Customs Duty

[hibernianscribe 159]

This has been discussed before in this Forum in that import duty from non EU countries for antiquities that include numismatic artefacts is just 5% NOT 20%! However I want to flag this up again since there are some useful tips arising from my recent experiences.

The regulations have been changed now for a couple of years but twice in the past 6 months they have tried to hit me with the higher rate which I have successfully challenged. So it is likely that this situation is happening to a lot of unwitting punters!

If the package is sent by courier you may get a text/email from them saying you must pay the duty before they will deliver. I got this from FedEx a couple of weeks ago asking for 20% and I immediately called their customer service who said the higher rate would have been charged if the description of the item was not clear and they helpfully forwarded to me pdf copies of the paperwork which clearly showed that they were speaking a load of tosh - the description was very clear and stated it was a Charles I coin dated 1646 etc etc. I immediately emailed back telling them to resubmit to HM Customs with the existing paperwork and to get the duty charged reduced. Evidently this did the trick because I heard nothing more but a day later the package arrived, me having paid no charge.

If the description had not been clear I would have had to provide additional proof to HMRC (via FedEx) and Customs would have reconsidered the import charge. Luckily FedEx were prepared to do this but if they had not then it would have been a more difficult problem to resolve.

The real point of this is to tell you to ensure that your shipper clearly describes the item so that it qualifies for the reduced rate and minimises the possibility that the wrong charge is levied. Of course you cannot plan for Customs cock-ups which I suspect my recent experience was due to.

With FedEx I found this straightforward but different companies have different procedures - DHL for instance will invoice you after the delivery so I suppose a query back through them might be the first course of action if you've been overcharged since they will have a direct contact with the Customs office that levied the duty, otherwise I believe it's a lengthy and tedious process to claim the overcharge back from HM Customs.

Unfortunately, if your package has been sent by mail I think only the latter course is open to you, since the postman will drop a little red & white card through the letter-box  telling you that your package is ready to collect from your local sorting office on payment of the duty - I don't see Royal Mail getting involved in any way to help rectify an overcharge.

So the bottom-line is make sure your shipper does good accurate paperwork and ship by courier (certainly FedEx) if possible.

Frank

Edited January 31, 2018 by hibernianscribe

[Rob 3,000]

Fedex are ok on this. The post office isn't too bad, but usually I pay it and reclaim it from them before their return to sender policy kicks in after it hasn't been picked up within the specified time. This alleviates any problems of something you don't want to get lost in the post being returned and then dispatched a second time.

[blakeyboy 1,601]

I just paid $30 import on a $125 coin.

I've written to Pitney Bowes, who PayPal paid,

asking for information on the calculation,

and I'll let you know what happens....

[craigy 362]

there are some lovely british coins for sale in the states, just the import duty is a killer

[zookeeperz 470]

1 hour ago, craigy said:

there are some lovely british coins for sale in the states, just the import duty is a killer

Also they postage charges from the states are phone book numbers. I mean I can send to any country in the world £500 insured signed for for £10 max. Where do they get these $20-$60 postage costs from? A jamboree bag?

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by zookeeperz

[RLC35 288]

1 hour ago, zookeeperz said:

Also they postage charges from the states are phone book numbers. I mean I can send to any country in the world £500 insured signed for for £10 max. Where do they get these $20-$60 postage costs from? A jamboree bag?

 

 

International postage went way up in January for the USA. I use to be able to sent a 2 ounce package to the UK for about $6.50...it is now $13.23 for the same pkg. That increase, along with the UK mandated Vat tax, really hurts international business.

[DrP 34]

The duty from the USA is a killer for me too.  I would buy more fossils and coins from there, but the duty and vat and postage just makes it too dear. 

I don't like the in your face MEGA AWESOME UNCIRCULATED SILVER AND GOLD COIN HOUSE CLEARANCE SALE deals that get advertised...  you think you are going to get a chest full of silver dollars and you get a handful of dimes, lol.   You have to read the small print. Wouldn't be so bad...  proof dimes are lovely, but with the duty, vat, postage they are expensive.

 

[blakeyboy 1,601]

Got a reply from Pitney Bowes, the US agent who deal with some Ebay sales,

after I pointed out the 5% import tax on coins, and the near on 25% I'd been charged.

The seller's shipping charge was on top, and appears from this that it's the charge to ship 

the item to the shipping agent????

 

• The first ch.textClipping

[blakeyboy 1,601]

oops did it again

• The first ch.textClipping

[blakeyboy 1,601]

and again-how do I attach something so it is on the page, not zooming into a 'downloaded' file? 

[Unwilling Numismatist 505]

Screenshot it and save to an image file from paint

or windows 8 or 10 use snipping tool and save the image, then upoad the image

 

[blakeyboy 1,601]

What I had was a text clipping- a highlighted section from an email....

[Peckris 579]

Simply select/copy the text you want, then paste it into the Reply box here, and use the forum's basic formatting tools to make it look the way you want.

[Unwilling Numismatist 505]

23 hours ago, blakeyboy said:

What I had was a text clipping- a highlighted section from an email....

Oh... macbook / apple.

Eww.

TextClipping also copies all sorts of formatting info  I believe, so I'm still with the image/screenshot solution.

[zookeeperz 470]

On 10/02/2018 at 10:01 PM, Unwilling Numismatist said:

Oh... macbook / apple.

Eww.

TextClipping also copies all sorts of formatting info  I believe, so I'm still with the image/screenshot solution.

when you put the text in the box you will get a formatting pop up. remove the formatting and it will just post as normal text. 

Also the seller has no dealings with shipping charges to the shipping center as in the one ebay uses. The seller posts the item as he would any other item of post. So if it were me using them which I used to it would cost me £1 for 1st class post or £2.08 signed for which I do religiously. Sorry but I don't believe hard luck stories :). The rest of the cost to the buyer is dealt with ebay alone and you don't even get to see what they charge for postage. Although on ebay.com it does show the total payable and no other charges will have to be paid I.E customs. Think the standard is around $14 depending on a Coin or multiples obviously being more costly. Now $14 I can bear that for peace of mind but when you see $60 international postage and still you may get stuffed for customs I cannot see the sense in even trying to sell the item. Only a real nugget would cough that amount up

 

Edited February 12, 2018 by zookeeperz