Reply With QuoteCan see there’s an argument for brokerage fees but not Government charges.
Afternoon TZ,
I have a question regarding having paid VAT and duty on an item imported from the US, which was then seized as it was 'prohibited from importation'. I paid UPS:
UPS Shipping: £116.73
Government charges: £62.12
Brokerage: £11.50
From my (biased perspective), I cannot see how 'government charges' and 'brokerage' fees totalling £73.62 can have been legitimately claimed by UPS from me, as the item has been seized as it is prohibited from importation, and therefore cannot be imported.
Leg to stand on, or wishful thinking?
Any guidance would be much appreciated on this. For information, the item was a folding pocket knife - I'm not going to fight the legality of the seizure through the courts as the risk is then £XXXX in legal fees if the court upholds the decision, even though it's a very purdy pattern welded liner lock. Not worth the aggro either.
Hugh
Can see there’s an argument for brokerage fees but not Government charges.
Do you mean an argument against their claiming the costs for the government charges but not brokerage fees?Originally Posted by Kingstepper
They may have incurred costs in dealing with HMRC so can see why they might claim brokerage fees though can't see that Government is due anything if item wasn't actually imported.
Ah yes, I see what you mean about the brokerage. And agreed on the 'government charges' (presumably VAT and duty) given these circumstances. I'll give it a try.
In case you have not already found this, the notice you need is
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...ue-and-customs
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Thank you for this lughugger - the steps in that are for admitting that the item was correctly seized by admitting the importation was illegal (I'm not doing that) or for pursuing court action against Border Force if you believe the seizure was illegal (I do believe this, but I'm not risking the court costs).
What I'm trying to pursue is a claim against UPS for charging import fees (VAT and duty) on something that has been prevented from being imported - seems not too dissimilar to a shop charging a buyer VAT for an item they've been prevented from buying.
I think you have a good case for not paying the import duties, i guess you need to find a document that states goods are not officially imported until it clears customs.
Cheers..
Jase
If you request a copy of the C88 you will see a breakdown of any VAT and Duty charged.
One consideration is the shipping terms (INCOTERMS). If you can find out what these were then it might help.
It will also depend upon the Commodity Code used as each attracts a different cost based on origins etc. A folding knife should attract 8% Duty and 20% VAT so something appears to be amiss.
Why amiss, do we know cost of knife?
My mistake, I read the cost of UPS shipping as cost of the item.
Was the item legal to import into the UK?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
HMRC say not.
Has the op contacted ups to se what they say? Presumably ups have paid to import but then HMRC have seized the item so UPS should be due the refund?
The carriers are being ruthless in making sure the get paid their exorbitant charges, people keep saying it’s Brexit, it isn’t
Who says that? Always been £10-£12.
What’s Brexit got to do with this? It was from the US.
Cheers..
Jase
OP suggests a difference of opinion - might help to know what the item actually was/is?.
I would be pretty annoyed if I had been billed for import and fees when it technically has not been delivered.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
A good plan - it's a challenge to find as any queries around imports deemed not importable just returns the government guidance on challenging the seizures. I'll keep digging, thank you for the suggestion. It may require an online trip to import tax legislation itself, which will make for fun and entirely layperson reading I'm sure!
As Onelasttime notes Chris, Border Force say it's illegal to import. I disagree as does the maker, so yes it's a difference of opinion, but the opinion advantage is very, very heavily with Border Force on this one! The only way to contest this is to go to court and then then there's thousands of pounds at stake in legal fees if the court agrees with Border Force, the time sink and the general enormous faff. Simply not worth it to me. The other option is 'restoration', but doing this means I have to accept it was illegal to import, and I don't and nor do I want that admission on me anywhere as it's BS. All in all, I've given up on the knife and the money in it, but I've not given up on the taxes I've paid to import it, given it's not been imported and I figure if I'm correct on the technicality of the import not having occurred, it's an easy return of my ~70 quid.
Last edited by hughtrimble; 31st May 2021 at 12:39.
Thank you Puntsdog - I'll find out the INCOTERMS. I sent the funds separately to the maker for the shipping and they have a UPS account, so I hope they don't have to be the ones who fight for my import charges back. I paid the import charges direct to UPS when it landed in the UK, so hopefully a separate system for this bit.
Thanks for the explanation guys - I think I would let this go once I cleared away the taxes and import fees. Poor situation but not of your doing.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
It hasn’t but I have heard loads of stories of people being charged £50-60 admin costs and blaming Brexit , if you have an account, the cost are minimal. I ship and receive to Chicago and two locations in Turkey every few days plus monthly consolidations.
I wanted to buy something from the USA and met this message:
Due to the United Kingdom's new onerous VAT tax filing and remittance requirements, we are unable to process any orders under $200 USD. We apologize for this inconvenience.
I would have thought that you could argue that change of ownership of the item never took place so it is the suppliers responsibility just as it would do if it was lost or stolen in transit.
Last edited by SeePee; 6th June 2021 at 07:57.
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