Customs clearance from the UK. Threshold
I have bought from the UK many times in the past (a lot more before Brexit), various products including books. Same thing on Amz.uk
Never had any problems, even if the absurd increase in some shipping costs makes buying used books no longer make sense, especially for cheap books.
This time I used the well-known abebook.it (it basically acts as an intermediary), ordering a book for €1.50 with €3.50 shipping costs. Paid right away and arrived in a reasonable time. However, the postman asked me for €2.30 cash on delivery for customs.
Which brings me to the question for anyone who has recently made similar purchases (on eBay for products from the UK). But wasn't there a threshold of €25 below which customs charges were not due? Has this happened to you?
marioelegio
·3 years agoAs of July 1, 2021, the 22 euro threshold was abolished. Now VAT is paid on any value. In your case, the 30 cents go to customs. The two euros, on the other hand, are the cost of collecting the payment, which goes to Poste Italiane (among all couriers, for this service, it is the cheapest) and is indicated as customs clearance charge for the courier.
From the Poste website:
COMMERCIAL SHIPMENTS
Item value Duty VAT Customs Charges-Postal Fees
hi
mario
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoGood morning maurizio8837
Recently (a couple of months ago) I had a caddy sent to me (a small metal bracket for 2.5-inch hard drives to install in a notebook) from England, costing about 2.5 euros with tracked Royal Mail shipping.
When I went to pick up the registered letter, I asked if there was anything to pay and they told me NO, that there was nothing to pay.
So I don't know why in your case they made you pay while in my case they didn't.
You should ask Poste Italiane directly.
Best regards.
maurizio8837
OP3 years agoThanks for the reply.
I contacted abebook directly, and they replied by offering me a coupon for my next purchases and a response that I’m attaching. I understand that the issue is customs-related, but imposing a cost of 2.30 on a product with a declared value of €1.50 doesn’t seem sensible to me. Maybe when the order is handled by eBay or Amz they deal with it or exempt it from checks. Hmm
Good morning Maurizio,
Customs fees are import charges applied by the buyer’s country for the import of goods. Customs/import fees may be applied to all international orders, and it is the buyer’s responsibility to make the payment directly to the customs authority. This also applies to orders coming from the UK from January 1, 2022, following Brexit.
As an apology for your recent experience, I would like to offer you, for your next purchase, ..
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoThe seller (probably a large seller) behaved more than correctly with you; in fact, they went well beyond what their responsibilities are, even apologizing. If only more sellers were like that.
In any case, as marioelegio pointed out, your order was subject to taxation.
Best regards.
marioelegio
·3 years agoIn your case they didn't ask you for anything because the seller (dishonestly) declared that it wasn't a sale. For small things of little value, they may believe it.
Also from the Poste Italiane website:
SHIPMENTS WITHOUT COMMERCIAL NATURE
Value of the item VAT duty Customs charges-Postal fees*
hi
mario
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoHi Mario
Actually the little package arrived with a customs declaration and a description of the item "hard disk bracket", "I don't remember if there was the mark on GIFT or sale of goods" and a declared value of 2 pounds.
In fact I was surprised that they didn't make me pay anything when I went to pick up this little package at the post office by registered mail.
With the Italian post office, you can never be sure of anything.
Kind regards.