General > General Technical Chat
HMRC & RoyalMail arrangement
(1/3) > >>
noreply:
I ordered an item from US supplier (value ~ USD25)

The supplier shipped this to me (UK) using USPS - the charge for this was USD14

After 4 weeks - I receive note from Royal Mail - informing me that my 'package' is ready to be delivered AFTER I pay a fee of GBP12

The GBP12 includes the HMRC VAT (tax) of 20% which was GBP4 AND Royal Mail 'handling charge' of GBP8 - Total GBP12

So...

After paying USD14 - I get the privilege of USPS 'offloading' my package to Royal Mail - who as 'agents for HMRC' charge me GBP8 to collect GBP4 for HMRC

- what a great 'rip-off' business  :-DD

I might be better off (next time) not bothering in buying anything which is going to be shipped with either USPS or Royal Mail - just jump straight to DHL or FedEx or UPS instead - despite the extra cost - I will get my item in 3 days and won't be hostage to Royal Mail  :P

Have you had similar experiences??

And if so, what can we do to avoid the 'arrangement' where Royal Mail rips you off when collecting VAT (tax) which is less than the flat handling fee of GBP8 they have??

tom66:
This is pretty common and it is because there is no trade agreement over import tariff between the UK and USA.  (This will, regrettably, be the experience when Brexit is completed, assuming we don't go zero tariff on everything.)

Ways to avoid it:
- Seller does DDP and pays VAT on your behalf.  This happens usually if you order from a company like DigiKey but it is enormous hassle for a small supplier.
- Items below a certain limit (I think it's £15 or so) don't attract the tariff, but beware, shipping is sometimes included in this
- Seller lies about value but that's a crime and no one would do that, right?
noreply:

--- Quote from: tom66 on June 18, 2020, 05:04:06 pm ---This is pretty common and it is because there is no trade agreement over import tariff between the UK and USA.

--- End quote ---

Totally agree ...

But in my instance there is NO IMPORT tariff - because there IS a trade agreement between USA and UK on electronic components - BUT you still have to pay the VAT (Tax).

Problem is there is no mechanism to collect the TAX - like you said the larger supplier (Mouser , etc..) have arrangement where they collect the tax somehow and you are good-to-go with your shipment - so when it lands in the UK - Royal Mail cannot extort their GBP8 for handling your package to collect the TAX for HMRC  :P

I guess it can only get worse with UK being outside the EU trading zone - Bloody Boris - the buffoon strikes again  |O
Fred27:
I'm not sure you can blame Boris. It's been this way for quite a while. I agree it's frustrating when the handling fee is more than the VAT. I got stung this way once on a freebie branded mug from an electronics company that was marked as (I think) $15 value - enough to trigger VAT and handling charges anyway.
noreply:

--- Quote from: Fred27 on June 19, 2020, 09:27:26 am ---I'm not sure you can blame Boris ...

--- End quote ---

Not for THE EXISTING VAT & collection policy for sure  ;)

But I can give you a long list of things which you CAN blame him for directly  :scared:

My point is that if his government cared about the injustice of the broken VAT collection system - HE should do something about it - like instruct the pubic servants responsible for HMRC VAT collection - to change policy where needed  :P
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod