# Customs issues



## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

I've read about customs issues ,with people receiving bills for taxes due.

I don't order anything from the UK , I have no need to , however, I would like to buy some Tunisian crochet hooks from Amazon UK as the Spanish Amazon ones are rubbish plastic. If my daughter orders them and sends them ASA "gift" would this still be subject to charges

Alternatively if anyone knows an EU Stockist of wool and hooks etc I'd be e very grateful
X


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes, any parcel whether it was sent by Amazon UK, another trader or a family member as a gift has to be accompanied by customs declaration and any tax and duty must be paid prior to delivery. Usually the delivery company will contact the recipient and ask them to pay before delivery can be made. It's sometimes possible to prepay the tax due by the sender, and if you order from Amazon UK or another mail order company, the price quoted normally includes those charges, plus their handling fee, which is usually a set price such as £5 and can get expensive when ordering a low-value item. There used to be exemption from VAT when sending a low-value item (was around £18 I seem to remember) but this is now gone with Brexit and VAT has to be paid to Spain in your case.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I've just received a package from the Wool Warehouse in the UK, delivered by Royal Mail. (I've used them for years.) There is a customs declaration affixed to the address label on the packaging. I didn't have to pay anything over and above their standard overseas delivery charge of £4.99 for up to 2 kg.

Not sure whether they will have your Tunisian crochet hooks but it's worth a look!








Home - Wool Warehouse - Buy Yarn, Wool, Needles & Other Knitting Supplies Online!


Wool Warehouse - buy all of your yarn wool, needles, and other knitting supplies online today with FAST delivery!




www.woolwarehouse.co.uk


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## xgarb (May 6, 2011)

I was just finishing an order for some custom business cards from a UK company and they have this in the checkout:

*IVA y aranceles adicionales se pagarán una vez su pedido llegue a la aduana
Los pedidos de más de 22€ conllevarán impuestos locales
Los pedidos superiores a 150€ conllevarán impuestos Y aranceles* 

I don't know if this means if the order is under 22€ it will pass through without charge. In chat they seemed to think I would be charged 12-18€ including the UPS handling fee. So the cost of the order would be doubled!

They are going to open an office in Germany. I wonder how many small UK companies and going to move or sink because of this.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> I've just received a package from the Wool Warehouse in the UK, delivered by Royal Mail. (I've used them for years.) There is a customs declaration affixed to the address label on the packaging. I didn't have to pay anything over and above their standard overseas delivery charge of £4.99 for up to 2 kg.
> 
> Not sure whether they will have your Tunisian crochet hooks but it's worth a look!
> 
> ...


great

I have used wool warehouse over the years, I found the Chinese wool horrid and not much else on offer here. I’d rather support locally but..... they will have the hooks 

maybe I’ll drop them an email

as an aside


how long was delivery ?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Megsmum said:


> great
> 
> I have used wool warehouse over the years, I found the Chinese wool horrid and not much else on offer here. I’d rather support locally but..... they will have the hooks
> 
> ...


Two weeks exactly. Normally a week but with Reyes etc in the middle it took longer.


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## xgarb (May 6, 2011)

Brexit: 'I was asked to pay an extra £82 for my £200 coat'


Shoppers buying items from Europe now have to pay customs or VAT charges on those above a certain value.



www.bbc.com


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Outrageous!!!  

But seriously, the article says that that customs duites cannot be paid upfront, and whereas that might be the case with the formal payment to customs, there are schemes like the Ebay international shipping programme where the buyer sees and pays the full cost up front, so no "hidden" payments on the doorstep to get your goods. They've been using that for worldwide sales for years and I have bought stuff from the states without problems.
It doesn't get round the problem that things are more expensive when paying VAT and duty, but at least it removes the element of "surprise". I have found also that some items are so much cheaper in the US that even before Brexit it was worth paying the import costs.
I guess that for people in the EU, buying from the states is now a serious alternative to buying from the UK. And similarly, in the UK buying from the states will become a serious alternative to buying from Europe.


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## xgarb (May 6, 2011)

Another one: Delivery– The Pi Hut

*DAP (Duties At Place) – International Orders*
_All orders sent outside of the UK are shipped on a DAP (Duties At Place) basis and may be subject to local customs import duty which is charged on the value of the purchase. Payment of these fees is the sole responsibility of the customer._

I wanted to order the new Raspberry Pi Pico and a few other things. Usually this is the easiest place to buy this stuff but now there will be some undefined extra charges for anyone in Europe. I'm guessing the first time people get charged double the price of an order for the handling fees will be the last time they order something from this company (and maybe the UK) and they'll look for a European supplier. That or everything will be sold on Ebay with their shipping scheme.


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## xgarb (May 6, 2011)

If they don't improve the arrangement with the EU soon for UK > EU and EU > UK trade I can see a lot more companies doing this:

Move to EU to avoid Brexit costs, firms told

I can also see a lot of services starting in the EU that are basically just a point of presence for UK companies.


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