter their country.*
The seller can tell me if this is usual, so I know whether or not it is a scam.

Does it have an HMRC reference number? You would be better off contacting them directly as it is HMRC that levies the charge as a seller in Italy probably has little knowledge of UK import duties.

Did you get a tracking reference for the parcel? You can usually track it to see if it is in UK customs and whether a charge has been levied,

You haven’t mentioned VAT but I’ve included a bit about that anyway in case the bag was worth more than £135.

VAT

If the goods were worth £135 or less, the vendor will have included VAT in the price they charged you.

If the goods were worth more than £135 you will to pay the tax separately.

Customs duty

On goods worth more than £135.

If you’re charged Customs Duty, you’ll need to pay it on both:

• the price paid for the goods
•on the postage, packaging and insurance

Using the goverment’s trade tariff pages, it says importing a leather bag (assuming it is) from Italy, the customs duty would be 2%

Then there would be an admin fee on top.

I found a site that says Fedex charge £12.50 or 2.5% of duty + VAT whichever is higher.

Their fixed charges are higher than any other firm:

dutyrefunds.co.uk/glossary/handling-fee/

Hmmm.

The general Etsy T&Cs say that customs duty may apply and will be charged on delivery to the country (UK in my case). The seller's listing says that delivery is free (I must have misremembered paying shipping) and that delivery is usually 3-5 days. There is no mention of additional charges.

I have messaged the seller and will see what they reply, but it's looking as though I'll have to pay, isn't it?

I reckon so … 😡

Doodledog

Well, I did wonder, but the details of the bag are with the letter, so how would a scammer know that?

I googled, and Fedex do charge customs tax. I agree that it seems more likely that the tax would be charged at the time, but this is not a situation I have been in before.

Has anyone on here had this happen?

I had to pay Customs duty and VAT on a gift which was sent from Australia even though GST had been paid on thd item in Australia.
As far as I remember, the goods weren't released until I had paid. Different rules apply to different classes of imports.

This might help:
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/explainer/customs-duty-free-and-vat-after-brexit#:~:text=customs%20duties%20(sometimes%20called%20tariffs,way%20it%20is%20collected%20differs
[[

Thanks everyone.

Yes, it was more than £135, but the bill is not for VAT - the bag was sold with VAT included.

I had a tracking number, so will trawl emails tomorrow and see if I've still got it - good idea, thanks. I will also look closely at the bill and see if there is an HMRC number. I can see my taxes on the YouGov site, so maybe it will show up on there? Again, I'll do it tomorrow, as I'm going to bed.

I hope you enjoyed the Branston, Cold. That's really annoying.

Hmm. For goods with a value exceeding £135, VAT should NOT be charged by the seller and should be collected at the point of import hence import VAT.

It sounds like you've been double charged and it's the vendor who is at fault as they haven't taken into account new Brexit regulations.

Bear in mind that the value for VAT of imported goods is the customs value as well as incidental expenses such as P&P plus the Customs Duty. In other words import VAT will be more than VAT simply calculated on the value of the goods.