Mornin’, All. This post is aimed firmly at our many friends and supporters on this site [and elsewhere] who, from time to time, get orders from yUK for merchandise that is either generally unavailable - like items from our good friend Phil Dipple - of Phil’s Narrow Gauge fame - or substantially cheaper for one reason or another - as indeed, most things are…

'Customs charges are applied to imports into the EU with a value over £15.00 for VAT [20% tax] [imports from the Channel Islands the value is £0.00

All items valued of £135.00 will attract import duty. Imported gifts valued over £36.00 sent between private individuals will also attract VAT.’

The items that I recently purchased would easily have fitted into a small padded envelope - cost 95c - and could have been sent to me for about $6.50 by airmail. Altogether they weighed less than 1.5 ounces.

Instead, they came to me in a stout box, measuring 6x4x3 inches, and were I was charged £6.65 VAT and the Royal Mail ‘handling charge’ of £8.00 - total £14.56.

The items were worth $39.00, and by sending them in this nice little box, cost me an additional $22.70. In a little padded envelope, I would have had to pay around a third of that amount, it would have come directly to my house and I would not have had to drive fifteen miles to collect it either.

Anybody in business that reads this, in particular those who send stuff to the EU, have a think about this, and how you can cut costs to the buyer down by using simple packaging more appropriate to the item inside.

tac

Otawa Valley GRS

“Sooner or later, you’re going to run out of other people’s money.”

Ain’t gummint wonderful?

So your country charges not by the value but the size of the box?

That’s why I only buy Z scale trains internationally I guess.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Greg

I doubt the charges are made on the size of the box. More likely the package attracted the attention of the postal/Customs authorities being of such small declared value for a biggish package.
The problem with all of this is it costs more to collect the charges than the charges return. Throwing good money after bad.
Same here in Australia. Our Guvmint is being harassed by local retail chains who have been missing out on sales because importing is so much less expensive than buying locally where our GST ( read VAT) is built into all retail prices. Local big business wants our tax free threshold decreased from A$ 1,000 as well. However this particular Guvmint hasn’t got the balls to try that on. Goes right against the grain of their political ideologies.

Those processing costs could be so easily applied it makes your head spin. But, not my place to tell the morons how to do it virtually cost free.

Somewhat of a dilemma for the powers that be everywhere eh?

Bit like Guvmints that want to raise general revenues. Instead of bleeding the mug punters in the street dry, I would be thinking along the lines of making those huge Multi Nationals pay whatever tax they should be paying and not being allowed to avoid paying as much as they do avoid.

Tony Walsham said:

I doubt the charges are made on the size of the box. More likely the package attracted the attention of the postal/Customs authorities being of such small declared value for a biggish package.
The problem with all of this is it costs more to collect the charges than the charges return. Throwing good money after bad.
Same here in Australia. Our Guvmint is being harassed by local retail chains who have been missing out on sales because importing is so much less expensive than buying locally where our GST ( read VAT) is built into all retail prices. Local big business wants our tax free threshold decreased from A$ 1,000 as well. However this particular Guvmint hasn’t got the balls to try that on. Goes right against the grain of their political ideologies.

Those processing costs could be so easily applied it makes your head spin. But, not my place to tell the morons how to do it virtually cost free.

Somewhat of a dilemma for the powers that be everywhere eh?

Bit like Guvmints that want to raise general revenues. Instead of bleeding the mug punters in the street dry, I would be thinking along the lines of making those huge Multi Nationals pay whatever tax they should be paying and not being allowed to avoid paying as much as they do avoid.

Or, we could just lower taxes across the board, and increase revenue through volume. Works everytime its tried. “We can’t do that, its not ‘fair.’”

Sigh. Soap box off.

Mug punter??? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

If a proper (very small) financial transactions tax was applied Worldwide to ALL financial transactions with no exceptions or deductions whatsoever, there would be no need for any other taxes. Period.

Problem is that would mean all the banks and financial institutions would have to pay tax they don’t currently pay on the profits they make shifting money around the globe.

Money laundering of ill gotten gains would be eliminated.

I would point out that items declared as “Toy Train” items ( UK Customs declaration not mine) DO NOT attract duty if sent to the UK from OUTSIDE the EU…They do attract VAT of 20% for packet/parcel senders from outside the EU…

This includes Bachmann and other well known manufacturers items.)

The customs form attached to the parcel or packet should declare that the item as Toy Train item(s).

I have never paid duty on items marked as such on Customs GenDec forms for anything I have bought from the US (including locomotives)

(However, this depends on how switched on the sender is in regard to customs declaration forms and the filling in of them.)

I will say that the people who handle standard mailed parcels and packets in the UK for Customs clearance are Royal Mail and or Parcelforce and they are not trained Customs staff so will make errors. (One can raise a dispute with Customs and Excise over charges).

DHL seem to be “with it” as regards customs clearance for imported items outside the EU.

Some years ago when I started to get items direct from Aristocraft most arrived without having a Values Added Tax (VAT) applied and consequently no collection charge by the postal/delivery folks was applied. Given a reasonable exchange rate and the lower USA prices meant that even with the shipping costs - at that time - most items showed a reasonable cash saving. Aristo knew how to mark the declarations. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

That was ten years ago and it lasted for another three years or so. As prices increased so the value on the declaration form increased and one or two items started to attract the extra UK charges. Up to the three years ago it seemed “you win some, you lose some” prevailed. On change of UK government things altered. Most started to attract these extra costs, coupled with the hike in USPS and UK shipping costs plus a less favourable $ to £ exchange rate, it seemed it was time to revise purchasing patterns.

I realized I had far more than I really needed anyway but when costs were reasonable I found resistance hard. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)Accordingly I have only purchased two Aristo cars - second hand from a UK supplier - in the last two or three years.

I have never paid duty on any item. However, none of what I imported from the States was big ticket. The largest amounts were three amounts of $125 - for two RS3’s - from Scott at Aristo -and an FA-1 from RLD. Other items were always Aristo freight cars.

I still want to know what a “mug punter” is.

Aside from that, I quit shipping overseas because it’s just an arse pain. I’ve put things in padded envelopes to help folks out and they got ruined and frankly, I won’t lie about value (not saying anyone here has asked that) on a package. It’s really hard to file an insurance claim on a hundred dollar item when you value it at $10 to dodge taxes.

I do feel for you guys though. I play a lot of tabletop war games and the UK players seem to get screwed at every turn with shipping and availability.

Per Dictionary.com;

noun
1.
(Brit, slang) a customer or client who is gullible and easily swindled

Urban dictionary says;

Mug Punter
A person that consistantly gambles more than they can afford. These Mug Punters generally have more hard luck stories than any seasonal punter has the time or patience to listen to.

He is the opposite of the shrewdie.

It usually pays to oppose the mug’s selections.

“…In a little padded envelope, I would have had to pay around a third of that amount…”

Thankfully the majority of small items similiar to what you’re talking about are put into smaller shpg containers from vendor/shippers I’ve dealt with from south of the 49th and it seems if known it will slide easily into a street delivery postal bag, CanadaCustoms (CBSA) just leaves it on the conveyor belt !

Nooow if they do pic it up to inspect they will charge on product value, 5% gst plus $10cdn handling (per package) plus applicable ProvinicialSalesTax on MR related items. Other interest items, probably tack on some level of duty charges !

Sounds like the UK powers really do like to shaft their ‘importers’ !?

The GATT coding for Model Train Customs Duty concession exemptions is 9503.10.00

All my stuff sent overseas has that # number clearly written on the Customs document and never attracts Customs Duty anywhere.
VAT yes.

Good call Tony…I was going to look that up yesterday on the UK Gov tariff board but got distracted.

As I’ve mnetioned here before, the total amount that the lucky recipient has to pay on an item of some value, like a locomtovie or similar, is made up of

1. The declared value.

2. The cost of shipping.

3. The insurance paid.

All added up, and VAT is based on this total amount. Then the customs charge, then the compulsory $~12 ‘handling charge’.

Which is why it’s often cehaper to fly over to the USA and bring it back yours - east coast, anyhow.

tac

Ottawa Valley GRS