Import duty query

[powler]

Hi guys. I am looking to buy a new seat for my motorbike from France but am not sure on how much duty I will have to pay, I tried looking around the internet but got a bit confused so was wondering if anyone could give me an idea, the seat cost would be just under £400 and £30 postage I believe.

Thanks

Mick

[CharlieT]

From memory it's 2.5% customs duty + vat on the goods value.

[powler]

2 hours ago, CharlieT said:

From memory it's 2.5% customs duty + vat on the goods value.

Thanks Charlie 👍

[Mr.T]

It depends on what the country of origin is, just because it’s coming from France doesn’t make it French origin once you know that then you can determine the rate of duty, which is determined by the commodity code for the item. Don’t forget that you then add VAT 

[powler]

1 hour ago, Mr.T said:

It depends on what the country of origin is, just because it’s coming from France doesn’t make it French origin once you know that then you can determine the rate of duty, which is determined by the commodity code for the item. Don’t forget that you then add VAT 

The seat is french made by a company called Top Sellerie

[Vince Green]

I have always found import duty to be a bit of a lottery.

Sometimes they don't charge you anything, another time they appear to have plucked a figure out of thin air.

You can't appeal under a certain amount

[JohnfromUK]

2 hours ago, Vince Green said:

Sometimes they don't charge you anything, another time they appear to have plucked a figure out of thin air.

Some years ago I bought 2 x H Gerstner tool chests from the USA.  They arrived together, but as two packages.  I was charged (as expected) duty and VAT on both, but despite being near enough identical (a top unit and a base unit), the rate of duty was different!  The money difference was minor and I didn't really know which was the correct rate, so I paid up and left alone.  As you say, it is a bit hit and miss.

[Mr.T]

Having been in import and export for 20+ years it can appear to be a bit of a lottery, most of the express parcel companies (DHL, UPS, FedEx etc) use any method possible to get a customs clearance they don’t care if it’s correct or not as long as it’s customs cleared they are happy. The problem is it’s you the importer that is liable not the clearance agent. So if you think you have paid to much or the wrong tariff has been used it becomes a nightmare to get the clearing agent to put it right. 
My advice would be if the item is high value (£1k + ) get a freight forwarder to make the customs entry at least they take a little more care on getting it correct 

[powler]

I posted on a bike forum and one guy bought a seat of similar value and payed £80, so just ordered one and luckily they had a discount on so got the seat for a 15% less.

I will let you know what they decide I have to pay.

Thanks for the reply's 

Mick

[powler]

Thought I would post up what I actually payed in case anyone has a similar enquiry.

Seat cost £291

Duty tax importer £11
Vat £57.26
Total £68.26

Mick

[oowee]

On 20/03/2022 at 11:05, Vince Green said:

I have always found import duty to be a bit of a lottery.

Sometimes they don't charge you anything, another time they appear to have plucked a figure out of thin air.

You can't appeal under a certain amount

This. I just paid £72 on a metal plate costing £150 from Germany. Lat part (similar metal part) I bought from the same place in Jan at £95 had no tax applied. 

[Rewulf]

On 20/03/2022 at 11:05, Vince Green said:

Sometimes they don't charge you anything, another time they appear to have plucked a figure out of thin air.

Its often who does the delivery , Royal mail tend to charge the duty, plus an admin fee, and no VAT, but often nothing
DHL , often nothing , sometimes the VAT.
TNT/Fedex  the worst of all , the VAT , duty , calculated on god knows what, then an admin fee, I bought £1400 worth of Pards once from China, then 6 months later , received a £600 bill of TNT for VAT duty and admin , I told them where to get off, and ended up paying nothing after a years worth of battling.
Ebay goods from EU and further , never seem to attract charges ?

[Vince Green]

Just now, Rewulf said:

Its often who does the delivery , Royal mail tend to charge the duty, plus an admin fee, and no VAT, but often nothing
DHL , often nothing , sometimes the VAT.
TNT/Fedex  the worst of all , the VAT , duty , calculated on god knows what, then an admin fee, I bought £1400 worth of Pards once from China, then 6 months later , received a £600 bill of TNT for VAT duty and admin , I told them where to get off, and ended up paying nothing after a years worth of battling.
Ebay goods from EU and further , never seem to attract charges ?

I believe the duty is applied by Border Agency at the point of import but its only done by a low grade clerk sitting at a screen  who has no idea what the item is or what it's worth.

Sometimes I think they filter out the low value invoices to ease the workload.

 

[JohnfromUK]

8 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

I believe the duty is applied by Border Agency at the point of import but its only done by a low grade clerk sitting at a screen  who has no idea what the item is or what it's worth.

Sometimes I think they filter out the low value invoices to ease the workload.

 

The goods should really be accompanied by a "Commodity Code" which tells the import handler what duty (if any) to apply and a 'customs value'.