I was trying to be clever and buy these from Germany. I paid £240, plus £26 shipping then got clobbered for £110 duty by DHL. So I am in for £376. They seem to be about that price on UK websites. Trouble is, they are size 43 and I am a 45 So, I could send them back to Deutschland for a full refund, but my cost postage, or one of you could get yourself an early Crimbo present under the tree, so to speak. So if I said £295 + UK postage, would you come to my aid? They are frickin gorgeous and will clearly knock at least five seconds off your PB at your next Euro track day
I’d venture to suggest you have been had over by DHL. The UK government website states Romania is within the EU (really ?). If this is so, there is no duty to be paid for materials manufactured within the EU. VAT on £240 is only £48. Andy
There's a bit more to it than that, but we live and learn..... For orders above £135 it is more complicated as they also attract import duty, which can range from 0% to 25% of the item’s value depending on what it is, what material it is made from and its declared value. There are thousands of different rates of duty and the system is difficult to navigate. Clothes typically attract a 12% customs duty, but it’s hard to generalise. VAT is then added to the total – at the prevailing UK rate, which for most adult items is 20%. The couriers also add their admin charge of between £8 (Royal Mail) and £11.50 (UPS), or 2.5% of the amount paid to clear customs, with a minimum charge of £11 (DHL). For example, a £200 coat bought from a German website could attract 12% or £24 customs duty. VAT at 20% is then applied to the total of £224, giving a VAT bill of £44.80. Once the courier has added its £11.50 admin fee, the UK consumer must pay £80.30 to the courier on the doorstep before it will hand over the item – adding around 40% to the coat’s price. So, yeah, when you do a little digging it looks like I may not have been done over by DHL.
I know it's a minefield but I was certain goods made within the EU didn’t attract import duty. Lesson learnt and I won't be using DHL any time soon. Andy
So the lesson learnt is an eBay price from an EU seller is "without tax". That gets added by the courier at a discretionary rate at a later moment.
Depends. Some ebay items are now priced including all of the charges. I recently bought carbon over £135 from Italy and paid exactly the ebay price and not a penny more. When you come to buy, look for the information on the seller’s page. It should say whether or not all of the fees and taxes have already been factored in.
I think you should ask for an invoice from DHL with a breakdown of charges. £110 sounds a total rip off. I import goods on a weekly basis. DHL will have a processing fee and charge you the import VAT, if there is an import duty ask for the HS Commodity code so you can check how they've charged and if there actually is duty. Don't mix up Import VAT & Duties, they're two different charges. You supplier invoice should have the HS Code clearly marked on it too.
I’ve had dealings with DHL in the past. They really are the most awful and dishonest bunch of crooks I’ve ever been in contact with.
Often its the senders fault for not completing the export paperwork correclty. If they don't provide the correct HS commodity code then its down to the courier to find, which may cause receipient issues.
Who I contract to use DHeLL, by far they’re the worst carrier and that’s some going. Also worked on their sites most of their managers are pillocks, they couldn’t organise a child’s party. Only site I’ve ever attended that wanted me to doctor my attendance paperwork so they didn’t have to do anything to help me, an utterly corrupt company.
How generous of them, they even sent me a reminder of how much they spanked me for in duties and fees. Anyway, if this thread only served to highlight the costs of EU imports, then it has achieved something. I have now posted them back to Deutschalnd whence they came. Thread closed please @Ducbird
