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Author Topic: Tarriffs, Import duty  (Read 3951 times)

roycv

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Tarriffs, Import duty
« on: May 10, 2019, 09:27:45 am »

Hi all, Just to let you know an experience I had about 7 or 8 months ago.  I bought a replacement watch, I had broken my Seiko automatic military style watch.  It was my companion for 3 or 4 years, so I wanted a similar one.  (They are not very dear) Took a bit of finding with my criteria of buying within UK, I eventually found a company with UK in its description and 3 day delivery, so I purchased it.

The watch arrived in 3 days, I had a card from the Post Office that I had to pay duty and would have to collect it.  It had come from China!  There was £5.39 to pay and I thought thats the way it is but what really annoyed me was that the Post Office were charging me an additional £8.00 to collect the duty!
The watch mechanism was a little different with a rotating wind up mechanism as against the other with a rocking system.  On careful inspection I found it was made in China.  My previous one was made in Japan. 

It is not as good, as the mechanism does not run as long as the other one and has to have a good shake every night to keep it going.
Is it a rip off copy, I do not know?
regards,
 Roy


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warspite

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2019, 11:15:57 am »

The wife has a degenerative eye condition which makes the lens in her eye look like a deflating rugby ball, to which end she wears contact lenses that look like fruit bowls which virtually covers the whole of the eye lens, they are a pain to get off once they have been in for a while, most rubber suction devices are unsuitable to remove them, so the type used to remove false eyes are needed having greater suction, getting these from the UK is difficult so we buy them every couple of years from the US, for cost purposes 3 at a time, (they deteriorate with proteins etc) and in the past not a problem with the purchase, this time the same thing the post office would not deliver and we had to collect from the mail centre to pay the duty £13+, of which £8 was their fee, remember the size of the 3 items is like 3 D cells in a NIMH battery and the envelope is a jiffy bag (other makes available) the weight about that of the envelope only. Rip off PO.
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grasshopper

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2019, 11:49:38 am »

The watch arrived in 3 days, I had a card from the Post Office that I had to pay duty and would have to collect it.  It had come from China!  There was £5.39 to pay and I thought thats the way it is but what really annoyed me was that the Post Office were charging me an additional £8.00 to collect the duty!
The watch mechanism was a little different with a rotating wind up mechanism as against the other with a rocking system.  On careful inspection I found it was made in China.  My previous one was made in Japan. 

It is not as good, as the mechanism does not run as long as the other one and has to have a good shake every night to keep it going.
Is it a rip off copy, I do not know?
regards,
 Roy


Seiko have manufacturing plants dotted around Asia, only ones with 'Japan made' (at the very bottom of the watch face straddling the 6 baton) are assembled in their Japanese factories, I think they have plants in Malaysia, China and Indonesia...
I have two similar model Numbered dive watches from Seiko - like you,  one made in Japan and the other made in Malaysia, I think you can identify where they were assembled by the serial numbers..
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tigertiger

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2019, 11:54:23 am »


Is it a rip off copy, I do not know?

 


Most probably a knock off, as the quality is not the same. Sorry to say. Someone did say that if you scroll down to the very end of a listing (eBay? Amazon?), you can check the name and registered address of the actual company, and that is where you may find if they are really Chinese. One way to avoid this sort of problem is look for flagship stores, if you can find them.
It would be worth putting in a claim if you got it from Amazon. Also, if you pay by credit (not debit) card, I believe you can be compensated by the card company, but you would need to check that.
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DaveM

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2019, 01:58:33 pm »

If you import goods from outside the EU then I'm afraid you will have to accept that customs entries, import duties and VAT will rear their ugly heads. Frankly it's a pain to have to pay out for such things when they add nothing to the value of the goods, but I reckon that eight quid is pretty cheap for any organisation to prepare and lodge an Import Entry, communicate with the final customer, collect the fee and pass it on to HMRC. Few if any commercial shipping agents would be likely to offer that service for such a paltry amount.
Of course as and when the UK leaves the EU this procedure will extend to all goods sent from anywhere outside the UK...except maybe the Faroes and Switzerland   8)
DaveM
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Taranis

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2019, 02:15:00 pm »

I believe the fee is now £12
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jaymac

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2019, 03:34:11 pm »

My  Old Provita automatic watch bought in the Naafi Germany 1964 still going strong used everyday  . Over the years 4 replacement  bracelets and 3  lenses . Never been touched internally don't make em like they used to :}
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tigertiger

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #7 on: May 10, 2019, 04:49:07 pm »

If you import goods from outside the EU then I'm afraid you will have to accept that customs entries,... Frankly it's a pain to have to pay out for such things when they add nothing to the value of the goods, but I reckon that eight quid is
 


True, and it is a bigger pain when, like the OP, you believe you have bought an item in the UK from a UK supplier.
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grendel

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #8 on: May 10, 2019, 04:57:27 pm »

I bought a rotary table from India, for £41.99 when it arrived there was £8.39 vat to pay, and an additional DHL customs handling charge- the whole totalled £19.00 exactly, I suppose I was just lucky they didnt round it up to £20
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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #9 on: May 10, 2019, 06:19:34 pm »

What really annoys me is the pathetic £15 limit that commands this hugely out of proportion collection 'fine' - and it doesn't adjust for exchange rates or inflation - it used to be £18 when it was £1=$1.65 a couple of years ago - the equivalent of £30.
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DaveM

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2019, 07:41:59 pm »

What really annoys me is the pathetic £15 limit that commands this hugely out of proportion collection 'fine' - and it doesn't adjust for exchange rates or inflation - it used to be £18 when it was £1=$1.65 a couple of years ago - the equivalent of £30.
Ever heard of a 'stealth tax'?? The "fine" you refer to isn't actually a statutory one; it's the (privatised) Post Office jacking up an unregulated service charge which you have no choice but to pay, just like the price of a stamp. One wonders how much of a coincidence this increase is with regard to the prospective impact of B****t on postal imports. However the failure of the de-minimis value for imports to track either inflation or exchange rates is quite deliberate, and you'll not find it or its ilk in any published Budget Statement or The Red Book. It's yet another clever way of extracting money from the taxpayer without ever having to admit it, and both shades of government have indulged in it. Don't bet on any changes soon.
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Taranis

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #11 on: May 10, 2019, 08:30:23 pm »

I'm not 100% on this but I think their charge net of VAT is added to the goods and then VAT on the total
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malcolmfrary

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2019, 10:06:19 am »

When I order things from PRC, I don't usually go for fast delivery, so the parcel makes it's own way here.  When you look at the labelling, very often the point of entry to the EU is Austria or one of the Eastern European countries who might or might not have different import rules.  After that, I suspect it becomes an internal EU item. 
An item flying in direct from China, though, must be an import under UK's non-EU import rules.
I've only been charged once for not having my goods delivered, and that was on a kit from the US.  There does seem to be a measure of luck regarding whether or not the parcel gets caught by the chalkies. 
They want take home pay as well, of course, so the import duty and VAT (charged on the goods, and anything extra slapped on before you get it, so we probably end up paying tax on tax) goes into their wages pot.
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Mark T

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2019, 11:21:51 am »

When I imported some tools from America - the 20% VAT was added to the entire cost including the postage.  Bearing in mind you have to use airmail it was like buying my parcel its own private seat on the plane.  It really added to the cost and then there was the UK handlers charge added to that too.  The total cost of postage, VAT and handling costs doubled the price of the tools.

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2019, 08:09:59 pm »

Seems to be 2 separete issues here but I thought the OP's main problem was the fact that he thought he ordered from the UK, yet parts (whatever they were) came from the far east.  I've been caught out with this before and is one reason, no matter how cheap, I won't buy from China on Ebay, and I won't use anyone who delivers through Hermes or Yodel.

I used to order lots of performance car parts from Japan, US and Australia for my Toyotas, it was always a complete lottery whether parts came through "clear" or whether they got held (there was no consistency then, presumably the same now).  I've been charged nowt, vat, import duties, handling fees.  Actually the only thing which actually *****d me off was RM charging me the cost of a stamp for sending the letter with charges!  I mean, surely RM doesn't have to by a stamp to send a letter?  You can't complain much otherwise if you know you're buying from outside the EU, but it would be better if there was consistency.


I'd be pretty miffed though if I'd paid for delivery from X and it came from Y with other charges.  I know it's not uncommon now though (I can't remember the term for it).  I orderd from someone in the UK on eBay last week, but goods came direct from Amazon -and I hate and avoid Amazon for many reasons (not that I find eBay too much better).

...The other thing is, when it's hapened to me before: I just don't accept deliveres from an unknown or unexpected company or courier, and perhaps I wouldn't pay any notice to a letter for import charges for something I ordered from the UK -if that was demonstrable.  Might seem a bit harsh, but has made life a little bit easier on occasions before.

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TheLongBuild

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #15 on: May 11, 2019, 08:39:36 pm »

Personally if I had ordered something and was under the impression it was coming from the UK I would have refused to accept the charges and advised that the item had not arrived and requested a refund.Or requested a refund for the amount customs was asking for and then paid the fee. My feedback would also reflect this..

Plastic - RIP

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #16 on: May 11, 2019, 08:42:42 pm »

The problem is you don't know what package they're charging for until you pay the ransom - they hold the package hostage.
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TheLongBuild

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #17 on: May 11, 2019, 08:47:52 pm »

From the post it looks like he would be able to see the package as they had to pick it up, from that I would just say no , not paying send it back..
However am impressed it arrived in 3 days..

Taranis

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #18 on: May 11, 2019, 08:50:21 pm »

Sometimes it’s still cheaper after charges
I used to import solar regulators to fit on Motorhomes
A great product from Taiwan and I’m still using mine after 6 yrs of service. I did know where it was coming from though
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RST

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #19 on: May 11, 2019, 09:42:02 pm »

From the post it looks like he would be able to see the package as they had to pick it up, from that I would just say no , not paying send it back..
However am impressed it arrived in 3 days..

For the parts I used to get from Japan the Japanese tracking was amazing.  Literally every single time the package went from one person to the other there was a name and signature, 24/7.  Japan to UK in 48-72hrs (abs. max), if no duties then 1 week for RM to deliver the last cpl. of hundred miles.  If there were charges, then no updates from touchdown UK for at least 2 weeks, then they send a letter by second class which takes another week, then you're probably best part of a week to sort out.  So the Japanese can send something 10,000miles in less than 72h, but RM takes anywhere up to 500h to send something the last 100-500miles, with absolutely no traceability available once it's in the UK system!!


The other place I've had consistent problems with is (surprisingly) Germanany:  terrible banking, poor shipping and just won't respond to any correspondence whatsoever.  No good, won't order from any companies there again.

Quote
The problem is you don't know what package they're charging for until you pay the ransom - they hold the package hostage.

...how many orders do you have out there at once?
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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #20 on: May 12, 2019, 05:39:09 am »

I have maybe 10 things on order at any time - I just bought a USB wiring harness for the boat I'm building - a DC/DC converter with DVM & USB out, USB multi-hub, USB fan, USB lights, USB Smoker.  It means that the installtion will be neat, plug & play, easy to expand, fault-find and upgrade.
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Captain Flack

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Re: Tarriffs, Import duty
« Reply #21 on: May 16, 2019, 10:38:09 am »

Several years ago I purchased some prints from a ship board art gallery totalling $1000.   I paid the delivery which was extra, and then several weeks later received a note from the PO saying that I had to pay an additional £57. 00 in order to get my parcel, which was only an artists tube.I really was in the wrong job!!!
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