[ILUG] customs!

[Padraig Brady]

Paul Jakma wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Jun 2002, Dave O Connor wrote:
> 
> 
>>Yep. I got charged £30 on £60 worth of tshirts last year. Funny,
>>I've never had problems ordering from anywhere else.
> 
> customs&excise seem to apply duties at random - as if they dont have 
> the resources to check and charge everything and just pick a random 
> sample of packages to charge duty on. so just be glad you dont 
> /always/ get charged.

hence why one of my packages got through. I don't understand really
how DHL/Airborne express/... have different interactions with customs?

> and the charges are crazy - i paid over EUR300 last year on something
> i'd paid about $600 for!

ouch!

> however, the cold reality is that everything you import from the
> states is subject to duty.

Well I was told by twoway that anything over €25 value was subject
to duty. I presume they pulled that figure out of their arse because,
the total charges on it is also €25.

Also someone from customs and excise mailed my privately (ILUG rocks),
saying that twoway were charging the €12 "handling fee" + €5 COD charge.
Twoway said customs were charging it though?

I guess ordering from the EU should be fine?

> afaik only exemption is for gifts - but then only for those worth less 
> than EUR100. (iirc).

what about capital gains tax 8-P, actually there is a special gift
tax IIRC.

Padraig.