Cerydwen
Well-known member
Hi,
Do any of you lovely ladies who buy cosmetics on the Internet from abroad know if there's a way to pay the import duty/customs charges in advance, to avoid having to pay the fine to the Post Office before they will deliver items? My daughters and I buy quite a lot of cosmetic products from the US (particularly from Morgana Cryptoria - her products are amazing!), and I'm a little tired of having to either restrict my purchases to under £18, which doesn't pay for a lot, or face being fined by the post office for not paying the duty in advance. The Post Office charges seem quite extrotionate in relation to the cost of purchases and I'd far rather spend this extra money on more cosmetics, than put it into the Post Office's pocket!
I've looked on the HM Revenue & Customs website (see extract below), but couldn't find anything useful there - they seem to be in cahoots with the PO:
[h=3]'Customs Duty[/h] [h=3]If you're ordering goods from outside the EU, any Customs Duty must be paid by recipient once the goods have arrived in the UK but before the goods are delivered.[/h] [h=3]Import VAT[/h] [h=3]If you're ordering goods from outside the EU, any Import VAT must be paid by the recipient once the goods have arrived in the UK but before the goods are delivered.[/h] [h=3]In addition, there may also be a handling fee to pay to the carrier. Follow the link below to find out more.'[/h]
If anyone knows a way round this problem, I'd be very grateful to hear about it.
Thanks! xxx
Do any of you lovely ladies who buy cosmetics on the Internet from abroad know if there's a way to pay the import duty/customs charges in advance, to avoid having to pay the fine to the Post Office before they will deliver items? My daughters and I buy quite a lot of cosmetic products from the US (particularly from Morgana Cryptoria - her products are amazing!), and I'm a little tired of having to either restrict my purchases to under £18, which doesn't pay for a lot, or face being fined by the post office for not paying the duty in advance. The Post Office charges seem quite extrotionate in relation to the cost of purchases and I'd far rather spend this extra money on more cosmetics, than put it into the Post Office's pocket!
I've looked on the HM Revenue & Customs website (see extract below), but couldn't find anything useful there - they seem to be in cahoots with the PO:
[h=3]'Customs Duty[/h] [h=3]If you're ordering goods from outside the EU, any Customs Duty must be paid by recipient once the goods have arrived in the UK but before the goods are delivered.[/h] [h=3]Import VAT[/h] [h=3]If you're ordering goods from outside the EU, any Import VAT must be paid by the recipient once the goods have arrived in the UK but before the goods are delivered.[/h] [h=3]In addition, there may also be a handling fee to pay to the carrier. Follow the link below to find out more.'[/h]
If anyone knows a way round this problem, I'd be very grateful to hear about it.
Thanks! xxx