Royal Mail – Is there a lawyer on board?

Fatfingers

RobDavies said:

Fatfingers said:

Customs asses the VATable value based on the paperwork.

So, they're doing the donkey work for you, then?

If you mean Customs, then yes. Not Royal Mail.

RaymondLin

ToneControl;477415" said:

I challenged this once. I don't accept that filing a few records means that a small parcel should cost £8 to present to HMRC, when delivering it within the UK would cost £4



AFAIK you can get the foreign shipping company to pay the duty and vat in advance, and thus avoid the charge

other couriers charge in a different way, I think I called up and paid one with UPS or DHL before they sent a bill for payment



ebay seem to offer payment in advance now:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/shipping-globally.html?_trksid=p2151838.m2236#buyer-charges

Sometimes ordering on eBay and Amazon gives you that option.

chrispy108

fretmeister said:

Fatfingers;475314" said:

£8 may be cheap, but when the thing only cost £25, paying nearly half as much again in charges seems excessive to me. 

Vote with your feet then and don't buy from abroad

Exactly, it's not like the rules changed since you made your purchase...

With Threadless you can chose to pay the customs upfront, I guess this is only true with larger retailers. Works out well as you avoid the handling fee.

Unorthodox

If you really don't want to pay the handling fee, when you pick up the parcel just explain that you are going to pay the VAT and they can bill you for the handling fee. I did this once in the past with ParcelFarce, they released the package and sent me one invoice for the £12. It's not worth their time to chase after £12 though, so you probably won't hear from them again should you not pay.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/29679/response/77377/attach/html/3/RM FOI.PDF Adobe Acrobat Standard.PDF.pdf.html an official document confirming they will release the parcel if you just pay the VAT.

I was of the opinion at the time that they basically do sod all for this 'handling fee'. I filed a FOI request with Royal Mail to find out where all this handling fee money goes and the figures they gave me balanced out a little too perfect for my liking.

I could be wrong, and several people have already posted decent information on why they feel the fee is justified. It would be nice if there was more information from Royal Mail as to why this needs to be charged and what they actually do for that money as a lot of customers understandly feel ripped off.

EDIT: I remember now why I hated paying it so much. ParcelFarce would take the parcel, then send you an invoice in the post and not until you pay this do they release the parcel for delivery. DHL, Fed-ex and just about everyone else will invoice you after delivery, which I'm fairly happy with.

According to the Universal Postal Union's - Parcel Post Manual - Section J, Art 18; RC 147, relating to the payment of clearance fees:

"In the absence of special agreement, the charge shall be collected at the time of delivery of the parcel to the addressee."

However...

"Parcelforce Worldwide has obtained legal advice on the Postal Services Act 2000 (from which you quote) and does hold information relevant to your question. However, Parcelforce Worldwide considers this to be exempt from disclosure under the Act, as it is subject to legal professional privilege (which is exempt from disclosure under section 42 of the Act).

In this case, as required by the Freedom of Information Act, Parcelforce Worldwide has also considered whether the public interest in upholding these exemptions outweigh the public interest in releasing the information. In this case, Parcelforce Worldwide is aware of the public interest and debate in relation to Customs clearance fees. However, it considers that there is a very strong interest in upholding the exemption for legal professional privilege, as it is in the public interest that public authorities, such as Parcelforce Worldwide, can obtain legal advice in confidence and are not dissuaded from seeking advice when appropriate due to the risk of disclosure. In all the circumstances of the case, Parcelforce Worldwide considers that the public interest in upholding the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure."

RaymondLin

In theory I don't mind paying a reasonable handling fee to avoid this faff of form filling.

In practice I normally just pay it and get it over and done with, because if i am buying from aboard, I have already taken into account this fee and making a saving nevertheless.

What I don't like is the variation of the fee, it scales up as the value of the item goes up.  I find that unjustified.  There is no reason the form filling exercise is any more difficult base on the size of the parcel.  The cost of postage is already paid base on the size and weight of the parcel.  The HMRC form or the computer screen that they input these information weighs the same no matter what item it is.  So why is it £8 sometimes and £40 for others or all the ones in between?

Side note, if you get a courier delivery and they send you the invoice for the tax and handling feel afterwards.  If you call up and say you will pay the tax but disagree with their handling fee, a lot of the time they will waive it.

RobDavies

Fatfingers said:

RobDavies said:

Fatfingers said:

Customs asses the VATable value based on the paperwork.

So, they're doing the donkey work for you, then?

If you mean Customs, then yes. Not Royal Mail.

Wooosh......

Drew_TNBD

This seems sketchy to me...

VAT

You pay VAT on goods sent from non-European Union (EU) countries and EU special territories (eg the Canary Islands) if they’re:

• gifts worth more than £36
• other goods worth more than £15
• alcohol, tobacco products and fragrances (eg perfume, eau de toilette and cologne) - of any value

You pay VAT on anything sent from the Channel Islands.

You’ll be charged at the VAT rate that applies to your goods. VAT is charged on the total value, including:

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

So £36... but you paid £25... so you should be completely exempt, thus no VAT charge, and no handling fee charge (you've already paid shipping) ... unless I am missing something?

Source: https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

Nomad

Drew_fx said:

So £36... but you paid £25... so you should be completely exempt, thus no VAT charge, and no handling fee charge (you've already paid shipping) ... unless I am missing something?

36 quid if it's a gift, otherwise, the threshold is 15 quid.

ToneControl

& I didn't notice but although the VAT de minimis threshold came down to £15, the duty threshold went up hugely:
http://www.tax-news.com/news/HMRC_Clarifies_Situation_Regarding_Customs_Duty____32112.html