These came today from the states

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Paid a total of $42 inc of P&P

's what I would of paid over here for the raised panel bit only. Well Chuffed. :-)

[Cuprager]

Did you have to pay any import tax or did they get through untouched?

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

> 2945.htm

Well according to the person who took them in for me the courier didn't ask for any money.

Do you pay import duty on such small items?

[Cuprager]

I thought that you paid import duty on *anything* that you import... if customs think that the item IS an import and is not a gift :~)

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

>>> 2945.htm

How would they distinguish between import&gift?

[Huge]

There's a (fairly low) lower limit below which the C&E don't think it's worth collecting the tax. And there's a very good chance you won't get caught anyway. And even if you do, the postie has delivered items several times to us with "Do not deliver until you have collected the duty" stickers on, and we've never paid. We never see him.

[Cuprager]

Usually gifts have *GIFT* written on the package :~) Thats how I received a low value item from China that I was never asked for import duty for.

[The Wanderer]

It seems quite likely!

their page about internet shopping:-

"If you purchase goods through the Internet you should be aware that Customs duty and VAT will be payable, as follows:

• Customs duty - if the amount of duty is £7 and over and * Import VAT - if the value of the goods is £18 and over.

Please see Notice 143, paragraph 3.3 for more details."

I've purchased specific items of porcelain bisque from the US on a couple of occasions; one lot I paid a few pounds duty, the other nothing, although both had been shipped with customs declarations from the US, and both were of similar value.

When I 'phoned to query why one and not t'other, although he didn't say in so many words, the guy hinted that it rather has to do with how busy they are that day at the Postal depots in the UK!

Duty is apparently charged on the aggregate value of the items being purchased. If you're purchasing several lowish-value items from the US, it may actually be better to buy them one at a time and bear the increased postal charges rather than lumping your order together which would increase it's value and hence render it liable to Duty!

[The Natural Philosopher]

In practice goods under $50 and in small packets usually go by on the nod as it were.

Occasionally they do not..then you get import duty, VAT and a swingeing 'handling charge' added by the courier. Adds up to about +30% usually..

[Ian White]

Depending on which day, phase of moon etc, as others have noted.

Royal Mail quite often nod things through, either at Mount Pleasant where everything comes into the country, or at your own doorstep, but the private enterprise courier firms seem to be a lot more strict. I've never seen one of them fail to charge anything that is due, or fail to collect it before parting with the goods.

Note that duty and VAT are charged on the total on the invoice, including shipping and insurance. The handling charge may be a flat fee, which can be either good or bad depending on the value.

Best way to look at personal imports is to be fully prepared to pay 30% extra or whatever, and treat it as a bonus if they don't charge.

[Peter Johnson]

There's a declaration label that has to be affixed to the packet, the same for exports too; they used to be green but they are white now. The sender has to declare the contents, the value and whether it's merchandise or gift. But beware, having something declared as a gift is no guarantee that duty/tax won't be charged. I ordered a lens from the US last year, expecting to pay duty and I did, but the sender had marked it as a gift. I didn't bother asking how the duty was assessed without the packet being opened, it didn't have any relationship with the declared value as I recall. (The following week I received some CDs that should have had duty payable but which escaped, so overall I thought I'd done alright.)

[Andy Hall]

It doesn't really matter - if it's a gift, it still has value and attracts VAT and perhaps duty.

There is a lower limit of about £18 below which collection isn't done.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

How much was the duty,if you dont mind me asking and sum total of CD's?

I'm intending to buy more router bits of this guy as he's polite and quick in sending out the goods,plus his bits are of decent quality and cheaper than the price I'd pay in rip-off britain.