Import VAT woes from the USA

[Cornishman]

Hi All,
Just thought that I would tell you about my recent import value added tax woes.
I purchased a RazoRock SLAB razor from Italian Barber in the States. I live in the UK.

The razor was £15.51p but the postage was around £11.63p.
The total including postage was £27.14p
I was willing to pay that postage cost, to me it was worth the payment.
I know that you only pay import duty on anything over £30 including postage, so I should have been OK.
Trouble was that I forgot about the import VAT!
Here is a break down of what the razor cost me:
Razor = £15.51p
Postage = £11.63p
Import VAT = £4.37p (not sure how they worked the VAT out because it's not 20 percent)
And here's the stinger:
Royal Mail handling fees = £8
Total = £39.51p
I didn't mind the VAT, but the Royal Mail handling fees are too high.
Am I glad that I purchased the SLAB razor?
Yes!!!!
It has a fantastic stainless steel handle, and the SLAB medium to aggressive head gives a great shave!
Here's a photo:

 

[MPH]

Yep. Many of us have been there, sometimes I think the £8 fee is higher. It sucks but it is what it is.

I would love to have some more CRSW soaps, but I won't buy from the states as I always seem to get busted. :-(

 

[Chris]

£15 for VAT, £135 for duty.

The handling fee could be worse, my Wolfman razor went through Parcelfarce rather than RM and it was about £15. I agree though it's the handling that I resent paying and that's why I only buy from overseas when it's something I can't get in the UK.

 

[morr]

Croatians can do better: 25% tax + £15-20 handling. And yes, the 25% goes for total including postage...

 

[JayGee]

Croatians can do better: 25% tax + £15-20 handling. And yes, the 25% goes for total including postage...

Ouch!

 

[ShaunWistow]

Yeah I got stung with import VAT on my brush, £16.98, £8 of that being the RM admin charge

 

[KaoticBliss]

Does this apply to "gifts" or things not sent from a retailer as well?

 

[sɐǝɹpu∀]

Does this apply to "gifts" or things not sent from a retailer as well?

You pay VAT on goods if they are

• gifts worth more than £39
• other goods worth more than £15
• alcohol, tobacco products and fragrances (eg perfume, eau de toilette and cologne) of any value

To qualify as gifts, goods must be:

• described as gifts on the customs declaration
• for a birthday, anniversary or other occasion
• bought and sent between individuals (not companies)
• intended for personal use

VAT is charged on the total value, including:

• the price paid for the goods
• postage, packaging and insurance
• any duty you owe

You can ignore duty unless you buy a razor for more than about £250... here is why:
Anything under £135 attracts no duty.
Duty depends on the goods purchased. For razors I believe it to be 2.70%.
However, if the duty is less than £7 it will not be collected.
2.70% of £259.26 is £7, so any razor below that value should not attract duty.

Royal Mail ransom is £8 and daylight robbery. Was it Royal Mail about whom Douglas Adams said:

A bunch of mindless jerks who'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.

?
I am not a lawyer or accountant.

 

[halvor]

Note and appreciate (for now at least) that you Brits can freely import from EU at no additional cost. I'm in the poop no matter from where I get my gear. BUT, and this is for once a positive but, there's no VAT on anything below 350 NOK incl postage, equivalent to ~32 pounds at present, gifts below 1000 NOK. VAT is calculated as in the Croatian case @morr, 25% of value plus postage, plus handling fee of 15 pounds. Duty only imposed on clothes and tobacco/alcohol AFAIK.

 

[morr]

Yeah, I should probably be fair and add that in Croatia, duty starts at 150$, but 25% tax is on almost everything over 22€.
As mentioned before, I'd be fine with it if there wasn't a handling fee which often ends up costing more than the item itself.

For example, a razor from IB that's listed at 40$ ended up costing me around £80 (shipping from IB for one razor was 25$ which is for another topic).

 

[Dobbo25]

Hi All,
Just thought that I would tell you about my recent import value added tax woes.
I purchased a RazoRock SLAB razor from Italian Barber in the States. I live in the UK.

The razor was £15.51p but the postage was around £11.63p.
The total including postage was £27.14p
I was willing to pay that postage cost, to me it was worth the payment.
I know that you only pay import duty on anything over £30 including postage, so I should have been OK.
Trouble was that I forgot about the import VAT!
Here is a break down of what the razor cost me:
Razor = £15.51p
Postage = £11.63p
Import VAT = £4.37p (not sure how they worked the VAT out because it's not 20 percent)
And here's the stinger:
Royal Mail handling fees = £8
Total = £39.51p
I didn't mind the VAT, but the Royal Mail handling fees are too high.
Am I glad that I purchased the SLAB razor?
Yes!!!!
It has a fantastic stainless steel handle, and the SLAB medium to aggressive head gives a great shave!
Here's a photo:
View attachment 11924

Firstly can I say VAT and import duty are two totally different things.

The reason you have had to pay VAT on your razor is because....

1) Anything over £15 is liable for VAT (well it was the last time I looked)
2) (And this is the killer) The postage is included in the total sale of the item and then the VAT is added to the total sum, so this will take you over the VAT threshold as well.
So if your purchase is say £10 and postage is £9.00 you will be charged the VAT on £19.00

Here's the breakdown

Razor £15.51
Postage £11.63
Total £27.14
VAT@ 20% on £27.14 = £5.43
Total £32.57
Not forgetting your £8 RM handling fee bringing it to £40.57.

So you saved £1.06 Hope that makes it a bit clearer for you.

 

[KaoticBliss]

I should start a UK shipping service. Have your things sent to me then send them you as "gifts"

 

[Rufusdog]

In Canada (Ontario) we have HST (same as VAT) of 13%, which Canada Customs collects some times and some times not. If HST is collect Canada Post charges a handling fee of Can.$9. Interestingly the head of The Royal Mail, Moira Green, was previously head of Canada Post.

 

[SeanC]

I believe some postal services who offer software solutions are embedding the CN22 information into a barcode which makes paying VAT on arrival virtually unavoidable. USPS / Italian Barber are one probable example which springs to mind.

 

[UKRob]

I think the problem with the PO's admin charge is that we only measure it against low value items but tend to disregard it on higher value ones. In reality, they have to perform the same amount of work in terms of customs declarations and VAT returns regardless of value.