A good example of how additional costs from the UK handler (DHL) together with VAT increase a £87 purchase into a £115 cost.
No customs duty on this payment, but any due would increase the bill even more.
Thank you for sharing an actual example
Dave

I finally got a full breakdown of the DHL charges

Supplier inv Value £87.34
Freight Value £0.00
Customs Value £87.34
Duty Rate £0.00
Customs Duty £0.00
Excise Duty £0.00
VAT Value Adjustment £0.00
VAT Value £87.34
VAT £17.46
Advance Payment £10.74
Total Payable £28.00


the £87:34 includes £11:50 p&p

If buying from Hobby King, use the EU warehouse, there should be no import duties to pay, as it is "Free Trade" between EU member countries, The cost of postage is also cheaper than the UK warehouse, if you choose std post.
I have never had to pay import charges & VAT is added at the checkout, so you know exactly what the total cost is, it's also in GBP, so no currency charges either.

Hi Rob
I merely offer members advice to avoid them making costly mistakes.
Dave

Hi Dave

So what you are suggesting is the Gov.uk web page should update their information to iron out the way they add VAT?

All our members should buy from within the UK where possible, but be aware of other costs when not doing so.

Rob 😊

Hi Rob
Yes I posted the original link.
I am aware that a number of modellers have received a nasty shock due to the extra charges incurred.
The taxman has his cut but the other UK based collection charges plus VAT can really ramp up the costs and are not mentioned on the Govt website or your post.
I believe our members will welcome your summary but it would be unfortunate if they were then faced with a higher bill due to UK collection charges.
Dave 😀

Hi Dave

My post is taken from the "www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty"

I just deleted items that were not relevant, such as alcohol etc etc

Rob 😀

Hi Mark
Not quite so clear.
If there is duty or VAT to pay the UK carrier will charge their costs to collect the good from the bonded warehouse, pay the duty/tax, add on their administration charges then charge you VAT on the total cost. As their minimum fee appears to be about £20 VAT this adds considerably to the original cost.

Whilst the above post summarises the position I suggest reading https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty as this covers all the rules regarding importing goods from abroad.

Dave

Hi robtroi, thats nice and clear, as most of our gear is classed as luxury we pay the higher rate,

This is an extract from the UK Gov web page:

VAT

You pay VAT on goods sent from non-European Union countries and if they are:
gifts worth more than £34 other goods worth more than £15
You have to pay VAT on all goods sent by mail order from the Channel islands no matter what their value.
You will be charged at the rate that applies to your goods. VAT is charged on the total value, including:
the price paid for the goods, postage, packaging and insurance, any duty you owe

Customs Duty
You will be charged Customs Duty on gifts and other goods sent from outside the EU if they are above a certain value, unless the duty comes to less than £7.
The value includes:
the price paid for the goods, postage, packaging and insurance, Type and value of goods,

Customs Duty
Anything under £135-= No charge
Gifts worth £135-£630 = 2.5%, but rates are lower for some goods
Gifts above £630 and other goods above £135 = The rate depends on the type of goods and where they came from.

If you are charged too much or return your goods
Ask for a refund of VAT or Customs Duty.

👺

Data I received from customs puts the free level at £13 ( do not take this as an absolute may be an error) anything over this value will incur VAT

Hi onetenor
Goods arrive in the UK and are inspected by customs before being passed on to a UK carrier that provides the service for the original carrier.
The UK carrier pays the duty and sends you an invoice for the duty plus its charges or just delivers the duty free items.
Large companies ship in volume with the goods covered by shipping documents, and pay customs dues direct and arrange for their own collection and delivery in the UK.
Either way costs are involved.
If you have contacts with an importer they may agree to include you item with a shipment but I suspect they would want paying and may not want to carry certain items.
Dave

I paid with Paypal and not only paid p and p but duty as well!

Not seen that but may be worth looking into John

I've found sometimes paying through PayPal doesn't see to add p&p with hobbyking

I have had some very good experiences of buying via Amazon Market Place. Can be a bit slow coming sometimes, but never had any problems. I paid £110.81 for a dual channel battery charger that came from Gool RC in China. When it arrived I discovered that there was a fault with the touch screen, I contacted Amazon who gave me an immediate refund & told me to keep the charger. I later found out that Gool RC had stopped trading via Amazon. I have bought lots of connectors, leads, servos, rc switches for next to nothing e.g. Lipo battery checkers with alarm £1.68 including postage from China

Very true Dave but I believe there is away round or of reducing those charges .Not sure how though 😑 💭

Bang Good and Gear Best Direct are both Chinese companies. if the good's value is above the duty threshold they are liable for the fees. Sometimes you may not be charged but if you are the carrier may also make a handling fee.

I have used Bang Good and their service was good and delivery within the advised timescale, but I kept the value below £40.

Personally I would not but owt from HK for that very reason. I buy a lot of stuff from Bang Good and Gear Best Direct . Very often Free Postage You must have patience though waiting for them to arrive.That is the only drawback

I bought a cheap transmitter from HobbyKing and mistakenly ordered it from their international warehouse. Within a couple of days I had a call from DHL saying I owed £22.00 duty. Tracking the parcel showed that it took 3 days to get to East Midlands from China, where it then sat for a couple of weeks. After some emails and a call from DHL I finally got my parcel, but not before I had e.mailed them a copy of the Paypay reciept.
Never again

Chris

I am very reluctant to buy from Hobbyking, as even when you buy from their UK warehouse in GBP, the total price is converted to USD when it comes to time to pay. You are then exposed to the pounds x rate versus the dollar, which is not good at present. On top of which Paypal or the credit company charge a surcharge for this conversion service. Hobbyking postage charges via the UK warehouse are also very high. On a 12 USD item I was charged 7 USD postage.

When buying multiple items from say, ebay Chinese speed controllers (hobby wing) I tend to order separately days apart to keep individual purchase cost. They sometimes put this cost on the outside.

Buying from overseas can attract VAT and customs duties. Also the courier may charge a handling fee which is also subject to VAT.

I suggest reading https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty for a useful overview of the position.

Hobbyking has three warehouses but only one in the UK.

You need to check very carefully that the item you purchase comes from the UK warehouse.

Past dealings have indicated that whilst you might start looking at just UK warehouse items the site can select stock from another warehouse.

If so you may be charged extra costs and as others have found the savings are all taken by the taxman and the courier company.

I usually try to purchase in bulk to offset postage charges but if buying from overseas you need to watch the total cost to avoid any fees.

I ordered some £90 worth of kit from HobbyKing and didn't have a choice of couriers, they shipped via FedEx.
Two weeks after delivery I get an invoice from FedEx for customs and import tax of £34................made my £90 worth as dear as buying in UK.
It has now made me very wary of them.

I thought HK showed the charges when you went to check out . I think DHL and UPS are very dear anyway

Got to be careful with custom duties also. I purchased an unusual prototype skirtless hovercraft from Australia. Customs,vat etc added over £40. The finished project was worth it though.