Clarification of £135 Import Rules For Consumers

Hi, I fear that there has been an over-simplification of the interpretation of this rule, so if I may I would like to add my understanding: - Firstly, the customs value of the goods is based upon their intrinsic value. If the seller ships the goods with the value of the goods and freight charges separately stated, then the intrinsic value is that of the goods alone. If they do not, then the total combined value of goods and shipping costs become the "intrinsic value". - This should mean that if a package is shipped with the stated value of the goods as £120 and the freight/shipping charge of £16.00, then the shipment will be assessed as £120.00 and pass under the new rules. - However, if the goods and shipping are expressed together (as £136.00) then the goods would be treated as an import subject to further duties, as people have experienced above. Therefore in order to maximise the value of goods and not fall foul of this relatively low ceiling, customers buying goods from overseas should insist that the seller separates out the costs of the goods themselves from the cost of shipping the items on the invoice. Failure to do so, will potentially expose an unwitting buyer to these problems. For more information look up Gov.UK - "VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK" for more details.

Hi ,
 

As per trade tariff UK, the commodity code 0901210000 has VAT zero rate and Tariff preference 0.00% if the goods are imported from Italy and they meet the rules of origin. Please see below link for more information. See : UK Integrated Online Tariff  . Thank you .

Thank you to all who took the trouble to respond to my initial query and subsequent post in which I reported the customs charge. I actually discovered the BOR286 appeal process shortly after this by looking at previous messages and submitted my appeal two weeks ago. I still cannot understand why the charge was made as all the correct information was stated on the packaging, with a total value significantly less than £135. At the time of writing this I have received no acknowledgement from HMRC so still await their response. It is regrettable that relatively small imports for 'own use' purposes from our nearest trading partner appear to be the cause of such confusion.

Hi Harrylee smith It is UK Border Force not HMRC who has responsibility for imports via the the post office and parcel force. The post office is empowered to make the duty and VAT calculation themselves and add their own charges so it may be that the information on the CN 22 label wasn’t clear enough. Your complaint may be better directed to the post office. The BOR 286 is simply a reclaim for duties overpaid ,not an appeal , and is administered by BorderForce. It can take up to 30 days.

If you think this is bad, then you should see the challenges which we now face with samples of food products being moved between the UK and EU (and vice versa). We have to put in the same effort for a €20 box of something as a 20 tonne lorry load of the same product.

I have received a response from Border Force after submitting my BOR286, just within their 30 days service level agreement. They correctly state the value of goods I received from a sender in the EU as EUR80/£68.24 then confirm that duty payable is £13.65 plus charges. Since the total value of the package is below £135, I still do not understand why they have reached this view. All the labelling is clear. However they are willing to carry out a re-assessment if I sent them the original Customs Charge Label and Customs Declaration Label. I have asked they undertake this re-assessment. The labels requested were in fact supplied with my BOR286 submission. The person writing must have seen them, otherwise they would be unable to give the value of the goods referred to above. However, in the event of them being mislaid I sent copies, including the receipt from the post office when I collected the package. Customs oldtimer raises the possibility of a complaint to to the post office that received the goods, which is interesting. I raised the possibility of this in my letter, requesting return of the original labels if this is deemed to be the next step, as they may be needed. In the bigger picture, as described by contributor Tom O'Connor, I completely acknowledge that this is a trivial case with a tiny financial sum but I feel that the whole question of small-scale imports up to £135 is clouded with ambiguity and lack of clear explanation. I may or may not repeat this kind of purchase but I think it is important that I and others understand the implications of doing so.

Hi Harrylee Smith. To be totally clear the relief for goods below £135 is for customs duty only not VAT. The VAT should be charged at checkout by the overseas seller. Although this is a requirement in reality many overseas sellers do not register for UK VAT and leave their customers to pay the import VAT. The amount of £13.65 looks to be 20% on £68.24 which would be the VAT amount due if not already added at checkout. As there are hardly any goods subject to a 20 % duty rate it doesn’t look like duty . If you have already paid the VAT then I would suggest you need to provide evidence that you have paid this.

To add if duty was charged the rates for footwear are between 4 % and 16% depending on what they are made from.

Dear Harrylee, I hope you don't think I was trivialising the situation. I was in essence describing just how bad this whole situation is. Since you have confirmation that the product was €80 in value, this is well below the threshold and any duty or Import VAT collected and paid by the online marketing platform owner if a B2C purchase. It is fairly clear cut on how it should be handled, but unfortunately this isn't always the case. I know that you have stated that you have sent the labels with your BOR286 submission. Experience is that unfortunately, documents get separated frequently and in some instances disappear without trace, even when recorded delivery is used. Therefore, I hope that you took photocopies of the labels, Good luck and let us know how things progress.

I have purchased good as gifts for my husband, which I didn't realise they were being posted from the Netherlands. I paid £87.01 for the goods, £27.42 in shipping, then tax of £22.92. This is a total of £137.35. I have received an email this morning from UPS requesting £52.45 for import charges. This seems quite a lot compared to the value of the items I have paid. I have tried to find out why there is such a cost, but can't find an answer. Does anybody know?

Hi Catherine,
Anything posted or couriered to you from another country goes through customs to check it is not banned or restricted and you pay the right tax and ‘duty’ on it.
This includes anything new or used that you:
•    buy online
•    buy abroad and send back to the UK
•    receive as a gift
Please see below link for more information: 
Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad
Thank you.

Could I seek further advice regarding ordering of roasted coffee beans from Italy for delivery to the UK (for my own consumption) please? The coffee beans are imported to Italy by the producer and roasted in Italy Commodity code 0901210000 refers I am having some difficulty getting the producer to reply to a email and confirm they will supply a statement of origin with any shipment. Therefore as far as I can see the position is For a shipment regardless of value there is no VAT to pay. The commodity is not excise goods so regardless of value there is no excise duty to pay. Import duty therefore appears to be the only potential additional charge. It appears that with a statement of origin from the exporter then regardless of value, Tariff preference 0.00% applies and there would be no additional charges - essentially I could order as much as I want and there would be nothing over and above what I pay to the supplier. Without the statement of origin there could be a 3rd country duty of 6% - unless I kept the value less than £135 inc shipping, in which case there would be no import duty even without a statement of origin. If I took the chance and ordered in excess of £135 and then found no statement of origin was included by the supplier, and I was charged an import duty at 3rd country rate, could I use my own knowledge of the product to justify why it originates in Italy?

Using importers knowledge isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. You do need to know how the qualifying origin conditions were met but it’s your choice as the importer. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/proving-originating-status-and-claiming-a-reduced-rate-of-customs-duty-for-trade-between-the-uk-and-eu#applying-for-preference-using-importers-knowledge It could be that the supplier is reluctant because they don’t understand what the qualifying rules are or if they do that the goods don’t meet those conditions.

Hi, I’ve bought 4 items from AliExpress, each item costs £86.39, they are being posted in two packages, as each is £86.39 do I have to pay vat and import tax?

Hi Graeme,
Under the UK / EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement valid proofs of origin include:
•    Statement on origin
•    Importer's knowledge
Find out more about:
•    general processes for using ‘importer’s knowledge’
Get proof of origin for your goods Importer’s knowledge
•    using importer’s knowledge for trade between the UK and the EU.
Proving originating status and claiming a reduced rate of Customs Duty for trade between the UK and EU Applying for preference using importer’s knowledge
Thank you.

Hi crafty woodworks3,
Anything posted or couriered to you from another country goes through customs to check it is not banned or restricted and you pay the right tax and ‘duty’ on it.
You will not have to pay anything to the delivery company to receive goods worth less than £135 unless they’re gifts over £39 or excise goods (for example, alcohol and tobacco).
Please see below link for more information.
Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad
Thank you.
 

hello i just joined this forum and can't figure out how to make anew post.
I am confused, so it says here at the top of the page:- https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty You will not have to pay anything to the delivery company to receive goods worth less than £135 unless they’re gifts over £39 or excise goods (for example, alcohol and tobacco). then it says this further down the page:- VAT is charged on all goods (except for gifts worth £39 or less) sent from: outside the UK to Great Britain outside the UK and the EU to Northern Ireland
so it sounds like two different things are being said within 2 paragraphs of each other?
one says nothing extra on general goods under £135 that aren't gifts or excise, the other says vat is charged?
I want to buy this item from toy maker mattel:- to price is £49 plus £9 postage, so total of £58, will i get charged anything else. please help a there are two contradictory statements.
Kind regards
Tracy Fletcher

[External link removed - HMRC Admin]

Firstly I will cover gifts . Gifts are goods sent from one private individual to another private individual. If they are worth less than £39 per consignment then they are relieved of import vat and import duty. For items purchased from a on line retailer there is a duty but not VAT relief for goods in a consignment below £135 . (This is irrespective of whether the item is purchased as a gift ). The retailer should charge UK VAT on the goods value at checkout . This means there shouldn’t be anything extra charged at import into the uk. Although it is a requirement for sellers to register for UK VAT and charge it at the point of sale some do not comply with the rules or do not send the package correctly so VAT could get charged on arrival. I would strongly recommend you read the retailer’s terms and conditions closely. Excise goods are excluded from this relief so duty , excise duty and VAT will be charged on arrival in the UK.

Hi I have a parcel due to be delivered tomrrow just had a text from ups saying that on my £155.23 parcel I have £47.75 government charges and £40.70 broker charge brining it to £88.75 basically more than 1:2 value of my parcel is this right !

The question is: in what way (if at all) should the purchase of goods from Poland be shown on the VAT return? Here’s the situation: normally, when I purchase goods from a supplier, my customs agent files an import declaration, and I then receive a statement from HMRC confirming the declaration. Recently, I started selling in a dropshipping model and sold a few products online. The sales were accounted for by me with VAT included. Each product was valued below £100. My supplier from Poland ships the goods directly to my customers in the UK. The courier service they use files a consolidated import declaration in their name and then delivers the goods to my customers in the UK. Now, I’ve received a consolidated invoice for the purchased goods sold, valued at £500, but I do not have a customs document for the import. Should I report this purchase in my VAT return as if I applied postponed accounting, or should I not report it at all?