Paying tax on goods sent from the US?

[loella]

Anyone understand why some goods sent from the USA  to France are liable for tax or duty? We're waiting for a delivery from Amazon.com (from the USA) which was very reasonable pricewise especially given the exchange rate at the moment. We were speaking to a friend last night who said that he had to pay duty on presents sent from the States....is this true? If so, Amazon certainly dont tell you that when you pay for it.

[Clair]

As far as I know, this has always been the case and I don't think there's anything new about it.

All goods imported from outside the EU are subject to tax according to the type of goods and their value.

This is Amazon.fr's notice about imports:

[quote]Informations douanières

... Les taxes de douane ou d'importation sont dues dès que le colis

atteint son pays de destination. Vous devez vous acquitter des

éventuelles taxes supplémentaires de dédouanement. Nous n'avons aucun

contrôle sur ces taxes et ne pouvons les prévoir, les politiques

douanières variant fortement d'un pays à l'autre. Veuillez contacter

votre bureau des douanes local pour de plus amples informations.[/quote]

and this is Amazon.com's info:

[quote]... Your packages may be subject to the customs fees and import duties of

the country to which you have your order shipped. These charges are

always the recipient's responsibility. For further details, read about Restrictions (which apply to all international shipments) and Import Fees Deposits (which apply to Priority International Shipping only.)

... Duties and Taxes

The recipient of an international shipment may be subject to import

duties and taxes, which are levied once a shipment reaches your

country. Additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by the

recipient; we have no control over these charges and cannot predict

what they may be. Customs policies vary widely from country to country;

you should contact your local customs office for further information.[/quote]

[Lori]

Yes, this has always been the case.  We never make orders of over 50 U.S. dollar value from U.S. companies or websites.  Even Xmas presents sent by my mother always have the receipts included to show that they do not exceen 50 US dollars.  I'm not sure where I got the 50 number, but I think it was from a French Customs site.  Also not sure if that figure has changed over the years.  Since we have stuck to it, we have had no problems.

I must add that I go out of my way to find EU websites from which to make my orders.  It is just so much simpler.  However, I know it can be very hard or impossible to find certain American goods this way.

 

[Russethouse]

My American friend in Brittany seems quite lucky with this type of thing and rarely gets 'caught' for the import duty, its pretty much the luck of the draw, where as I am nearly always required to pay (in the UK). I have also heard of instances where the postman needs cash, sometimes in quite large amounts, then, if they have opened the parcel there is an extra charge [:(]

 

[samdebretagne]

My friend had to pay about 45€ in import tax last year on a box of clothes her dad shipped over to her from the US - the worst part is that they were not even new clothes, just some sweaters and clothing needed for winter!!  At the time, FedEx told her the limit was $80, and that anything over 80 would be charged.

[Lori]

We had similar problems when we first moved to France.  Had to pay a couple of, what we thought were, outrageous customs fees.  After that, we stuck to the 50 U.S. dollar per package rule and include receipts for ALL the goods in the box.  Since then we haven't had any problems - so far.

 

[Richard-R]

You find things sent via La Poste slip past cumtoms, because La Poste will not be pushed around but DHL/FedEx et all are not in the same position and have to bow the the powers that be. So there's a good chance your Amazon parcel will slip through the net, so to speak.

[cooperlola]

Yes, this is so hit and miss - Mr Cooperlola imports loads of stuff from the US (particularly now as exchange rates are so favourable) and it's really not obvious from one day to the next whether he will be taxed or not.  It is, as has been said, the luck of the draw.

[PossumGirl]

I've never had to pay on anything sent by a person rather than a company.  I've only bought books from Amazon, and those don't get taxed as far as I'm aware.  The only thing I ever bought where I got socked big time was some vitamins from the VitaminShoppe. 

Generally, I find if I can get something shipped to a friend then have them send it, the whole thing is much less expenisve.  Obviously this isn't an option for everyone.  Also, it's better to keep the package weight to under 5 pounds, as the postage costs go up outrageously after that.

PG

[Pierre ZFP]

Not so much 'luck of the draw' as what the object is.  Some things (e.g books)  carry little/no tax or duty but other things like luxury items (perfume, jewellery) have lots.  So from Amazon, typically your books would get through whereas you might be stung on DVDs

[loella]

All very interesting and as in all these sort of things, hard to know exactly what the outcome will be!! We did have a call yesterday from a company who will be delivering the parcel (electronic stuff value $483); to ask our 'permission' to pay duty on the goods, quote 'should it be necessary'. It seems that even they accept that it’s pretty hit and miss but if it is payable it seems that it will be about $83! Ah well, lets hope the spirit of Christmas comes early and Father C will wave his magic wand over the whole situation.

In our limited experience though, books and goods from the States under a certain amount are duty free but feel that anything over this amount seems to have no real definate rules.

[Russethouse]

 I think there are definite rules its just whether they happen to be applied to your parcel [:)]

I think the likelihood is that if your parcel is from a retailer and will have a list of contents or value on the outside (as a UK customs form would have) you will have duty to pay.

You will have to do the maths but if the duty is about a fifth and you have saved half you should still be better of, just not so much better off [:(]

[Coco]

[quote user="Richard-R"]You find things sent via La Poste slip past cumtoms, because La Poste will not be pushed around but DHL/FedEx et all are not in the same position and have to bow the the powers that be. So there's a good chance your Amazon parcel will slip through the net, so to speak.[/quote]

That's interesting!  In the summer I found a great US site selling clothes for large ladies, and soooo cheap (well I thought so at the time).  I ordered a couple of 100% cotton overshirts at US$19.99 each.  Even with the o/seas handling charge of $10 and delivery, they seemed a good price compared to large size UK mail order where I would have paid about £40 each.  However, on delivery from Fedex I had to pay 29 euros duty!  I couldn't believe it!  I had chosen express delivery as I wanted the shirts before the summer was over, but perhaps had I chosen snail mail I would have got away with it.

Does anyone also know how long standard parcel mail can take from the US?  This particular site guaranteed Fedex within 5-7 days but surface mail could take up to 5 weeks, which is why I went for the Fedex!

My other option that I will now use is that a couple of our US guests (when they heard about the handling fee etc) offered to take delivery in the States and then forward on to me.  I think I may use this option next time.  One lady (the most likely one to ask) lives in Alaska though and sometimes delivery there from the rest of the States is treated differently.  Do any of our US friends know if a company is likely to charge the handling fee for shipping to Alaska?  I suppose I shouldn't be so lazy and should check out the site's Ts&Cs!

 

[Lori]

I can't answer the Alaska question.  I do exactly what you are thinking of doing.  I order items - happen to love Victoria Secret undies and bras - and have them sent to my Mom, who then posts them regular snail mail to me.  This way, she can remove all the unnecessary packaging and place the items in a small, often bubblepack envelope for shipping.  She NEVER uses any of the DHG or Fed/Ex type companies.  I have always had extra fees added on to those types of deliveries. 

When she does this, I normally receive the package within 10 days - few exceptions.  I have NEVER had a problem with customs, etc.

 

[Will]

I too have had the same thing, though in my case it was buying contact lenses, and certain other essential medical supplies (NOT viagra or similar) which were supposedly much cheaper when ordered direct from USA.

Despite the fact that they were clearly marked as medical supplies, and thus should not be subject to duty or TVA, this was ignored by customs so I had to pay the courier company sums of over half the purchase price before they would hand them over (this included a 'handling and administration fee'). And then started a long drawn-out and bureaucracy-heavy (surprise, surprise) process of recovering the excess charges.

I don't think I ever got the handling fees back, so, needless to say, always get these things in Europe now. It is well worth just a few euros extra on purchase costs to save the hassle.

[PossumGirl]

This is exactly how I do it as well. The packages never get charged for duty and they usually arrive pretty quickly.  If it will fit in a Global Priority Mail package, it's very inexpensive and you have delivery in less then a week.  However, the killer is if you go over 5 pounds in weight.  The postage cost skyrockets after that, so you're better off with smaller packages.

PG

[Lori]

True about the weight thing PG.  My Mom often sends me several magazines - Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens, COOK, etc.  I tell her not to go to the expense because they always weigh a LOT (she collects several months and sends them over all at the same time.  She pays around 20 U.S. dollars on the shipping.  I LOVE getting the mags, but if the pkg weighs more than 5 pounds, you have to think twice about it.

 

[Georgina]

Someone sent us a Christmas present for the kids from Australia to France and we had to pay E20.  It was a good part of the cost of the present. They used DHL.  Merry Christmas DHL!!!

We were charged £70 on a FREE gift from America with DHL which was sent to England.  But for insurance purposes they had put the cost at $300.  I think if you put gift nil value it may be the difference. 

The parcel from Australia had the price  itemised on it too.

Georgina

[Russethouse]

I do lots of shipping with DHL and you are obliged to put a value - should customs open your shipment and the value doesn't tally with what you have put you could make problems.

BTW My American friend uses book rate snail mail from the states to France, she says its very cheap but it takes 2 months !

 

[Babbles]

I've always had to pay duty (stuff from Ebay shops in the States) I don't mind the duty as with the exchange rate you normally still save but I do object to the handling charge (arn't they paid already to handle the stuff they know its changing country when its shipped so why put it as a surcharge?), On a large needlepoint Aubusson style rug I had to pay Vat ,import duty and a handling fee over $300  but with the exchange rate the way it is I still saved over £1000  so I don't supose I can moan really[:)]