na, dont think so not as long as they are sent as gifts

Well done! its where most of my money has been going over the last few weeks ;D

yeah i got stung for a big bill a while ago too.

I think its 17.5% VAT if the declared value is over £18. or £36 if its marked as a gift. i wonder if you can insure a print for more than 336 even if thats the stated value?

I've just had a letter from Parcel Farce letting me know I have to pay over £100 charges before they will deliver my print sent from America.
It looks as if they have charged me their normal clearance fee and 17.5% VAT on the $750 value, even though it was marked as a gift.

I know that limited edition hand screened prints are taxed at 5%, but my question is do I have to pay the bill first then claim back monies later, or can I get it reduced over the phone?
Any help would be very welcome.
Thanks in advance
Jd

Over £100 seems absolutely ridiculous to me?, cant find any threads but someone on here must know how to sort this out JD.

it would seem; the courier service has already had to pay what they are claiming back from you, so you may be inclined to pay, or risk losing your goods. Bummer. I hate this additional sting. Best advice for going forward would be to request your sender to mark the parcel as something of very low value, and value it accordingly - even if it is marked as a gift. Large retailers may not be happy to do this, and insurance may not apply.

customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document

www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400044&mediaId=400362

Not sure this wll help anyone.But if it dose then copy and paste.


HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS
Mount pleasant postal depot,
Farringdon road,
London,
EC1A 1BB
Dear HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS,
REF VAT CHARGE INCORRECT

On the (date) I went to collect my item from (city) mail office. While collecting my parcel I was told that there will be a charge of £??.00 (£??.00 VAT + £??.00 handling fees).The value of the item for insurance purposes was £??.00, and the item is a painting. So I believe I have pay to much VAT as I was charged VAT at a rate of 17.5 %, the VAT rate on a painting, should be at 5% only as outlined on your website as follows:-


HMRC Reference: VAT Info Sheet 09/99:
2.2 Will the new 5% reduced rate apply to a wider range of goods than those which currently qualify for the 2.5% rate?
Yes. The scope of the new reduced rate of 5% will be extended to cover all works of art, antiques and collectors’ pieces as defined in Annex I of the Sixth VAT Directive, many of which had not previously benefited from the 2.5 % rate. This will now include works of art created after 1 April 1973.
2.3 Which goods will qualify for the 5% reduced rate?
The goods which will qualify include works of art, antiques and collectors’ pieces and are defined as follows:

"Works of art" shall mean:
pictures, collages and similar decorative plaques, paintings and drawings, executed entirely by hand by the artist, other than plans and drawings for architectural, engineering, industrial, commercial, topographical or similar purposes, hand-decorated manufactured articles, theatrical scenery, studio back cloths or the like of painted canvas (Tariff heading 9701)




So could you please look into that matter ASAP? And could you also please send me a full refund for all the VAT which I overpaid (£??.00). I have retained the packaging, receipt and the CHARGE NUMBER 12345678 90GB

Yours sincerely

I'm like to buy a Sunday b Morning print from a gallery in the states as its half the price of over here (UK)...does anyone know how much import duty/customs clearance etc I can expect to pay as a percentage?

I bought a fairey print for £30 once and had to pay £12 to clear UK customs which is about 40% extra!!!! I am hoping it doesn't scale up...

Any info appreciated

Ta

there's a thread some where all about import duty / vat

urbanartassociation.com/index.cgi?board=ebaychat&action=display&thread=17538

This is a 2007 link I used this 2009 2010 & and it worked both times, so maybe give it a go "Power to the people"

I have encountered this same scam. THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAW.

Section 104 and 105 of the Postal Services Act 2000 clearly state that they cannot hold up the post and it cannot be held to ransom for fees (lien) payable. Section 83 and 84 state the offence carries a penalty of up to six months imprisonment.

I challenged their legal department:

Lynn Gawthorpe (Parcelforce legal at the HQ) 01908687000

and was able to pick up my parcel without paying a penny.

The upshot is that they are legally able to charge a fee for paying your Customs bill, BUT they are not allowed to hold your mail to ransom until you pay it. They can only go through the standard civil procedure to obtain the debt.

Can anyone direct me to the correct thread for this, i'm sure i've seen it before but can't find it.
I'm in the UK and I'm interested in buying an original painting from an artist in the USA.
Do i have to pay any import duty/ tax?
Thanks.

Very helpful thread here

urbanartassociation.com/index.cgi?board=ebaychat&action=display&thread=17538

I've imported from USA and, whilst it takes a bit of fiddling about, it's worth the hassle as you will save cash - which is never a bad thing.

Bottom line is that it sounds like your original painting would be a qualifying piece. You need to find the correct duty code and have the shipping company put that on the paperwork. When the piece arrives in this country you will be contacted by the import agency (or that branch of the folk who have shipped it) who will try to charge you import duty and VAT.

Your piece is exempt from import duty (provided it qualifies) and attracts VAT only at the rate of 5% (for both the purchase price and shipping costs). So you point the folk who have contacted you to the import code on the shipping invoice and you pay only this figure plus whatever 'handling' charge the importer or shipping company charges to administer this area of the process and your piece is forwarded on to you.

HB

This is all correct, experienced it myself, even though in a slighty different way : had to pay the full (wrong/higher) amount first, then write a letter and then get reimbursed the difference... Bit more hassle (ie. letter) but worth doing ot depending on the amount...

anyone out there imported either a print or an original from the US?

i know there's import duty on work but what about VAT?

i remember someone mentioning prints are charged different rate to originals.......and the HMRC site is a labarinth.

just weighing up the options

any help will be most excellently appreciated


j