Naivety on my part but I bought some electronic hobby kit off ebay (sent from China). It arrived ok works fine etc. Now some 3 weeks later I get an invoice from the shipping Co asking for some £50 ('made up of 3 parts with codes meaning give us your money so we can give it to the gov. for more UK bombs to attack other countries'). Sorry - but it feels like that. It's about 1/3 the price of the item!
Anyway, at the end of said invoice was the text: "We have paid this amount of import duty in good faith. Please pay us". So the shippers are acting as tax collectors then?
Maybe it was always so - but first time for me to buy this way. Watch those charges chaps.