"Change to UK tax threshold on imports, 1 November 2011" Topic

Just a heads up that the value of goods that can be imported into the UK from outside the EU without attracting VAT drops from £18.00 GBP to £15.00 GBP on 1 November 2011.

In short, it means you can order £3.00 GBP less of figures from foreign parts before Parcelforce or Royal Mail hit you with their £8+ handling charges for collecting any VAT.

For more information, kindly bother TMP's resident expert Dom Skelton. :-)

Ian

Thats a bit much! So if you order 15 pounds from overseas you effectively pay 23 pounds without including postage costs on top???

I don't know if I have said it before, but just for the record: I HATE CUSTOMS TAXES!!!!!

(Some days I HATE anything related with governments, especially when the bastards hit my wallet to finance the bacon of their bankers friends!)

And I stop here, otherwise Bill will be forced to dawghouse me for the felony of "political rant outside the Blue Fez".

thanks for the heads up. Been stung once buying from Litko don't want to be again.

P.S. thanks for getting the bears in

And however good your overseas shipping is; this is why a lot of people in the UK only order from EU agents now. The Parcel Farce roulette of arbitary charges.

I hate it when this happens because when you see the VAT its actually minimal its the £8.00 GBP charge added on top which is annoying and I believe the postage is also included in the overall value ie £15.00 GBP of figures + £5.00 GBP postage =£20 of goods I'll have to get my orders in now from Khursan and Rebel minis sharpish.

"Some days I HATE anything related with governments"
Only some days?

So, it's like a "stealth tariff' that prodes one to order from in-country/ Economic domain.

weird that…. it is $1,000AUD threshold in Australia. Customs concluded that it would cost more to collect than it would raise if it was less..

yes its a stealth tariff. it sucks for anyone trying to sell small volume stuff into the uk.

Agree with Doublesix66 … This pernicious charge (it is protectionism, pure and simple) is unfair because we don't seem to have the option of prepaying it and avoiding the exorbitant handling charge (the real rip off).

As for the economics, despite the insane charge we have to pay to allow ourselves to be taxed, it still might not generate any real revenue (just because it's stupid doesn't mean a government wouldn't do it)

Phil

Okay, quick history lesson for our old friends from across the pond… Over 200 years ago we colonials split off from Britain because:

1) We didn't want to see the musical "Cats"
2) We didn't like the taste of "Tea"
3) We didn't want to pay higher taxes from the "French & Indian War" fought on our behalf by English forces
4) We thought that King George was sexy

Now, anyone raising their hand that they put a higher value than £10.00 GBP on their customs forms sent to the UK..?

Just think of it as a rebate on past dues, alright chaps?

If you think 8quid for acting as a customs agent (which is what that fee is) is a rip off, do it yourself and avoid said cost.
I warn you its miserable and unpleasant on airports at that time and as yet I have not been able to find any customs agent prepared to charge only 8 quid for the service on an ad hoc basis for individual shipments – I have had to use various agents in the past for work and they all charged more and wanted it in advance not after they had paid out, or the shipper simply said you had to do it yourself.

There are vendors who prepay it for you – if I order from Cafepress I have the option of paying them in advance and everything is sorted – so they must have some system, whether it a deal with the courier to have everything passed on to them, or something else. It isn't cheap though, as fundamentally if customs want to go through a parcel and charge it someone responsible for the parcel has to physically turn up with the paperwork and process it with them.

The whole taxation issue is a pain, national boundary charges always are like any tax, but like death they are one of the certainties of life.

Some customs officers are gamers too. This legislation was principally introduced to effectively tax imports of digital media but that doesn't make it feel any better. Split your consignments if you can but then its a tax / clearance fee pay off. Couriers will charge you more but you'll get your package faster. You'll get notice of charge from parcelforce before you receive which can be good if the sender has misdeclared. Unless you are ordering in bulk self clearance is definitely not a recommended route.

Some customs officers are gamers too.

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Agreed and I don't think people on the whole are aining it at the personnel rather the organisation – I worked there for 25 years and most of the staff were great people working hard trying to do the right thing – they (the people in charge) were donkeys leading lions.

Customs duties.. slice it any way you want, its a tax. Your government is taking YOUR money. And for those of us in the West, we elect the governhment. So we deserve it. quit complaining or do something about it.

And your customs collector is a government worker. He/she works for you.