Parts from Germany, delivered,import VAT letter from P/Force
Discussion
Ok, so ordered some new car parts from a German Ebay seller.
There is no "if you dont pay we will come hunt you down for the money", just that they wont deliver the goods and return them to the sender?
I'm in Northern Ireland if that makes any difference but i doubt it.
Any thoughts?
- Parts dispatched
- Arrived in UK via ParcelForce.
- Notice from ParcelForce that it was with Customs and if Import Duty was due i would get a letter about the amount due which i would need to pay, then parcel would be delivered.
- Parcel arrived Friday via Parcelforce.
- Excise Duty, Import VAT and clearance fee of £66.55 due
- When i pay it goods will be released and delivered
- If not paid within 20 days they would return the goods to sender
There is no "if you dont pay we will come hunt you down for the money", just that they wont deliver the goods and return them to the sender?
I'm in Northern Ireland if that makes any difference but i doubt it.
Any thoughts?
- Pay it?
- Ignore it?
They have done you a favour by delivering it first and trusting you for the payment.
Just like an invoice issued for any others goods that you pay later.
They could have done it the other way round which is a pita if you have a car disabled and need a part etc etc.
If you don't pay you might not get the delivery first next time which could be annoying if you needed it urgently.
Hopefully they have a blacklist of people who don't pay and pursue them for the money or refuse to deliver in future.
You also potentially ruin it for others as they may just say sod it we are not delivering anything in future until people have paid upfront.
If you owe customs fees just pay them.
Sometimes we get lucky and stuff gets through without attracting attention but if it does get sampled/billed etc you just have to suck it up.
Just like an invoice issued for any others goods that you pay later.
They could have done it the other way round which is a pita if you have a car disabled and need a part etc etc.
If you don't pay you might not get the delivery first next time which could be annoying if you needed it urgently.
Hopefully they have a blacklist of people who don't pay and pursue them for the money or refuse to deliver in future.
You also potentially ruin it for others as they may just say sod it we are not delivering anything in future until people have paid upfront.
If you owe customs fees just pay them.
Sometimes we get lucky and stuff gets through without attracting attention but if it does get sampled/billed etc you just have to suck it up.
A development...
I've plugged the Parcel Reference Number in to their site and it says "No charges are available for this parcel."
Not sure if that means (a) the letter was generated in error by their system, or (b) their system cant cope with a parcel thats been delivered but charges are due.
So i cant pay it anyway.
I guess i'll wait and see if theres a follow up letter.
I've plugged the Parcel Reference Number in to their site and it says "No charges are available for this parcel."
Not sure if that means (a) the letter was generated in error by their system, or (b) their system cant cope with a parcel thats been delivered but charges are due.
So i cant pay it anyway.
I guess i'll wait and see if theres a follow up letter.
Edited by Deep Thought on Sunday 13th March 18:11
How much was the item?
Under £130, I think VAT can be charged by the EU country seller. Over, they have to sell with no tax and you pay to the courier?
If you have an invoice showing VAT paid, you can claim it back from HMRC I think.
Cannot remember exact details...I think a lot of couriers were erring on caution and charging on everything, letting people claim back.
Under £130, I think VAT can be charged by the EU country seller. Over, they have to sell with no tax and you pay to the courier?
If you have an invoice showing VAT paid, you can claim it back from HMRC I think.
Cannot remember exact details...I think a lot of couriers were erring on caution and charging on everything, letting people claim back.
May be they've made a mistake and sent you a letter that is intend for recipients in the rest of the UK as https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/eu-exit-and-n... says:
"This allows goods to flow to and from NI to the ROI and the rest of the EU as they did while the UK was a member of the EU, without customs checks, tariffs or new paperwork."
"This allows goods to flow to and from NI to the ROI and the rest of the EU as they did while the UK was a member of the EU, without customs checks, tariffs or new paperwork."
trevalvole said:
May be they've made a mistake and sent you a letter that is intend for recipients in the rest of the UK as https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/eu-exit-and-n... says:
"This allows goods to flow to and from NI to the ROI and the rest of the EU as they did while the UK was a member of the EU, without customs checks, tariffs or new paperwork."
Missed the NI bit!"This allows goods to flow to and from NI to the ROI and the rest of the EU as they did while the UK was a member of the EU, without customs checks, tariffs or new paperwork."
I bought some kevlar motorcycle jeans off Amazon last year. It was Amazon Prime UK website, so I assumed the price stated would include VAT/import duty etc, but UPS delivered me a VAT invoice & would not deliver until paid. I contacted the seller via Amazon who met 75% of the VAT. A bit crap, & in future I will always email a foreign seller to check whether tax/VAT is taken care of.
guitarcarfanatic said:
trevalvole said:
May be they've made a mistake and sent you a letter that is intend for recipients in the rest of the UK as https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/eu-exit-and-n... says:
"This allows goods to flow to and from NI to the ROI and the rest of the EU as they did while the UK was a member of the EU, without customs checks, tariffs or new paperwork."
Missed the NI bit!"This allows goods to flow to and from NI to the ROI and the rest of the EU as they did while the UK was a member of the EU, without customs checks, tariffs or new paperwork."
Seems no way to pay it anyway, so i'll see if i get any follow up.
Biker 1 said:
I bought some kevlar motorcycle jeans off Amazon last year. It was Amazon Prime UK website, so I assumed the price stated would include VAT/import duty etc, but UPS delivered me a VAT invoice & would not deliver until paid. I contacted the seller via Amazon who met 75% of the VAT. A bit crap, & in future I will always email a foreign seller to check whether tax/VAT is taken care of.
I've bought stuff from Germany before off ebay and had no issues. I dont know whether they take a random sample or whether what i bought before wasnt affected (used car parts off ebay, new electronic items off amazon.de)Deep Thought said:
I've bought stuff from Germany before off ebay and had no issues. I dont know whether they take a random sample or whether what i bought before wasnt affected (used car parts off ebay, new electronic items off amazon.de)
I think the methodology for picking which parcels get dutied involves a dartboard and a blindfold. Had family send two parcels of Xmas gifts over to the UK from Ireland last December - both posted on the same day, with the same carrier (Parcel Farce), similar contents (vouchers, books, low-value stocking fillers etc), similar total value. One got held up and charged and the other didn't - absolutely no rhyme nor reason. Deep Thought said:
I've bought stuff from Germany before off ebay and had no issues. I dont know whether they take a random sample or whether what i bought before wasnt affected (used car parts off ebay, new electronic items off amazon.de)
I purchased said motorcycle jeans off amazon.co.uk, so automatically assumed all taxes were taken into account. I've bought several items from Amazon that have been posted directly from China & have never had this issue....L1OFF said:
I bought a pair of Xenon headlight units which cam from Holland, around £200, Parcelforce had to be paid before delivering.
I've had an update.New invoice from ParcelForce. Exactly the same letter but with all zeros and showing zero balance due.
Not sure if the original had been raised in error or if its to do with the NI protocol.
KaraK said:
Deep Thought said:
I've bought stuff from Germany before off ebay and had no issues. I dont know whether they take a random sample or whether what i bought before wasnt affected (used car parts off ebay, new electronic items off amazon.de)
I think the methodology for picking which parcels get dutied involves a dartboard and a blindfold. Had family send two parcels of Xmas gifts over to the UK from Ireland last December - both posted on the same day, with the same carrier (Parcel Farce), similar contents (vouchers, books, low-value stocking fillers etc), similar total value. One got held up and charged and the other didn't - absolutely no rhyme nor reason. Other stuff from the US, I've had to pay VAT and duty on the price of the goods plus the carriage cost. Plus a fee to UPS.
Ebay mostly process this as part of their service now? the payment page lists the costs and you pay when you order.
I thought Amazon did the same, but maybe not.
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