Why was I charged VAT and excise duty?

I ordered some yarn from Hobbii, a seller located in Denmark but with a UK website - paying in GBP. I know lots of people who have ordered from here recently and never been charged. The order came to £45.90 but I was charged £9.27 VAT and 89p excise duty. On the customs label it says ‘Customs charges are applied to imports into the UK with a value over £135 for VAT.’ Also why the excise duty? It’s yarn, not cigarettes or booze. I’ve been trying to research this but the information is not very clear/vague or just contradictory.

Hi I don’t think HMRC can answer specifically why you have apparently been charged as you have. The customs charges are automated and can only be based on the information provided to them in the customs declaration made by the courier/ post office or whoever brought the goods into the UK. Excise duty as you say wouldn’t be charged on yarn. Customs duty and import vat may be charged, however goods below £135 are exempted from duty and special arrangements are in place for import VAT. The supplier should be registered for UK VAT and charge uk VAT at checkout for goods below £135 Firstly I would go back to whoever advised you of the charges and also to the supplier to notify them of the unexpected charges. Check their T&Cs as well as this may offer some information on what to expect when ordering from them for delivery in the UK.

Hi jcat33,
Can you please check the customs label does it provide the commodity code which has been used for declaration purposes.
You can contact the courier company to ask for these details and then check on trade tariff UK which provides information on the rates on customs charges.
Trade Tariff: look up commodity codes, duty and VAT rates
Thank you.