Import tax on US pedals

randerson

Has anyone got any idea on the customs charges (is that the tax you pay?) when buying a pedal direct from the US?
Is there an accurate online calculator or something that you have had success with.

I'm just trying to get an accurate idea of the total cost of a pedal delivered to my door. Thanks in advance.

Hattigol

Not sure of the duty - probably around 4%. But it's the VAT of 20% that's the killer. Charged on total cost including the postage.

Gagaryn

20% VAT plus import duty at 3.5% plus handling fee of £8 to £15. 

benecol

Gagaryn said:

20% VAT plus import duty at 3.5% plus handling fee of £8 to £15. 

Came here to grumpily say the same thing.

UnclePsychosis

Gagaryn said:

20% VAT plus import duty at 3.5% plus handling fee of £8 to £15. 

-just remember that the vat and duty are also charged on the postage cost. 

Normally unless its an absolute steal or something impossible to find otherwise its not worth while. 

FatPete

Also worth remembering that most banks and credit cards charge 2 - 3% for foreign currency transactions. Paypal don't add a charge, but actually factor a similar percentage into their conversion rate. There are some credit cards and pre-pay cards available that don't.

randerson

Thanks for this. And I'm assuming this is always the case, it's not as if some deliveries 'slip through the net?'

Modulus_Amps

randerson said:

Thanks for this. And I'm assuming this is always the case, it's not as if some deliveries 'slip through the net?'

If they ship it with normal US mail service (delivered by royal mail here) and under declare the value, (lower than £15??)or so then you won't pay anything, it is tax evasion though.

If the value is less than £120 you don't pay duty.

So often it is just the the VAT and the criminal "handling fee" that really annoys.

I say criminal as what company charges one user to ship a international parcel and then charges the receiver for handling the parcel on a service already paid for.

FatPete

It used to be commonplace for stuff to slip through, likewise for suppliers to declare a lower value to 'help you out'. The latter seems rare now and the former unheard of - it's obviously quite a money spinner for the carriers.

The UK carrier probably does have some admin cost to cover in getting the customs processing done - and other countries have different thresholds etc., so it's not surprising that they split it between sender and receiver. Doesn't mean the charges are reasonable though as it's all just electronic transactions (apart from the odd 1 in 1000 where they get the sniffer dogs to check your fuzzbox). If you get something sent with UPS, their tracking often shows your package clearing customs before it's physically in the country.

Gagaryn

Modulus_Amps said:

randerson said:

Thanks for this. And I'm assuming this is always the case, it's not as if some deliveries 'slip through the net?'

If they ship it with normal US mail service (delivered by royal mail here) and under declare the value, (lower than £15??)or so then you won't pay anything, it is tax evasion though.

If the value is less than £120 you don't pay duty.

So often it is just the the VAT and the criminal "handling fee" that really annoys.

I say criminal as what company charges one user to ship a international parcel and then charges the receiver for handling the parcel on a service already paid for.

Actually less than £135 and no duty, I'm assuming its considerably more than this if the OP is considering there may be a saving buying from the other side of the world.

Also worth remembering that the handling fee charged is for completing all the HMRC paperwork associated with the VAT payment and duty that otherwise you would have to deal with personally - it's not just the arbitrary surcharge that it may appear if you don't understand the process.

Working for a Government so having first hand experience of how bureaucratic and red tape obsessed these organisations are, I would much rather pay somebody a few quid to deal with the buggers for me. :-)

randerson

That's great info guys I really appreciate it!

Gadget

I laways just reckon on a simple +25% added to the total (inc shipping) of anything I buy from the States. Sometimes less, but can't recall it ever being more.

Teetonetal

The only times I've found it worthwhile is black friday sales with free p&p... though my vat is only 7.8% as not in UK