German customs - I was taxed ...

[sanchi heuser]

As far as I remember (it has been about 8 years since I last had to deal with German customs), one pays customs duties ("Zoll") on the item, but after that you pay the German VAT on the item, the shipping costs, and the customs duties!

I have an actual custom bill here:
The shipping costs (Frachtkosten) were added to the purchase price (Artikelpreis)
= the customs value or tariff value (Zollwert).
From that customs value they calculated the duties (Zoll),
add the duties to the customs value and from that sum they calculated the
import VAT (Einfuhrmehrwertsteuer) and finally added duties and import VAT
to the total sum of duties (Gesamtabgabensumme).

Edit: Arne your're right!
Customs office calculated no duties from the shipping costs but import VAT,
sorry.

[Richard K.]

In Canada anything above $25 is taxed. Most times parcels coming from UK are not taxed at all .What burns me to no end when I buy a book from Texas for $13 and have to pay $9 for handling fee's and both taxes.

Greg

I thought anything below $20 is not taxed?!?

[sanchi heuser]

In addition to all of this watch out for UPS--I've had stuff come in, with shipping cost based upon the UPS site, with mysterious "brokerage fees" added (once with cash demanded at the door). Not sure if this has todo with the tax situation or not.
--Darin

Yes, UPS charges brokerage fees for the service of the customs agency
as I experienced.

I suppose Fedex does the same.

[Ulrich Drolshagen]

May be it is a good idea not to let the carrier handle the customs. You should advise the arrival of the parcel to the customs office in charge of your region. So you yourself are able to explain to them the character of its contents. Without permission they are not allowed to open the parcel as long as they don't have any evidence to suspect any illegal contents. They usually have to stick with the declaration on the parcel and their own interpretation of its meaning.
You can not avoid being charged this way but you can avoid being charged for the wrong category of goods.

Ulrich

[Ronan87]

Yes, UPS charges brokerage fees for the service of the customs agency
as I experienced.

I suppose Fedex does the same.

UPS 'broker fee' is ILLEGAL in America and Canada. Theirs a class action suit against them because of it.

Check your country and its laws, if it's the same as America/Canada, refuse to pay, contact laywers.

Why is UPS fee illegal? Because #1 they act as a broker, when LEGALLY you can broker it yourself (when is the last time UPS asked if you wanted to broker it yourself, or even 'they' were doing it?), #2 they do not respect any laws, they charge w/e they want, #3 their 'broker' form is often ignored/bypassed/falsified (by UPS).

FEDEX plays it differently. Since UPS is in big trouble, FEDEX now charges a BS broke fee ONLY once you accept the package. You get a bill 2-3 weeks (sometimes months) after the package. Again, illegal, and you can refuse to pay it. If they bother you, lawyer up. Just FYI, FEDEX 'broker' fee are about 1/3 to even 1/4 what UPS asks.

I have been dealing with UPS for the past 5 years, i got a ton of stories and paperwork about this crap. Bunch of scammers.

[Helcio J Tagliolatto]

Guys, you’re lucky people!

In Brazil, this "wonderful country of misery and despair”, things go this way:
If sent by official post (like USPS), customs taxes are 60% VAT!
If sent via any courier: 60% VAT plus 18% as “transit tax”.
Anyway, all commercial transactions using credit card will be charged for more 6,35% over the total amount paid internationally, as a tax for using your card overseas.
And consider that your salary is charged 27.5% monthly by federal regulation.

All this to live in a country that excels in corruption, urban violence and illegality, a place where a staff from one of the biggest photo dealers states that "10 seconds out in the streets showing a camera is the limit you have before robbery"

[Ronan87]

Guys, you’re lucky people!

In Brazil, this "wonderful country of misery and despair”, things go this way:
If sent by official post (like USPS), customs taxes are 60% VAT!
If sent via any courier: 60% VAT plus 18% as “transit tax”.
Anyway, all commercial transactions using credit card will be charged for more 6,35% over the total amount paid internationally, as a tax for using your card overseas.
And consider that your salary is charged 27.5% monthly by federal regulation.

All this to live in a country that excels in corruption, urban violence and illegality, a place where a staff from one of the biggest photo dealers states that "10 seconds out in the streets showing a camera is the limit you have before robbery"

Don't forget STD's. I'd change country tbh.

[Jim Ewins]

Richard, in the US, there is no limit on the amount the government can extort.

[Laron]

ahhh... poor guy, it sounds crazy there in Brasil!!! definetely this sounds the worse..

Im still waiting for any letter for paying or bringing an invoice or whatever.
its 9 days /plus the forecoming weekend now/ since my package arrived at Frankfurt... really now I would happily pay if I even could...