[sdiy] Fatman

[Tony Allgood]

> Anyone here from the UK? Just wondering how much (if any) import tax
you pay on such an item?

This is a true national lottery :-) Sometimes you get your parcel with
no duty to pay, and sometimes you do. It all depends on three things;
luck, the cost of the item(s) and the choice of carrier.

Using DHL and UPS will garantee you that you will pay. And twice too.
You pay their admin fee and the VAT on the item. The VAT to be paid
includes the postage charge too... which sounds very unfair to me.
Sometimes you won't know about this payment until a month or so after
the parcel arrives. So if you think you've got away with it... you may
not have done. Expect to pay around £25 for a £100 parcel. I have a
quick rule of thumb that says for every dollar the itme costs, you
actually pay one pound in the end.

USPS [which appears to be the US version of the Royal Mail] usually end
up being received by Parcel Farce in the UK. This normally gets an admin
fee and VAT, but the admin fee is pretty good. The only problem is that
customs in Coventry seem to hold up the parcel for about a week or so.

If it is a small parcel, it may well get through untaxed and it will
just appear with your normal post in the morning.

Right now, I am expecting two parcels for the US. [fingers crossed for
the cheapest option]

Regards,

Tony Allgood                       Penrith, Cumbria, England

Oakley Sound Systems                     www.oakleysound.com
Modular projects            www.oakleysound.com/projects.htm