Quote:
Originally Posted by BohemianGraham
What about us Canadians? How do the import fees work coming from the UK? By default, anything over 50 US Amzon charges the import tax on us, so is the UK the same?
|
You can try Amazon UK itself to see if they charge duty on the front end; I don't think they do. If they don't, Canada Post is supposed to collect duty on delivery (much like the UK poster below) if the package is over C$20--though they often let bigger packages go to avoid the hassle. (I haven't checked the Canadian duty-free threshold lately; if Amazon US is only charging it at US$50, it's possible it may have increased.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by charnier
In the UK, it's much worse - if we order any DVD or Blu over £18 ($30 roughly) outside of Europe, we're liable to pay import duty. The worst part is that that the bill does not come from Revenue and Customs directly; the post office spots whether the item is over the limit and we have to pay them to release the goods, including an £8 handling fee.
|
That, plus UK e-tailers' VAT-avoidance schemes, is a huge reason why boxsets are much cheaper in the UK; they try to get the price below £18 so it can be shipped from the Channel Islands (outside the EU for VAT purposes), Switzerland, or even Hong Kong to the UK VAT-free. (The "duty" you pay on packages just over £18 is actually 20% VAT plus the £8 fee; the threshold for
actual tariffs is higher, and most of the havens have
no tariffs to the UK.)
Most "UK" e-tailers are actually based in those havens; for sub-£18 items they either don't include VAT in prices or apply VAT towards shipping. If over £18, some include VAT in the price and label the package "VAT Paid" with their HMRC account number; others make you pay it to Royal Mail with its £8 fee. (If the UK is like the U.S., the fee charged by non-mail couriers like FedEx, UPS & DHL Express will be
much more than £8.
)
Amazon UK does it a little differently so they can have it both ways: Sub-£18 items shipped to the UK technically come from a third party in Jersey (Indigostarfish), with the VAT savings paying for free UK shipping. All other items (i.e.,
all non-UK shipments and over-£18 items shipped to the UK) ship directly from the UK; VAT is adjusted to local rates for the rest of the EU, and refunded completely outside the EU (including North America & Australia). That's why non-EU Amazon UK customers see a price drop of 16.67% (i.e., 20% of the pre-VAT price) during checkout, except for old-fashioned paper books (
no VAT in the UK).
One huge difference between the U.S. and the rest of the world (including Canada): Most of the world collects its version of sales tax (VAT, GST, etc.) as well as tariffs on imports. However, the U.S. does
not collect sales tax as that's strictly a
state tax, but U.S. Customs is a
federal agency that collects
only tariffs; that's why the duty-free threshold is much higher here (US$200). For sales tax, it's no different than ordering from Amazon US in most states: Except for the 8 states with no sales tax, you're technically supposed to pay "use tax" directly to your state, but almost no one does. (And unlike Amazon US, this applies to
all states--even NY & WA State.
)
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Linear Mode
