HBG

I've got no idea whether this is in the right place, but I'm staying clear of the Plaza del Torros, it's like the Bermuda triangle.

My wife bought an item from the US via ebay which cost 195 American Dollars, and another 50 Dollars for delivery to Spain She tracked the item to Spain, but it wasn't delivered. Then a letter arrived from the Correos head office in Madrid.

Basically, they want import duty of another 50 Euros to deliver the item. The word basically is far from the truth, she's had three weeks of emails, faxes and telephone calls with Correos in Madrid.

It's a ridiculous way for the Spanish authorities to do business, probably because of the latest austerity measures, but it's having a negative effect on the country.

Mitzyboy

Well, its would be the same if you were in the UK. Goods purchased from outside the EU are subject to import duty and vat ... there will also probably be an import clearance fee in there as well. Sometimes you get things through, sometimes you dont, but the fact remains that anywhere in the EU if you buy from outside the EU then you risk taxes. It's not just Spains take on it, its to do with the Brussels Nomenclature

HBG

The trouble lay with the Correos office in Madrid. Their email system doesn't work, so everything had to be faxed. Then our NIE number didn't work for some reason, and they suggested we use someone else's, anyone's.

In case we had misunderstood, we spoke to an English-speaking operator, whose English was perfect but he didn't know much about import duty, VAT or anything else. In fact, he told us we had nothing to pay as the item itself was under 150 Euros.

Back to the Spanish operator who told us that we did have to pay and that the English-speaking operator was an idiot. But she didn't know how much we had to pay.

We finally got the amount of 50 Euros from a Spanish supervisor, we think she plucked the figure out of the air.

The whole affair has now taken six weeks and is still not resolved.

(We got back on to the American seller, who says that they dispatched this item all over the world and only ever had trouble with Spain).

lynnxa

my dd buys a lot of baking & music stuff online from all over the place - including the US & has never previously had to pay import tax

a couple of days ago she was about to order something from the US when a box marked 'import tax' appeared - I can't remember the figures, but with p&p + the tax the cost of the item doubled...........

she found another source

Rosemary

When friends of mine in UK send things to people in Australia they have to mark it as a gift to avoid import tax.

Rosemary

Fredbargate

A friend of mine did something similar with a package from the USA.
Not only did he have to pay import, they also fined him for trying to avoid the duty.

HBG

I think it's a recent thing for Spain to implement, like many other measures I've noticed recently during the current austerity drive.

I now have to pay two Euros to pay cash into my Spanish bank account. When I check my balance at the cashpoint, I now have to pay 30 Cents for the privilege.

The local Spanish newsagent now charges 15 Cents for a plastic bag to carry away your newspapers and magazines, they have always been free.

Mercadona now charges for shopping bags.

The price of coffee is creeping up everywhere.

It's a peculiar way for a country to deal with a recession, because there is always an element of choice for the consumer, and if he walks away the country will get poorer. People are already walking away from Iberdrola and Telefonica to get better deals elsewhere, and my Spanish bank is on its last warning (not that they know about it).

Rosemary

It is not an austerity measure having to pay for carrier bags this is an environmental issue and they are desperately trying to stop people from using so many. This is why the main supermarkets have brought out the large raffia type re-usable bags.

Rosemary

lynnxa

you're right.............I just wish I could remember to take one of the I-don't-know-how-many-of-those-bags-I-have with me when I go shopping


when Mercadona bring my delivery I don't pay extra for the bags -I guess they must have built it into the delivery charge

rachelk

It's not a new rule, and the implementation isn't really a new thing either though it seems to be a bit random.

I think there was some kind of change in (or tightening up of) european law 2 or 3 years ago and there were a few discussions about it on a craft forum I use, where people were worried about being charged duty on supplies received from the US in particular.

I don't know the details of the law but think it applies over a certain amount (probably not worth collecting for small values).

It certainly has been applied in spain before now; a friend of mine ordered a new toy from the US for his birthday mid 2010 and had to pay duties to collect it, he had to go to the airport I think.

I've had a few ebay things from outside Europe since then and haven't yet been charged myself.

Fred James

There is a 10c tax imposed on plastic bags - that's why the supermarkets charge for them.

http://plasticbagbanreport.com/andal...-plastic-bags/

That said, let's concentrate on import duty.

Mitzyboy

No. its not a new rule it has always been there even pre EU. The Brussels tariff system is far reaching. There are goods you can get in without duty, but generally the kind of stuff "we" buy wont fall under that.

Theoretically there are values that fall below the rate, and not worth collecting. Second hand goods of course or "repaired" goods shouldnt be subject to them. I had a camera sent to me from the US in gift wrap paper and described as a gift, a lens sent as repaired, and they got through. However even if you buy from Amazon US site now you can get duty and vat added to your bill to speed up delivery

At the end of the day you pay your money and you take your chances, but factor it into the savings you think you are making

Domino

agree,its always been there, one of those things that at a certain level the postal authorities don't do anything about.

generally it is "luxury" goods - there used to be a definition in the Post Office manual which a few decades ago was generally available.
In all instances it is the Post Office that is acting as the tax collector for Customs & Excise

I had the embarrassment of sending a wedding anniversary present to my parents and they had to pay the excise before they could get it.

But bought on EBay - was it new or second hand ? There is no duty on second hand goods IIRC

Whilst things still cost a bit extra in Spain, I would normally just buy the item in country - at least if there is a warranty it should be honoured, not an easy thing to do when buying from the US

bobd22

It,s the same in the UK I think the limit in UK is £18 value after that post office
charge the tax plus an amount for recovering the tax.

HBG

I can hear my wife next door again speaking to the Correos head office in Madrid. They had promised to send an email with the exact amount of import duty she would have to pay into a Deutsche Bank account, after which she would be allowed to pick up the item from the post office.

I'm waiting for the next bomb shell - will they expect her to travel to Madrid to pick up the parcel?

Stop Press: The total charge is 65.58 Euros, the email has just come through. My wife has printed out the email and is walking around the lounge using the F word, frequently.