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Double import fees?
Summary: The thread is titled "Double import fees?", but the specific content of the discussion is not provided. Without precise details, it is not possible to determine what the conversation is about.
I placed an order from the United Kingdom (under €150), paying the import charges directly at checkout (£13.97).
Yesterday, however, at the time of delivery, the postman said there was a customs charges fee (€8.91) to pay, plus an additional postal service fee (€5.00), which I assume is fixed whenever such charges are applied.
This naturally left me a bit confused, since I’ve made several other orders from the UK and the packages have always been delivered to me without any extra costs. What’s more, at that moment I didn’t even have the option of paying the postman, so now the package is actually being held in storage until the 29th.
I contacted the seller to ask for an explanation and basically he replied saying that he declared the package as a "gift" and with a value under £20, which would explain the postal charges, considering the shipping costs paid (£17.50) and the 22% rate (doing the quick math, he must have declared a value of around £17).
Since I’m not very experienced with this matter, I’d like to understand whether these extra costs upon delivery are correct and therefore I’m required to pay them, or whether they stem from an incorrect customs declaration by the seller, and thus how to handle cases like this.
Thanks to anyone who replies!
marioelegio
Mentore1 year agoBy marking it as a gift, the seller thought they were doing you a favor, but instead they created a problem for you. Since it was not considered a sale, in which VAT is collected by the platform, the Post Office correctly charged you VAT and the postal fees for collecting it.
When you pick up the package, ask the post office for a receipt; with this receipt you can request a refund of the VAT paid to eBay. Unfortunately, they will not refund the post office fees.
https://www.ebay.it/help/buying/paying-items/pagare-le-imposte-sugli-acquisti-ebay?id=4771#section6
hi
mario
virbonus92
OP1 year agoHi Mario, and thanks for the reply.
It’s not really clear to me why the seller would have had to “falsify” the declaration... When you settle the VAT (and any duties) at the time of payment, shouldn’t the seller attach something to the package (I don’t know, maybe issued by eBay itself) proving that payment has already been made? For example, with vinyl packages ordered on Discogs from UK sellers, I always find a paper document attached to them (there too you pay the import charges upfront).
I think here the only responsibility lies with the seller, who didn’t follow the procedures correctly, and that he should be the one to reimburse those costs (including fees).
marioelegio
Mentore1 year agoIf you can get him to reimburse you for them, even better. But eBay would pay that VAT to the State and it would be double the amount collected by the post office.
hi
mario