Customs charge

[nikkinoodlesuk]

A friend posted some low cost items to UK for xmas, and has just found out customs have charged 35 pound for each gift picked up.

She'd already paid the usual air mail price filled out the routine declorations as she has done every year but this is the first time someone

has got a fee to collect.

 

just wondering if anyone has experienced this as i've decided to buy my xmas gifts online instead to avoid these costs and thinking have they been

stitched up or is this now the norm

 

 

cheers

[Guest moonraker1959]

Not sure about that tbh!Just wanted to say I spent £73 on sending my son's Xmas presents over!!! Post office lady asked if I had any "Flammable"liquids inside?Me:Ah not sure,there's aftershave?POL:Can you check if its flammable?Me:Ah its wrapped up and inside the parcel?POL:Well if it is,and you don't remove it,customs will return the parcel and you would of wasted £73!So I undid the parcel,had to unwrap the present,and yes it did say it was flammable!So had to not send it.What I don't get is why can't you send toiletries via airmail,but its ok to pack perfume and what not in your luggage if you fly yourself????Also I've sent my son toiletries before(and they would of been flammable)and had no problems!(Sorry bit of a sore subject atm OP,did'nt mean to highjack your thread!xx)

[Rich & Chit]

Experienced the same thing. We sent the crimbo presents to UK and my folks had to pay when they picked them up from the PO. They were told it was something to do with the value of the items mentioned on the declaration form attached to the parcel. We thought we had paid all that, obviously not. Next time will lower the value on the form.

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

Isn't it something ridiculous like £18 the limit is before you have to pay duty? It's crazy! I sent mine a couple of weeks ago and just made sure the value on the declaration would convert to less than that in £s and both got there no bother.

Did nearly have heart failure in the post office mind you when she told me how much it was for the postage!!!

[beckdownunder]

The limit is 40GBP for a gift - anything above this will attract charges.

 

[h=2]2.4 Gifts[/h]Goods sent as a gift that are over £40 in value are liable to import VAT. Customs duty also becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9.

To qualify as a gift:

 

• the customs declaration must be completed correctly
  
• the gift must be sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in this country
  
• there is no commercial or trade element and the gift has not been paid for either directly or indirectly by anyone in the UK
  
• the gift is of an occasional nature only, for example, for a birthday or anniversary
  

Note: if you purchase something from outside the EU to give as a gift to a relative or friend, whether or not addressed to that person, it is treated as a ‘commercial consignment’ for which the import VAT relief threshold in paragraph 2.3 applies.

[nikkinoodlesuk]

All the gifts were low cost items souvenires I think.

Doesn,t make any sense that the recipients were charged 35 gbp each.

 

I've done all mine online now as was concerned as I'm sending quite a few family gifts and didn't want to risk extra fees on top.

 

It makes it all a bit less personable when you have to resort to online shopping because your gonna get stitched up by customs.

 

My mate has been sending presents back and forth for years by ship or air and has never encountered this prob before so it's all a bit bizarre

[Guest Crushfamily]

Order on-line in the UK to send to the UK unless it is something light like an aussie t shirt or other nik-nak.

[sduffy]

I think it is attributable to the fact that customs and excise are looking for ways to increase revenue.I think i read somewhere they could always do it but

 

when times were good they didnt need to bother,very different picture these days.

 

Sue

[Jessica Berry]

We had the same thing recently as well and did not realise there would be any charge in the UK. I sent an opal necklace to my brother for my mums birthday (luckily I did not send it directly to my mum!!) valued at $300 and we paid this end for the postage and also the insurance and then my brother text me to say he had to pay 40 something pounds to receive it. The postman told my brother we should have been informed of the charge in Australia, but to be fair the post office can't be expected to know the customs charges and rulings of every country, but it was certainly an unexpected cost.

[Guest The Girl]

That happened to us too we sent a presents over for our first Great Grand Daughter and was shocked to hear that they had to pay too,we had paid $53 in postage which was a bit steep,I believe this is something new as we have been sending gifts over for the past 20 odd years, I will be sending gifts over the net from now on

Edited December 9, 2012 by The Girl