Import duty owed on Ebay USA item

[wemorgan]

Update:

Panic over. When I went to the office today to collect the HMRC letter infact it was just a standard Royal Mail delivery card. Similar to when money is owed due to incorrect stamps there is a box saying money owed due to import tax. I simply need to go to my local post office pay the tax, £14, (parcel value was actually £30, £6 tax + £8 post office fee) and walk out with my parcel. I somehow had a vision of having to complete a form in triplicate then weeks later go to some port to collect the parcel.

 

[bh13coupe]

I read somewhere on an ebay forum that a lot of people who buy and sell watches have the package marked as antique jewellery (over 100 years old) it is tax exempt. There is a code to put down on the paperwork with relates to this.
I bought a 1970's Heuer Autavia GMT watch from a seller in Argentina, I got a good price, however I had to pay £350 to get the watch released from Royal bloody mail. Not quite the bargain I thought I had.

 

[finisterre]

My worst one was a pair of silk shirts.

The seller had written the price on but customs read 198 cents as 198 dollars.

I ended up paying an extra 27 quid for a couple of quids worth of shirt.

 

[wemorgan]

Out of interest, is VAT add on the new value or the second-hand value?

 

[GordonTarling]

Duty and VAT is payable on the declared value, but declaring a low value of a high value item is usually found out and you have to pay the right amount. As others have said, it's a gamble on whether or not you have to pay anything.

 

[Spinal]

VAT is chargeable on most items from outside the EU worth over £xx (iirc, £42 up from £18, but this depends)

I tend to use this site:
Calculate your import duty in a few quick steps for free | The DutyCalculator

Works well enough...
Keep in mind that

Import handling fees by Royal Mail: £8 per parcel liable for customs charges

Import handling fees by DHL for import to UK: £1.25, or 2% of the shipment value, whichever is the greater.

Import ancillary service fees by FedEx vary on the country of import.

UPS charges include a disbursement fee of minimum $5, a transportation handling fee and a pre-release notification fee for import shipment

 

[fuzzer]

try sending gold and diamonds to the USA!

Nightmare... Only UPS will take them and you need an account with them etc because of US customs . The only thing i use my UPS account for.

 

[HR17]

There are plemty of tips on this on ebay itself(and HMRC), and also plenty of websites that allow you to calculate duty and VAT on whatever it is you're buying. I've found that a number of apparent bargains from the US or China would have actually been more expensive. Lots of sellers insist on quoting the real value of the goods they sell so as to avoid getting nicked themselves, so asking for a low value on the paperwork can be a waste of time.