Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > from USA.....

[antonye]

Originally posted by Rattler
If I remember (and I'm not sure I do too well) - it was the courier that was chasing me as they had to cover the charge - DHL?????.

Yeah, HMC&E are very wise to the excellent exchange rate at the moment and are stopping just about every package coming into the country, especially from the states, to check for import duty & VAT being payable.

From what I've heard off others, the couriers do pay the charge and then bill it back to the receiver of the package, along with a "handling" fee which is about 20 quid or something I think. By the time you've added VAT plus import duty plus the extra handling costs it sometimes makes it more expensive than buying here!

[FiscusFish]

Always get US parcels sent via USPS (The US postal service). Although you still run the risk of getting hammered by customs the chances of being caught are greatly reduced.

When using a commercial courier like UPS or DHL it's in their interest to pay the customs charges on your behalf 'cos they can then charge you an inflated "admin fee", ie more profit for them...

Our Post Office also charges an admin fee for paying customs when delivering USPS packages but in comparison it's peanuts.

[Jon]

Andy I have had a carbon tank from the USA. Customs & Excise wouldn't allow it to be delivered until I had payed the tax,import duty and handling charge. I had got the sender to write on the parcel, Warrantee repair item.
Vat man still wanted reciepts etc showing when purchased/cost inc delivery.

[DJ Tera]

Saved about 300 quid on fees when I got my engine upgrade kit from the states