Buying online in Japan destination UK - For UK customers only

[Karmachanic]

5 minutes ago, Aysedasi said:

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! 

 

In my experience it depends upon the sender. Plain packaging with no branding tends to get through. Anything that looks vaguely commercial; not so much

[maclink]

42 minutes ago, Aysedasi said:

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! 

I wouldn’t relax just yet. With US shipments I’ve received the charge after receiving the pen. 

[MarcoA63]

My Wancher true ebonite pen has left Japan. It is now a waiting game for what HMRC will charge me. Fingers crossed 🙂

[Aysedasi]

On 4/8/2021 at 12:12 PM, maclink said:

I wouldn’t relax just yet. With US shipments I’ve received the charge after receiving the pen. 

That's a new one on me.  The Post Office have never delivered an item to me without it being preceded by the dreaded grey and white card declaring their financial interest in my purchase....

[maclink]

4 hours ago, Aysedasi said:

That's a new one on me.  The Post Office have never delivered an item to me without it being preceded by the dreaded grey and white card declaring their financial interest in my purchase....

If it’s Royal Mail then I agree. However, not so if sent via Fedex. 

[Al-fresco]

I've got a pen coming from Japan via http://iguanasell.co.uk/ and, according to their invoice, UK VAT has already been included in the price.  I shall be most unhappy if HMRC attempt to bill me twice.  We'll see what happens!

[Aysedasi]

On 4/9/2021 at 10:26 PM, maclink said:

If it’s Royal Mail then I agree. However, not so if sent via Fedex. 

 

Yep, understood.  

[Al-fresco]

On 4/11/2021 at 3:32 PM, Al-fresco said:

I've got a pen coming from Japan via http://iguanasell.co.uk/ and, according to their invoice, UK VAT has already been included in the price.  I shall be most unhappy if HMRC attempt to bill me twice.  We'll see what happens!

 

Pen duly arrived (by Fedex) with no hidden or extra charges.  

[maclink]

16 minutes ago, Al-fresco said:

 

Pen duly arrived (by Fedex) with no hidden or extra charges.  

Likely declared as having no commercial value on the customs papers?  This is what happened with my last shipment from Japan.

[Dione]

On 4/11/2021 at 3:32 PM, Al-fresco said:

I've got a pen coming from Japan via http://iguanasell.co.uk/ and, according to their invoice, UK VAT has already been included in the price.  I shall be most unhappy if HMRC attempt to bill me twice.  We'll see what happens!

Assuming the invoice from the iguanasell will show that VAT is included, HMRC would refund you if they charged you twice by mistake.

[MarcoA63]

My Wancher True Ebonite arrived from Japan today. The waybill said Gift and a value of £ 10 on it. Didn't have to pay anything. I don't know if they will chase me in the coming weeks / months though. I used Japan Post for the shipment. So far it went well 🙂

[eciton]

Just to add to the experiences shared in this thread: I've received several packages from the Netherlands, USA, and Japan, ranging from $100 to over £1,000 in the past couple of months, and fingers crossed, not a single charge on any of them.

[Ste_S]

Sort of a Japanese (Belgian really) fp retailer, Sakura Foutain Pen Gallery. Has anyone ordered from them? They at knock VAT off on ordering, so at least won't end up getting charged VAT twice.

[maclink]

2 hours ago, MarcoA63 said:

My Wancher True Ebonite arrived from Japan today. The waybill said Gift and a value of £ 10 on it. Didn't have to pay anything. I don't know if they will chase me in the coming weeks / months though. I used Japan Post for the shipment. So far it went well 🙂

You will not be.  The only way that would be is if they did not trust the declaration and opened the package to see an invoice with the real value.  However, they generally don't do this and go by what's on the declaration form, especially if the package isn't big.

[MarcoA63]

There was no invoice in the package. I forgot how mich I paid for the pen 🤫

[eciton]

23 hours ago, Ste_S said:

Sort of a Japanese (Belgian really) fp retailer, Sakura Foutain Pen Gallery. Has anyone ordered from them? They at knock VAT off on ordering, so at least won't end up getting charged VAT twice.

 

Yes, Cat at Sakura is a credit to the community. My two current Nakayas came from there.

[JasonCurtis]

I’ve ordered a few things from Japan, and I did end up paying the 20% VAT on delivery.

[JasonCurtis]

On 8/12/2024 at 7:21 PM, JasonCurtis said:

I’ve ordered a few things from Japan, and I did end up paying the 20% VAT on delivery.

It seems like it’s hit or miss, though—sometimes stuff from other countries comes through without any extra charges, and other times customs catches it. If you ever need help with more complicated VAT or customs stuff, I found https://thevatconsultancy.com/ really useful. Just speaking from experience.

[Karmachanic]

On 8/12/2024 at 4:21 PM, JasonCurtis said:

I’ve ordered a few things from Japan, and I did end up paying the 20% VAT on delivery.

 

AMZ Japan and pepen avenue on *Bay.com add UK VAT prior to shipping.  Less faff.