UK VAT charges when importing question

[Voltaire53]

I know that the present limit to import to the UK without being charged VAT (then being stung £8 by the Post Office for paying the VAT for you) is £15 or £39 for a Gift.

I know that VAT is charged on (value of item+price of postage).

I am just asking whether the LIMIT still applies just to the item (like it always used to) or has it changed to (item+postage)

For example, it used to be that if your item was £14.99 and the postage was £1.01 (ie a total of £16) you didn't get charged because the ITEM was 1p under the £15 limit; but if the item had been £15.01 and the postage 99p (still a total of £16) you would get charged 20% of the whole value (item+postage) £16 = £3.20 VAT and then £8 by the Post Ofice (ie a total of £11.20 in charges) because the ITEM was 1p over the £15 limit.

I think this is still the case but wanted to check the governement didn't make the Limit of £15 the maximum of the whole lot (including postage) to avoid the £1 item with £400 postage declaration loophole... or if they see that do they just say "that looks dodgy, we know the postage isn't that much on that size of box" and open it up to make their own assessment.

Thanks in advance to anyone who is knowledgeable in this area; like I say, I looked into it all ages ago and knew definitively back then - and I also know exchange rates are set at the start of each month by Customs and that the limits do occasionally alter, but would like to check if the methodology itself has changed or if I can apply the latest numbers in the same way I always have in my calculations.

Surprisingly enough the Government website doesn't offer a definitive example like this in case it gives people ideas!