"Possible" charges requested 2 weeks after a delivery?
Hello, I bought an item (Hot Toys) from China that was delivered to me on January 18 by the postman. Today, February 3, the postman knocked on my door saying that there is a registered envelope with charges to pay. I went downstairs and on this envelope, marked as a "card," I am being asked for 72.55 euros plus 5.00. Now, looking at the tracking, it matches the tracking number of the item that arrived a short time ago. I have not accepted the envelope for now because I didn’t have cash available and also to understand it properly before paying. The postman marked me as absent and very kindly gave me a storage notice. When I went back upstairs I checked that tracking I had photographed, and it matches the package delivered to me on January 18, which seems to have gone through absurd, untrue detours and is shown as being out for delivery today, even though that was never actually the case. How do you recommend I handle this? I mean, this is so strange... now should I go to the post office and pay 77.55 euros to collect an envelope without having a correct specific explanation for the reason for that envelope? The sender is SINOTRANS from GERMANY.
onlyjody
·3 years agoEbay charges taxes upfront only for orders under 150€.
If your order exceeded that amount, it makes sense that they’re asking you for them now
sika700
·3 years agoWith all due respect, where did you "get" this information from?
Ebay charges import fees ONLY for sellers in the United Kingdom and the United States who use the GSP service (Global Shipping Program) for any amount... so this information of yours is completely unfounded and incorrect.
Ebay instead charges VAT for all sellers based outside the EU, for any amount.
Obviously this applies to us Italian buyers.
But the point of the conversation is something completely different...
Kind regards.
onlyjody
·3 years agoOn the official eBay website, I’m attaching a screenshot
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoGood evening onlyjody_store
I’ve just finished a reply to another similar discussion where the same topic is mentioned, so I’ll do a copy/paste here as well.
Kind regards.
-------------------------------
Good evening
As an eBay reference we have this link titled: Paying taxes on eBay purchases
https://www.ebay.it/help/buying/paying-items/pagare-le-imposte-sugli-acquisti-ebay?id=4771
I quote:
Items shipped to the EU from countries or sellers outside the EU
If the item is shipped from a country outside the EU, the recipient may have to pay VAT and customs duties. These amounts will be collected by eBay or the carrier on behalf of the relevant customs/tax authorities.
As of July 1, 2021, the VAT exemption for imported goods with a value below EUR 22 is no longer applicable, and eBay is required to collect VAT on certain orders delivered to EU addresses:
(my personal note: in my opinion this point is not VERY CLEAR because it seems to refer only to France or Monaco when then it says: to EU addresses)
In cases where eBay is not responsible for collecting VAT, the amount of VAT and customs duties will be determined upon arrival of the goods in the destination country. Therefore, buyers may have to pay additional charges not included in the total price shown at checkout, such as VAT, customs duties, and an import handling fee charged by the carrier.
Goods shipped to the UK from abroad
As of January 1, 2021, the VAT exemption for imported goods with a value below GBP 15 has been abolished.
However, eBay is required to collect VAT on certain orders delivered to UK addresses:
It is likely that VAT and customs duties will also apply to higher-value items. However, VAT on purchases worth more than GBP 135 will be paid directly to the UK customs authorities by the buyer.
Kind regards.
onlyjody
·3 years agoIt seemed clear to me saying "for France and Monaco see next point". I have always understood that for us point 1 applies, while for them point 2. So they always pay everything in advance, while we only do for orders under 150€ from what I understood.
From personal experience, though, with purchases under 150€ eBay has always charged me the VAT upfront; I haven't tried going beyond that yet.
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoSo a French person buying in the UK a computer worth 10,000 pounds pays eBay right away 2500 ~ 2700 pounds in VAT and duties ???
Who knows what a mess happens in cases where the seller doesn't specify anything regarding import charges already collected and/or when the customs officer doesn't see that the customs charges have already been paid....
Best regards.
sika700
·3 years agoThis isn't an eBay Italy page... let me remind you that you're in Italy and you have to adapt to Italian rules, not to marketplaces from other countries...
Have a good day.
deejaynick
·3 years agoProbable mix-up by the postal service, probably because since it was customs-cleared outside Italy, they messed up (strange... 😄) a bit.
In fact, you were supposed to get the registered letter with the fee request first and then, once you had paid, have the package sent to you.
The fact is that you owe that amount to the tax authorities anyway, so it’s best to collect the registered letter and pay.
For the tax authorities the registered letter is considered "delivered" (even if not physically, but you have the pickup notice, so that counts, even if you don’t want to collect it...) and you could be subject to debt collection if you don’t fulfill your obligations.
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoHello
You simply need to pay the import and customs clearance costs that you didn’t pay for that $350 item
Surely this is a very strange way of doing things by the post office.
Asking for money after the purchased item has already been received.......
NO COMMENT.
Kind regards.
marioelegio
·3 years agoProbably your package was cleared through customs in Germany and then arrived (by mistake) before the payment request
Value of the item about 350 dollars, about 350 euros, so 22% VAT = 77 euros plus customs duties and handling fees in customs for the carrier.
Had Italian VAT already been charged to you by eBay at the time of purchase?
If you have already paid the VAT it shouldn’t be charged a second time, or you can ask them to issue you a proper receipt with which you can request a refund of the one paid to eBay.
hi
mario