Importing personal goods

My family in Spain just sent me a box with some kitchen equipment (cooking robot etc) using UPS, and I have been informed we have to pay customs for this. We declared a value of 450€ on the customs sheet. There's a few things I do not understand of what happened. - As far as it says on gov.uk, we have a personal allowance of £390. Was this the reason I was taxed? 450€ are just barely over this allowance, depending on the day it would have been under. - According to gov.uk, the fee should be 2.5%, including delivery costs. The bill says £12.2 on brokerage charges, which looks fine and I'd be happy with. However, there's another item called Government Charges for a whooping £86.04, which is really the one that hurts. And I cannot find any mention of this on gov.uk. Why was this charged? Can I claim back? Thanks.

The allowance you have referred to is only for travellers personally transporting the goods themselves. Gifts imported by post or courier is subject to a tax free allowance of £39. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-vat-and-customs-duty-on-gifts The amount you will have been charged is the import duty and import VAT. Customs duty is charged on the total goods value and shipping costs. Import VAT is charged on the goods value, shipping costs plus the customs duty . The £12.20 is likely the fee the courier has made to declare the goods and collect the charges.

Ah ok, thanks, so then it's: £12.2 seems to be the import duty being 2.5% on value+shipping. £86.04 must be VAT on value+shipping+duty. Is this the case? And is VAT payable in all cases? Tax was already paid for this item in Spain. 0 Value (added tax - VAT) here.

Each country has its own taxes and VAT. Payment of taxes or VAT in another country are not taken into account when importing into the UK. All imports ,apart from gifts between private individuals below £39 , are subject to VAT .

Ok, thanks.

Hi
The correct guidance for gifts sent into the UK :
Import VAT and Customs Duty on gifts
Gifts over £39 are liable to Import VAT.
Customs Duty also becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135.
Thankyou.