Calling all international customers - import taxes?

[Malbork]

Austria here, no import taxes. EU and all of that.

Luxembourg calling, ditto.

[Hertsblue]

Mark me down as a Yes, Minister devotee.

.yes I'm an old fart 

Yes to both of them.

[HPFlashman]

Norway:

25% VAT equivalent for orders over about £20 (200 NOK) based on exchange rate on the day the package hits the Customs.  Add another £20 for handling of fees, so either major buys or splitting orders to get under the aprox £20 limit and gladly paying the extra postage for keeping it under the Customs limit.

Just put my first order in and bought an Army pack for Sudan to get a crack at the 2013 comp, checking the exange rate, its touch and go after the automatically deduction of the British VAT. 

for Pendraken to undertake that particular exercise. Never had it automatically done before. 

[Nick the Lemming]

Its a bit of a lotto here in Canada, and I don't think I have had a pendraken order pulled over. 

Orders over 20$ are eligible to be charged Harmonized Sales Tax (15% here in Nova Scotia) plus a 5$ handling fee.  This is collected at whatever postal retail outlet (usually in the back of a drug store or the like) is holding your parcel.  I've never had anything in an envelope charged, nor anything with a value less than 20 *anythings* since they don't bother doing currency conversions.

The most consistent source of charges I have had is on orders from a US company that has a skull logo.  Go figure 

That's by mail.  Anything by courier, the courier charges a customs brokerage fee of $15-25 even if there is no duty or HST.

This counts for me too. I haven't had a Pendraken order stopped, but I have had other orders stopped and ended up paying an extra $20-25 on top. Orders sent by the normal post office tend to be ok generally, especially if the post form has gift or a value under $25 written on it. If I'm ordering something from a company that sends out using something like UPS, I email them to ask them to put it in the normal post instead - couriers like UPS rip people off by charging courier fees, taxes on those fees and a handling charge - I've been charged over $30 on a $20 order before, and some at the club have faced even worse - charges around $100 in total.

[Leon]

for Pendraken to undertake that particular exercise. Never had it automatically done before. 

I'm not sure how that bit works, as there isn't any info on the packages to show whether VAT has been applied or not? 

...I email them to ask them to put it in the normal post instead - couriers like UPS rip people off by charging courier fees, taxes on those fees and a handling charge - I've been charged over $30 on a $20 order before, and some at the club have faced even worse - charges around $100 in total.

Yeah, we get quite a few emails of a similar nature, it's ridiculous some of the charges the couriers apply.

[HPFlashman]

I'm not sure how that bit works, as there isn't any info on the packages to show whether VAT has been applied or not? 

I was probably a bit unclear in my initial statment, its the shopping cart solution that probably deducts the VAT for non-EU countries or some such stuff. This brings the Army deal down to £21ish, and at the current exchange rate, its a hair under the Norwegian VAT line. 

[Leon]

I was probably a bit unclear in my initial statment, its the shopping cart solution that probably deducts the VAT for non-EU countries or some such stuff. This brings the Army deal down to £21ish, and at the current exchange rate, its a hair under the Norwegian VAT line. 

Do you have to show the order to the post office then, because there's nothing on the package to show how much it's worth, or whether VAT has been applied?  How do they know the value of the package?

[HPFlashman]

As from Pendraken, I dont know yet as the one Sudan army I ordered yesterday was my first order, but if they think the shipment contains goods, eligible for VAT and not declared by the seller or suspiciously declared, I will get a summon to the Customs house that have an attached mail office and have to show proof of value for the shipment and based on the value, either pony up or just pick up the package.  

[Leon]

As from Pendraken, I dont know yet as the one Sudan army I ordered yesterday was my first order, but if they think the shipment contains goods, eligible for VAT and not declared by the seller or suspiciously declared, I will get a summon to the Customs house that have an attached mail office and have to show proof of value for the shipment and based on the value, either pony up or just pick up the package.  

We don't get many orders from Norway, so I've just had a check, and there'll be a Customs label on the package with the value on it, so no worries there.

[Orcs]

Its not paying the VAT I object too its the additional  £8 the Post Office charge to collect the vat, regarddless of how little VAT is being paid

[Leon]

Its not paying the VAT I object too its the additional  £8 the Post Office charge to collect the vat, regarddless of how little VAT is being paid

That bugs me as well, especially when I'm regularly bringing things into the UK.  I've asked them why it can't be done on account, with the items just being scanned and added to my bill, without the need for handling fees and all that nonsense, but they don't seem to have an answer. 

It's especially daft when you consider that any business is completely responsible for declaring their own VAT, thousands of £'s a quarter, but they can't do import VAT any other way than paying at the desk. 

I had to pay out £100+ yesterday to collect my decal restock, so this one's fresh in the rant queue!

[HPFlashman]

I agree with that notion, Justafew.
We get to pay the equivalent to  between £12 and 17 in handling fees, even if the VAT for a small order would be substantial less than the handling bit.  

Very nice its not...