bronze Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 two seperate issues If a friend sends me a present from America (its big) would I have to pay anything on it? second is if I buy something from America how can I work out how much I would need to pay on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 We had to pay a significant amount on a Wedding present sent to us from America - although this was many years ago. My son recently had to pay over £12 on a small packet containing 3 T-shirts. My DH says you pay a handling fee plus VAT. I hope this may help some. You may need to contact the PO to find out what the handling fee would be. Hope you find out. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 It actually depends on the value of the item being sent,inclusive of the shipping. So for instance if its a small cheap thing but heavy, the total value will be high because of the cost to ship it here...... Lighter items don't get chrged. There is a level after which charges are made, but I am not sure what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Forgot to mention that if its a gift,it should be OK so long as she marked it as a gift on the customs form,her end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted December 28, 2008 Author Share Posted December 28, 2008 Ok worked out the gift is under the value so is safe. Trying to work out whether its worth buying something and importing it is a nightmare. I cant get my head round it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted December 28, 2008 Author Share Posted December 28, 2008 ok I'm looking at this http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001B66QKK/ref=dp_olp_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1230480749&sr=1-8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I bought a wool duvet from nz and had to pay customs duty on it - not a lot and then I sent for another and it came in without problems and no duty to pay. It did say gift on the customs form but the first time it was a bad time of bombings etc and I think everything was really searched so if your friend puts down unsolicited birthday gift etc it should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 My son bought some books from the US Amazon last year, and 6 weeks later was clobbered with a massive £40 tax thingy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cammy73 Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Its just luck whether you pay import tax or not.... Sharon x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jess Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Agreed it is complete luck of the draw im afraid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 But its not.................. Because if its a gift & is marked as a gift you won't pay import tax. And if its under the value threshold you also won't be charged. If it is just a purchase & over the threshold then you may or may not be charged,but in the 2 instances above you will not. There is some good info here..... http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_001454&propertyType=document Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
