I'm pretty sure they are exempt sacked.

i think some1 did a thread on it before sacked,from what i remember you pay it then have to claim it back but dont hold me to that...

martin,sometimes you are not very helpful

Thanks to the others for your info.

Is it actually a vat charge or an admin charge.

They charge admin AND vat on that if there is any.

you may find its a customs clearance charge, which is a courier fee, rather than an import charge

Yeah cheers Fedex and Faile.

For my recent purchase, I got hit £38.05 being £28.05 vat and £10.00 admin, it was described as Faile Artist Edition with a value of $250. I took that one on the chin.

The other from the bigger edition, was described as Faile Book, value $50 and came in with no vat and no admin, also handled by Fedex.

I really hate taxes.

It's a good question, at the end of the day, it is what it is.

What interests me though, is it a book, or is it art? After all that affects the charges, if it had been described as a book worth £250, it might have come through differently.

PM'd sacked...

At least they delivered the parcel first and invoiced later, for that I am grateful. Costs involved when you have to pay duty before something is released is the pits, all round they just start to escalate.

I feel a tiny bit sorry for Fedex they have to collect this by law and are never going to have conversations with happy people. I might just let this go, it sounds like the government needs it more than I do.

Spaceshrew, let us know how you get on though, and yes Faile et al. be more careful with your labelling please.

Yer, no problem I'll let you know what happens with my case.

There were a few of us at work, that ordered the same Faile print,
from Paper monster.

One wasn't charged at all, one was charged around £40, and i was charged around £18, i seem to remember, seems really random how they tax art.

I just gave fedex a call told them that they were books and these shouldn't be subject to import fees and they called me back a day later to say all fees had been waived.

I'd just call and query payment and let them chase you!

As promised this is the reply from FedEx after around 3 weeks:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your below email regarding invoice 542307236, shipment 793940073397.

Please be advised no duty has been levied on this shipment, it is VAT of £28.05 and our £10.00 admin fee.

The invoice is correct, and is based on the value of the goods as advised by the shipper on the commercial invoice.

Kind Regards

Lindsey Hood


I still can't see how this is correct, what do you guys think?

Where do you live spaceshrew ?I thought it was rough when they charged me £18.05 !!!

I live in London, it just seems a bit random how they're charging customers.

This is what Fielder wrote, a much better informed forum member than me:

I too received a bill for £18.01 from Fedex. I wrote a letter to their Customer Services giving a full description and enclosing supporting documentation. Last week I got a reply saying 'Not all books are classed as printed matter. In this case this contains artwork and prints. If you believe this to be incorrect you can call HMRC on 0845 010 9000. They will be able to advise you further. If they agree that this should be Zero rated for VAT we need this in writing from the Customs Officer. We will then amend accordingly'.
I phoned the number and the lady checked with a customs officer who said it is classed as a catalogue and is covered under Public Notice 701/10 index No. 8 and is zero rated. I said can I have this in writing and she said I should email them at
enquiries.estn@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
I did this but have not yet had a response.
This is such a pain and I'm pretty sure it's all due to the fact they didn't write the word 'book' on the customs declaration!