I recently ordered a couple of Blu Rays from
Amazon.com, totalling $20 (roughly £12).
For some reason, the Royal Mail have left a leaflet saying I owe them £3.24 customs duty + £8 Royal Mail handling fee.
As this amount was under £15, it falls under the LVCR, so I'm not liable for any customs/import duty.
Does anyone know the best way of disputing this charge? I'm guessing I'd have to go to HMRC directly somehow, as the Royal Mail will says its not their problem.
17 Comments
sorted bySorry, commenting is no longer available on this discussion.
Looking at the UK Border Agency site it looks like you need to pick up the item (after paying of course, breaking into the delivery office tends to look bad when trying to get a refund), then fill out a BOR286 form (whatever that is) and then then send the receipt from the order and the label from the package with the declared value to the border agency.
I'm not sure what happens about the £8 handling fee though, I doubt Royal Mail will pay it back as they're just doing what HMRC say, and HMRC won't pay it because they'll probably its nothing to do with them.
A phone number I found lurking on the Gov.UK site - VAT, customs and excise helpline: 0300 200 3700
And the section from the above link
_____________________________________________________
Appeals
If you do not know why you have been charged tax and/or duty on an item, you can find information about charges in Notice 143 on the HMRC website .
If you believe charges have been wrongly applied to your item, you should use form BOR286 on the HMRC website. Please send the following documents with your completed form:
the original charge label and the customs declaration form from the parcel; and
supporting documents, such as an invoice or receipt for the goods.
Please send these documents to the address given on the charge label.
We will send you a letter containing our decision. If you are still unhappy with our decision, the letter will tell you how and where to appeal. You cannot appeal until you have received a decision letter from us.
_________________________________
If anyone else has the same problem, here is the link:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/bor286.pdf
Also, to reclaim the Royal Mail handling fee, you need to fill in a P58 form, which can be picked up in a Post Office or online here:
royalmailemailform.datasquirt.co.uk/
(edited)
Is there a specific dept that deals with Customs (that would be the "HMRC" I mentioned in my post) disputes do you know? Do you have the email or phone number for this dept or specific URL?
If the $20 did include the postage then you will have to pay the Royal Mail fee and then try to claim it back. Should be easy since you have the Amazon invoice to prove what they actually cost......
If the total including the postage is over £15 then you are stuck with the charge
Either way you will have to pay the charge otherwise you will never see the Blu-rays.
that made m chuckle lol
Erm....that company would be Amazon!
Incorrect. If the goods total under £15 before postage then no vat is paid. If the goods are over £15 THEN you pay vat on the total of the goods and postage.
Not incorrect since you appear to have been charged 20% VAT on £16.20 - the £3.24 "Customs Duty = VAT" plus the handling fee......
Sounds as if the declared value must have been around $27 or so
The £15 limit (and the £18 before that) has always included the cost of getting the item to the UK - shipping, postage, insurance etc...
see Customs value
So was the total cost nearer $27 ?????
http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/are-there-minimum-thresholds-below-which-import-duty-and-taxes-are-waived/
"Neither duty nor VAT is payable if the total value of the goods (not including shipping charges or insurance) does not exceed £15."
Yes he has been charge vat on the total inc postage but the OP should not have been charged (if the goods are indeed under £15 as he states)
It seems to be a grey area - the official HMRC guide to importing goods pdf is being updated and cannot be downloaded. The gov.uk site has details about the £15 exemption but states that if the value is below £15 no VAT is due. Further down they define value as including postage, shipping and insurance.
Was the total you paid including postage over the £15 limit ?
Found the link here (it mentions the value of the goods is under £15...not the cost including shipping):
google.co.uk/url…5Ug
Border Force agree they should not have charged me any VAT/Customs Duty, and will be sending me a full refund of £11.24, which includes the £8 Royal Mail fee.
If it is indeed a £15 limit (excluding postage charges) then that would be good to know !
Thanks
You need to check the HMRC monthly exchange rates if you paid in a foreign currency: http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_RatesCodesTools&columns=1&id=EXRATES_2014
My order was for US$17.95 + $8.97 shipping fee
As my order was shipped in Feb, the Exchange rate was US$1.6584/£1.
HMRC incorrectly took the total US$ value of $26.92 rather than the goods value, and as this was over £15, that's why they charged me.
$26.92 @ 1.6584 = £16.23
20% VAT on this is the £3.24 they charged me, and then Royal Mail levied a £8 handling fee on top.
As mentioned before, fill in a BOR286 form. Mention the HMRC exchange rates if you need to. They said to send in the original customs form and invoice, but I sent copies. Make sure the copies are crystal clear.