ok... Im a customs officer... trust me...
sitting comfortably??!!!
Gifts can be imported without Customs duty and VAT as long as the TOTAL value is less than £36.
Gifts have 7 rules to ensure relief from duty/vat:
1. must not exceed £36 (if we open package and determine it exceeds - you will be charged)
2. must be correctly declared (so make sure your sender does this - incorrect declarations are one reason a package will be opened. Incorrect declarations can result in a delay in delivery or the package being seized).
3. must be sent from a private person (so a co. labelled package is gonna rule this out too)
4. must be for personal use
5. no commercial element
6. any goods subject to excise duty (cigs, alcohol, perfume) within allowances
7. of an occasional nature - so if youre regularly getting packages from the same person it will be noted and eventually you will be charged
Goods that are not gifts less than £18 (except the excisable goods) are allowed relief from duty/vat.
Customs duty is applicable depending on the goods and country of origin. If the value is between £36 and £282 a flat rate 3.5% will be charged UNLESS the duty rate on the goods is less than that in which case you will be charged the lower rate.
Once weve added the duty to the value of the goods we get a figure from which we then add 17.5% VAT
Ive never got over paying tax on a tax and I work for the buggers but....
So... if youre package is declared as a gift it MAY get through but if its checked and opened and found to be in contravention of the rules you will have to pay or possibly the goods will be seized.
The reason some get through and not others is down to whether the officers at the postal depots check them.... and to be honest were really targetting the people who are smuggling drugs, guns and obscene material so most of the time you will probably get away with no charge.
I think the checks are mainly done on the senders declaration. I was just wondering if the courier firms were more thorough on the declarations than the post systems.
and if youre a real glutton for punishment and want to know where this stuff is go to
http://intranet.hmce.gov.uk/channels...1&id=LIB_PN_IE and look up notices 143 and 350