VAT genius needed.

[Gordy]

Just part of their great service!

 

[Shaverrific666]

Sorry I misread the post ..I thought it said "FAT" genius needed. I was going to offer my services as I am an expert on a variety of fats..though my dedication to the cause does make me sweat somewhat.

 

[UKRob]

Yes, about eight years ago. I had a FedEx parcel coming in from Chicago, I had stock coming in from a couple of suppliers, one of whom I knew in a personal capacity too. I had him receive a pair of boots for me and he put them in the box for me. Customs and/or FedEx at O'Hare opened the package and calculated the cost of the boots and added it to the bill. They were wrong in the amount they assumed the boots were too and they had been clearly marked as a gift inside the outer parcel . U.K. Customs then added their amount on and tried to fine me for non-declaration. They had removed the documents and label pertaining to the boots and I hadn't a leg to stand on. My friend fought my corner for me but I ended up losing out and it could have been much worse for me.

So, you tried to bypass the system by asking a friend to hide an undeclared pair of boots, value undetermined because it was not declared - and then moan because a customs officer had to estimate their value. It does not matter that the boots were a gift, you were trying to import without paying duty. It really is that simple.

 

[Gordy]

So, you tried to bypass the system by asking a friend to hide an undeclared pair of boots, value undetermined because it was not declared - and then moan because a customs officer had to estimate their value. It does not matter that the boots were a gift, you were trying to import without paying duty. It really is that simple.

Sorry, I should have clarified that statement. I am not moaning about having to pay duty, I wasn't making a case about my morality. The boots were not hidden in any way, every single parcel is scanned anyway. The value was declared but yes, it was declared as a gift, my friend had paid the sales tax on them already as well. Customs Stateside removed the documentation for the boots, vastly overestimated them in value and tried to claim that my friend was actually hiding them. An invoice turned up in middle of proceedings, from FedEx proving that wasn't the case. They were in a shipment related to my business so they tried to claim they were a trade stock item. They were never going to be put on sale in the UK. I was already paying a massive sum of duty for the rest of the goods and yes, I fully admit I didn't wish to pay the exact duty on them. I really just wanted to prove I wasn't trying to hide them and that they didn't cost anywhere near the value of duty decided upon entry into the UK. UK customs tried to prove I was going to sell them at retail which was rubbish and they lost that point. My point was that even if the item had been under the duty threshold and declared as a gift, of which I did many, many times, they removed the documentation which proved that and decided it was going to be above the threshold, and by quite some amount. I was actually moaning about the amount of duty I had to pay which was well above what I should have been paying.

 

[Alba65]

Gifts also have an upper value limit when coming from outside the EU, customs will usually ask you to provide a receipt of purchase before guesstimating the value...... they have that power. However, if you do, thats almost an admission of VAT fraud. You can however contest a customs guesstimate by providing evidence to the contrary, constant lower prices online etc.... without risking the admission of guilt and potential fines. If the value of the goods is over the threshold, you pay VAT on the whole amount, not just the amount of excess over the threshold. They also claim VAT on the cost of postage and insurance if its not included in any invoice.

False declaration is a hard battle, you are not responsible for what a sender writes on the CN22 or alternative customs label, its their signature declaring it to be true, not yours. I don't think they'd get far with that one.

Norway is outside Europe's free market and have their own rules with regards setting values on what goes under the customs radar. I think most countries can adjust these amounts regards shipments from outside the EU.