Buying online in Japan destination UK - For UK customers only

[MarcoA63]

Good day everybody, hope you are all fairing well.

Has anybody in UK bought pens directly from Japan starting from January 2021 ? If so have you paid 20% VAT upon delivery ?

HMRC website states that there are no tariffs applied between Japan and UK as of January 2021, which is good but VAT is applied.

But it could be a hit and miss thing, pens I ordered from India where not taxed.

 

Sorry to say this but am not interested in opinions coming from other countries other than UK.

 

Thank you

[maclink]

I do have a pen from Japan on the way.  I'll let you know the outcome.  Hopefully, typing this will act as a reminder.

[Aysedasi]

Not Japan, but I have also bought from India and paid nothing extra.  I put it down to luck....

[maclink]

3 minutes ago, Aysedasi said:

Not Japan, but I have also bought from India and paid nothing extra.  I put it down to luck....

There is definitely that.  My first pen purchase from the US was a Franklin-Christoph.  It got to me in a few days.  No additional charges.   The next time I did so, I was charged import duties and taxes.  The more recent purchase was less expensive so I couldn't put it down to a threshold.  It's just who happens to be watching or what's on the declaration form... how legible etc.

[Aysedasi]

Yes, I think that's right.  I went through quite a spell of ordering from outside the EU and escaping duties then, all of a sudden, I started being picked up for them, to such an extent that I stopped buying from the US, as they always seemed to be caught.  I confess though, I've not made a purchase from Japan for a very long time.  

[maclink]

I got my pen just now.  Funny that you asked when you did @MarcoA63.  It arrived on my doorstep without having to pay anything else.  But then the package was explicitly declared, on the customs form, as having no commercial value.  

 

[Aysedasi]

Nice one.  It's a Bic biro then......?   

[Karmachanic]

Yes. 20% VAT, £8 handling charge, and £5 +/- duty, for a considerable saving over UK purchase.

[maclink]

Just now, Aysedasi said:

Nice one.  It's a Bic biro then......?   

No.  A Pilot Custom 912 with an FA nib.  Spanking new.

 

 

Lovely pen.... lovely writer.  Great flex with great ink flow.  

[Aysedasi]

You did well then..... 

[MarcoA63]

Thank you all very much. I hope it goes as well as it did with the Ranga pens. I do believe it is a lucky draw when it comes to buying things outside Europe. I now ordered a pen from Wancher, fingers crossed.

[maclink]

I deserved the break.  My last hit was on a Desiderata Pen Soubriquet... I got charged the full monty on that occasion.  

[MarcoA63]

I feel for you. the first and last Leonardo pen I bought from Italy in taxes cost me almost as much as the pen, so I hope this time it goes better

[A Smug Dill]

39 minutes ago, MarcoA63 said:

the first and last Leonardo pen I bought from Italy in taxes cost me almost as much as the pen,

 

How is that possible, when VAT and/or import duty would be calculated as a (relatively small) percentage of the value of the imported item?

 

In Australia, GST is 10%, and for consignments of value exceeding A$1,000 that is collected ‘at the border’ by the local customs authority (as opposed to by the seller as part and parcel of the sale transaction for ‘low-value imports’). However, there's also A$88 in fees payable to the government to file import declaration (electronic) paperwork, irrespective of whether the consignment is valued at A$1,001 or A$7,500 (or more); and if the import is handled by DHL or FedEx, it'll also charge administrative fees of its own (and for nominally paying the GST and customs declaration filing fees to the Government upfront, on behalf of the customer as if having extended an informal line of credit to him/her). So, in the unfortunate case of a A$1,001 consignment, the total of tax (which is fixed at 10%) and additional fees may amount to approximately 20% of the value of the import. My understanding is that the ‘taxes’ component is fixed at 20%, but even if you were using the terms loosely — pretending anything out-of-pocket to you that you could not avoid paying above the item price is a ‘tax’ as a powerless consumer — I cannot imagine the total of tax, duties and fees to all parties would amount to more than a third of the value of the consignment, no more how much even 30% would hurt one's back pocket.

 

Was it really “almost as much as the pen”, without other items in the same consignment being taxable and taxed?

[maclink]

My last full charges was on a US Shipment worth £330 with a charge of £68, i.e., just about 20%.  

[MarcoA63]

UPS charged me 15 GBP

the seller overcharged the waybill to 200 euros instead of the 135 euros with no VAT on the invoice because they told me that under 135 GBP things are returned. No way to verify this though.

HMRC don't look at the invoice apparently.

VAT IS 20%

Tariff UK-Italy is 0%

 

Although I have a subscription with UPS I don't have history of my shipments which is stupid. 

[Ste_S]

On 3/12/2021 at 12:39 PM, Karmachanic said:

Yes. 20% VAT, £8 handling charge, and £5 +/- duty, for a considerable saving over UK purchase.

 

Would you mind posting from where you made the purchase? A quick search for me isn't pulling up any significant savings for pens direct from Japan vs UK pricing.

[Karmachanic]

1 hour ago, Ste_S said:

 

Would you mind posting from where you made the purchase? A quick search for me isn't pulling up any significant savings for pens direct from Japan vs UK pricing.

 

Ebay. Price savings could be brand/seller dependant

[Ste_S]

18 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Ebay. Price savings could be brand/seller dependant

 

Cheers, had just been looking at Amazon and Japanese web shops until now. A quick ebay search shows things like a Sailor 1911 Large being approximately half the UK price. Guess I'll be ordering!

[Aysedasi]

Import duty seems to be entirely hit and miss right now in the UK.  Last month I received a Ranga from India - no charge.  Yesterday I received an Aurora from the USA - again no charge.  I think I'll call it quits there - potentially third time unlucky!