Customs Charge for TPA's flavourings .

[greendollar]

Just had the postie slip a card through the letter box informing me that my parcel is being held at their depot until I pay a fee (£16.49) which includes their £8 fee for going to get it in person .
I'm sure I've read here that flavourings (4 x 4oz bottles ) shouldn't incur a charge/tax , am I correct ?

[Roger]

How much was your order (money wise)?

[greendollar]

About £60 , I've been perusing the HM Customs site and food flavourings come under ZR (zero rate) for VAT so I'm wondering if the charge is for something else ?

[Roger]

It may be import duty as the value is over the personal limit???

[greendollar]

Mar 30, 2013 13:41:15 GMT Roger said:

It may be import duty as the value is over the personal limit???

thanks Roger , I'll have look to see if I can find anything on personal limits

[Juice Kitchen]

I hope this helps with the understanding of Customs charges etc:

I think you probably got hit with VAT: Flavours CAN be either zero rated or full 20% (on the same commodity code).

Although each EC member Country applies the same rules to the Importing and Exporting of goods, the rate of tax that each country applies, varies (the UK's Standard tax (VAT) rate is currently 20.0%).

The method by which your goods arrive into the UK, also affects when import duty and VAT is applied. If your goods arrive via Airfreight, Seafreight or Roadfeight, then the 'Low Value' limit is GB£ 18.00.

This should not be confused with the 'Low Value' DUTY limit for Postal, Parcel and Courier shipments. On the 8th December 2009, the EU changed the 'Low Value' limit on these, from GB£ 105.00 up to GB£ 135.00, (this came in effect, as of the 1st January 2010). This means that any goods valued under GB£ 135.00 is classed as 'Low Value goods', and will not have any duty levied on them.

Please note. This is for import duty only. VAT will still apply on goods valued over GB£ 18.00.

This 'Low Value' rate is also different for 'Gifts' received from outside the EU, where the limit is now set at GB£ 40.00 (from GB£ 36.00).

Any goods valued over these amounts is liable to individual Customs clearance, and if applicable, Import duty and / or VAT payable. The other thing to note, is that UK Customs only collect duty that exceeds GB£ 9.00.

Import Duty applies on most products arriving into the EU from any third world country (non-EU country). The rate of duty varies, depending on the commodity / product.

[Frogster (The Alchemist)]

There are a number of different charges that customs can / do levy, including import duty and VAT.

It all depends on the value and then on the Tariff Commodity Codes for the items... A very complex area to classify are food flavourings, they can fall into a number of different sections depending on the ingredients of the items.

Importing from outside the EU is normally subject to a third country duty. Each flavouring even if from the same manufacturer can be classed differently, depending on the ingredients of the product, if it is derived from essential oils, chemical composition, contains even a trace of alcohol or has a nutritional value, the amount of sugars, milk fats and a whole load of other things are taken into account... That is difficult as most manufacturers will not give a chemical list of contents for each flavour with the %age breakdown for fear of copying.

You could pay anything from 60% loading + VAT to 0.00% duty, and then.... it may be subject to VAT or Zero Rated, but that depends how it has been classified previously. The thing is Duty and VAT are calculated by separate departments, and trying to get one department to agree on the others ruling is a real head buster. And, remember each flavouring can be different and require different evaluations.

I have spent an age talking with Customs to get my imports classified correctly... I have previously paid anything from £900.00 to £0.00 on the exact same shipments…. Sometimes with VAT sometimes Zero rated….Thankfully, I have now a binding agreement for my imports, and things seem to work when I quote some codes and numbers.

Not what you want to hear, but, A mine field it is!!!

[Perpetua]

I've been hit with excess duty on Flavourings as well GD, that I don't object to, it's PF's handling charge that really grates.

On the GB that Brian organised for bulk Capella flavours, the excess was just under £80.00 . . . as with many HMRC ' issues ' sometimes it's just easier to pay up and not spend too much time angsting, as galling as that is.

At least you'll be able to make some lovely brews from your order.

[greendollar]

Rather than give myself a headache I think it's gonna be a case of paying up then scurrying back to my shed to do some mixing , thanks for the replies

[Roger]

It's just one of those things really, we all moaned about Starbucks et al not paying any tax, yet we are quite happy to avoid duty whenever possible. If I get stung, well, there has been plenty of times when I haven't. Swings and roundabouts.

[philh]

Hi,
Customs seem to make up the rules as they go along.
My neighbour logged on to ebay.com instead of ebay.uk by mistake and bought an ice shaver (similar to slush) for about £10 with a fiver postage. When it was delivered the postie wanted £35 because the customs had opened the parcel to see what it was.
Phil

[Perpetua]

Mar 31, 2013 0:22:16 GMT philh said:

Hi,
Customs seem to make up the rules as they go along.
My neighbour logged on to ebay.com instead of ebay.uk by mistake and bought an ice shaver (similar to slush) for about £10 with a fiver postage. When it was delivered the postie wanted £35 because the customs had opened the parcel to see what it was.
Phil

Good grief Phil.

Cheaper to buy a new ice shaver!

I don't think any of us object to paying our dues on stuff, I know I certainly don't . . . but I do really, really object to paying £8 for RM to put a card through my door informing me of that fact!

RM seem determined to push us into using alternative carriers one way and another. If there's a shipping option, I choose DHL now, their excess handling charges are considerably more realistic.