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Buying stuff from America
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Last time i was in America i found this make up that i love but i cant find anywhere here so i was going to buy it off the internet, however i want to know before hand if i'm im going to be charged ridiculous amounts, i'm meaning more along the lines taxes and the like
Anyone know of anything that'll add to the amount? I'll be spending about $60 and i dont want to end up paying loads more.
Can anyone be of any help?
Anyone know of anything that'll add to the amount? I'll be spending about $60 and i dont want to end up paying loads more.
Can anyone be of any help?
0
Comments
Most places send them under customs notes saying its a gift, which aren't taxable, but its something to be aware of. Especially as if tax is payable royal mail won't deliver and will charge you quite a steep admin charge.
Thats definately something i'll think about.
Okay this is actually quite complicated as perfume and cosmetics are excise goods - the same as tobacco and alcohol.
Normally when importing something over £18 or £36 for a gift, you have to pay VAT and import duty based on the rates in the following list.
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/downloadFile?contentID=HMCE_PROD_009989
However because what you are importing is also subject to excise allowance - that can be a huge amount - often in excess of the value of what you've bought.
I can't actually track down the exact price but I'd suggest checking with the HMRC themselves as this can be very expensive. You can call on 0845 010 9000 to find out the exact amount.
There is a way you can import excise goods as a gift from a friend but I'd be wary of anyone you buy from claiming they can do this - the rules around excise goods are far stricter in most countries than just slapping a ribbon on a dvd to save a 3 quid VAT charge.
You are also likely to have to pay 17.5% VAT on the goods as well - which is what I assume Kermit meant by the 20% charge. For example excise duty on fags is a hell of a lot more - it's 22 per cent of the retail price plus £108.65 per thousand cigarettes. Then you've got 17.5% VAT on top of that.
(Mind you with fags you've then got to pay 57.5% of the value again for the standard duty which doesn't apply to perfume and cosmetics).
I'd really advise ringing HMRC before buying - or more importantly looking on ebay - I guarantee someone's selling it there from the UK - in which case you'll obviously paying nothing on import.
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P40_3190
So yeah, may have gone all the way round the houses just to agree with Kermits 20%