threshold for customs duty?

pondweed · 16th May 2008, 16:44

can anyone tell me the threshold for ebay buying in the states...?
at what customs value will I get an additional tax demand for?!

DoDo · 16th May 2008, 18:27

Anything over £36.00 is liable to VAT at full amount of cost of item.
You also have to pay duty which on many things end up making them more expensive than purchasing over here.

Information below from John's Airline and Customs Guide.

An illustration of this is shown below:
Goods

Relief given

One item valued at £36 or below

Free of customs duty and import VAT.

One item valued at £44

Customs duty is charged unless the amount of duty is less than £7. Import VAT is chargeable on the full value

Five of the same items valued at £8 each

Customs duty is charged unless the amount of duty is less than £7. Four items are relieved of import VAT leaving import VAT chargeable on the remaining one item.

Five different items valued at £120 each

Customs duty is charged unless the amount of duty on each item is less than £7. Import VAT is chargeable on the full value.

One item valued at £300

Customs duty is charged unless the amount of duty is less than £7. Import VAT is chargeable on the full value.

Gifts
Goods sent as a gift are not free of import duties and import VAT. However, customs duty will not be collected if the amount is less than £7, and import VAT is not chargeable if:

the value of the gift does not exceed £36
the customs declaration is completed correctly
the gift has been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in this country
the gift is for the use of either yourself or your family
there is no commercial or trade element and the gift has not been paid for either directly or indirectly
the gift is of an occasional nature only eg for a birthday or anniversary.

Please note the purchase of goods from outside the EU to give as a gift to a relative or friend, whether or not addressed to that person, is treated as a ‘commercial consignment’ for which the import VAT relief threshold is £18 (paragraph 2.3 refers).

windrush · 16th May 2008, 19:17

Thats a very good point I never thought of that

andy · 16th May 2008, 19:48

Recently bought something from the states and as the value was over £18 got charged vat. OK fair enough, but what really peed me off was the £8.00 Royal Mail handling fee on £5.25 of vat

I thought the threshold value was £36.00 but that is only for a personal gift ( and I understand that this assumes local taxes were paid at time of purchase )
ie you cannot ship goods tax free and claim exemption

Andy

wraymond · 5th July 2021, 14:17

Just bought an album of very early Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs on ebay and then noticed it comes from LA.

So, only 30 days and an extry dollar or two.

That in itself could be a wunnerful countree psalm. Try sayin' that in 4/4 time.

With not-much-to-do these days, decided to learn banjo. Celia is not happy. When she moans about the noise I tell her it's to accompany the sound of dropped cutlery on the kitchen floor. Just got to de-tune the forks and we got a band!

Avulon · 5th July 2021, 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevestrat

I'd double check that, it was posted 13 years ago!

For sure. It looks well out of date. There is no 'grace' value anymore all is liable for VAT and import tax. Then there may be other duties to pay.

16th May 2008, 16:44	#1
pondweed This is my second home Waiter, Waiter! I seem to have a Roomster in my drive... Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sussex Posts: 3,268 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	threshold for customs duty? can anyone tell me the threshold for ebay buying in the states...? at what customs value will I get an additional tax demand for?!

16th May 2008, 18:27	#2
DoDo Avid contributor Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: North Wales Posts: 159 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Anything over £36.00 is liable to VAT at full amount of cost of item. You also have to pay duty which on many things end up making them more expensive than purchasing over here. Information below from John's Airline and Customs Guide. An illustration of this is shown below: Goods Relief given One item valued at £36 or below Free of customs duty and import VAT. One item valued at £44 Customs duty is charged unless the amount of duty is less than £7. Import VAT is chargeable on the full value Five of the same items valued at £8 each Customs duty is charged unless the amount of duty is less than £7. Four items are relieved of import VAT leaving import VAT chargeable on the remaining one item. Five different items valued at £120 each Customs duty is charged unless the amount of duty on each item is less than £7. Import VAT is chargeable on the full value. One item valued at £300 Customs duty is charged unless the amount of duty is less than £7. Import VAT is chargeable on the full value. Gifts Goods sent as a gift are not free of import duties and import VAT. However, customs duty will not be collected if the amount is less than £7, and import VAT is not chargeable if: the value of the gift does not exceed £36 the customs declaration is completed correctly the gift has been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in this country the gift is for the use of either yourself or your family there is no commercial or trade element and the gift has not been paid for either directly or indirectly the gift is of an occasional nature only eg for a birthday or anniversary. Please note the purchase of goods from outside the EU to give as a gift to a relative or friend, whether or not addressed to that person, is treated as a ‘commercial consignment’ for which the import VAT relief threshold is £18 (paragraph 2.3 refers). __________________ Dodo. God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece .

16th May 2008, 19:17	#3
windrush This is my second home December 2004 Rover 75 2ltr CDTi Connoisseur SE HL Tourer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Aldershot Posts: 74,464 Thanks: 2,431 Thanked 3,015 Times in 2,347 Posts	Thats a very good point I never thought of that __________________ ][SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] My Pearl Black Beauty Best regards Lilian and Derek Club Member No. 96 / Forum User No. 111 REGISTRATION to the club as a member FREE, FULL MEMBERSHIP is £10 WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

16th May 2008, 19:48	#4
andy Avid contributor ZT-T cdti automatic Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: gloucester Posts: 210 Thanks: 3 Thanked 10 Times in 5 Posts	Recently bought something from the states and as the value was over £18 got charged vat. OK fair enough, but what really peed me off was the £8.00 Royal Mail handling fee on £5.25 of vat I thought the threshold value was £36.00 but that is only for a personal gift ( and I understand that this assumes local taxes were paid at time of purchase ) ie you cannot ship goods tax free and claim exemption Andy Last edited by GreyGhost; 16th May 2008 at 20:02.. Reason: milder form used

5th July 2021, 14:17	#5
wraymond This is my second home 75 Auto 2.5 SE Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Westcliff on Sea Posts: 5,195 Thanks: 423 Thanked 1,680 Times in 1,014 Posts	Just bought an album of very early Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs on ebay and then noticed it comes from LA. So, only 30 days and an extry dollar or two. That in itself could be a wunnerful countree psalm. Try sayin' that in 4/4 time. With not-much-to-do these days, decided to learn banjo. Celia is not happy. When she moans about the noise I tell her it's to accompany the sound of dropped cutlery on the kitchen floor. Just got to de-tune the forks and we got a band! __________________ member no. 235 Last edited by wraymond; 5th July 2021 at 14:31..