I'm just wondering how strict or corrupt your local customs office is. Over here, unless the package that you ordered clearly indicates that a book is inside, like the packaging of Book Depository or Barnes and Noble for example, (books are tax-exempt) then the item gets sent straight to the customs office in the specific city that we reside in and we have to claim it there and pay $2.30 to claim the package. (The fee used to be only 91 cents per parcel when I first bought items online, but it has increased thrice already.) And if they think that your item looks "expensive" then they make you pay tax based on the receipt that you show or how much you declare the price of the item is, and for some officers, it's based on how they compute the value solely based on their assessment if you don't have a receipt (I heard other post office city branches in here are more ruthlessly corrupt, charging you an amount that is half or the same value as the item). So I'm wondering how your country does it. Do you freely get to buy those expensive gadgets abroad and not have to worry about tax? I assume the packages get delivered straight to your home. Or like in my case, you tend to downplay your shopping because if it's expensive, then for sure you will pay more like taxes once it arrives in your country?
You got it pretty easy down there. From where I live, at least back then the tax for shipped items is almost unbearable and not to mention the shipping fees. If you purchase a $35 item, let's say from Amazon you have to at least have an extra $45 more alongside shipping fees for your item to go down the pipe, not to mention you have to wait at least a month or so to have it at your doorstep.
I suppose you don't live in the US right? I heard that in the US, all parcels get delivered straight to their home unless you're not around, then you have to pick it up from the post office. An extra $45 tax for a $35 item with shipping excluded is indeed expensive. I remember buying a phone in Ebay that costs $130 and I "only" had to pay $32 in taxes. Taxing $45 on an item that is only $35 is too much. I bought a $32 phone a few months ago, and I only got taxed $18. How I wish I knew how to make arrangements for a door to door delivery. I think if the seller is game for that then I think it would be cheaper.
Well it's not really $45 like for tax only, that includes the shipping which I think is only $10-$20 or so and then some other fees which includes taxes will get you another $20 or so. In terms of delivery, this is where it gets frustrating because of the customs office. If you purchase items locally then it's fine, you'd probably get it a few days after purchase but when it comes to items purchased abroad they have to direct it to a warehouse of some sort for inspection which takes a very long while.
You can't escape customs in the UK, they will hold your parcel until you pay or if it by a courier, the courier may pay it and bill you. There have been loopholes, but many have been closed, so I tend not to buy from abroad because of the taxes. The only way around it is to get someone in that country to send it as a gift to you and declare it as a lower price. I tried that with my aunt for a while in the US, but then it was too much hassle.
I certainly do pay taxes when I try to import things through my port in my country...nearly half the price of what I pay for the item is what I pay to have it brought into the country! However, when I use a courier, or I ask someone to carry it for me, I pay little to nothing both ways. Taxes really suck! If you can find a way around paying it..great!!
Same here, and they open the package in front of you to see if it has no contraband in it. I guess us non-US folks have no choice but to pay taxes. At least they believe you and make it tax-exempt if the item was marked as "gift", over here they still make you pay taxes even if you say that it was a "gift" and the seller marks it too in the envelope or box.
I used to buy a lot of stuff in Canada when I lived in the UK, the customs charges were steep too. But the interesting thing is sometimes I wasn't charged. Like Theo says, I've heard that in Botswana you can also get around the charges if you have the sender play down the value and mark the items as gifts. The only problem obviously is if you're buying from a retailer, they won't want to falsify any information on your behalf, I don't think!
That's what I don't know actually, the opening of the packages I mean. When I got mine the box was pretty much intact and there is no sign of it being opened. I guess they just used some sort of x-ray to check the box or probably because the items that I purchased are just books.
Well, retailer sellers in Ebay sometimes mark the item as gift, but our wise and corrupt customs office disregards that, since when I was claiming my parcels at the post office, the guy in front of me already told the officer that his item was just a "gift" but it still went through the process of assessing the item's charges. They only charge you if they think that the item you purchased is expensive and having a very large box also triggers that. So gadgets, shoes, etc. are things to avoid when buying overseas. I see, over here you must claim your package and you have to pay a fee, so when they give you your package they open it in front of you and inspect it. I also get to receive books directly to my doorstep, and I noticed that they are packaged in such a way that it looks like a book right, like that brown cut-out carton? Books aren't taxable over here, so I guess in your country it's tax-exempt too.
Wow, that's crazy! At least over here as long as it's marked "gift" they just go off that and don't start questioning you or making you pay extra just because they feel like throwing their weight around. Where I can, I also ask people to value the "gift" at a much lower price. Touch wood, for now our officers have not got to that stage..... yet! It's just awful!
I have a couple of parcels that were marked as "gift", but the customs still disregarded that, and I don't even think they look at it, they just automatically charge you for claiming it, and when they open it and they see that it looks expensive (yes, if they think it's expensive, that's enough) then they charge you more for "tax". Do your packages get delivered straight to your home? Over here, we still have to claim it at the post office so that they can collect their racket money aka the "storage fee".
I'm really sorry to hear, it's so unfair! We have our mail delivered to the post office box that we rent. We don't have post codes to allow for door to door mail delivery. The government is only now considering doing this, but it'll probably take another decade to come to fruition lol Those people at your post office sound like they just charge whatever they see fit! I hope you get a receipt. Over here we get a receipt and you can chase it with the main revenue office, and they'd be able to tell you if you'd been overcharged and steps taken to address it if something fishy took place.
So you also go to the post office to claim your packages? I did get a receipt for the 2 phones that I bought online, so far those are the only things I have paid tax with, but I read about this local blogger that shared her story that she was about to be taxed for some equipment like feeding tubes and stuff for her disabled son that was sent from abroad as a gift to her by a relative abroad. They didn't know the price, so the customs just assessed it's worth. Then the blogger's husband who didn't think that it was right to pay taxes tried to chat with the officer as to why they are being charged since it's only a gift for their disabled son, so it implies that they don't have much money, right? So the officer made a call and told their situation and after the call the higher officer decided that it was ok to not make them pay "tax" anymore. And as easy as that, they got the item without paying. See how "flexible" our government is? They can choose not to charge us in the first place. The "storage fee" that they charge is enough for what they need as funds, especially since the price has doubled last year.
Wow, I'm glad it worked out for that family! Yes sadly, we don't have a door to door mail delivery service here, unless the parcel is being sent via courier. There's always a hefty fee when stuff is being delivered by Fedex, DHL, UPS etc about the equivalent value of the item, and I just think it's daylight robbery!
So you mean that you don't have a local courier over there, am I getting it right? If that's the case, then it would be hard to purchase from a Craigslist type of site there in your country, since you would only be able to make a deal via meet-ups. My uncle from the US sometimes sends large boxes of stuff and we don't pay anything since it's a door-to-door delivery, so I guess if we know what courier is it then we can be spared of the fees.
