euro 22 / ukp 18 custom/tax rules
I am in Europe and always have to order online with the 22 euro rule in mind if over I have to pay extra tax customs VAT etc. On a forum someone mentioned in UK its 18 ukp. I tried to see if US or Canada has a similar rule about importing goods from overseas with online shopping.Is not much one can order with this limitation. I once called customs to ask when this amount was put in place as I think it is sort ot outdated I mean what can one buy for 22 euro not much. Would like to know what others think about this.
I think for tea the US has no import tax if the order is under $200 USD. I am just patching together things I remember reading here, so my information might not be completely accurate. My biggest overseas order that made it here was probably in the $60-$70 USD range and there was no tax or customs fee.
It is definitely a bummer for you across the pond. Not to get political at all, but I think one of the reasons countries do it is to promote trade on their own goods.
I think the limit in Canada is $50 CAD on goods (teaware or other items) but tea itself has a higher limit, or none at all. My brothers actually just got dinged really badly when ordering from ThinkGeek in the US. The brokerage/customs fees were the same as the value of the items they ordered. I try to keep my order simple and below $50 just in case. I happen to keep my shopping as local as I can (personal preference) but my favourite teas only tend to grow in China. :)
I haven’t paid duty yet but technically the exemption is $20. Most people get around this by marking the parcel as gift which has an exemption of $60. Tea is duty free into Canada I’m not 100% about the tax law as it varies from province to province over the exemptions. I have personally never paid any fees.
I’ve had to pay duty on tea shipments before. I am not sure about what the exemption limits are, but I do know that customs officials can choose who and how much to charge on a varying scale. I think one other factor is where the tea comes from. Teas from some countries are exempt but not from other countries.
The current schedule shows loose tea as being duty free from almost everywhere, (it doesn’t t list a tariff in the schedule) at least for Camellia SinensiS and for amounts under 3 kg but there was duty in 2011 from another source. It isn’t tax exempt though so you do have to pay taxes over the exemptions.
Ouch! I have ordered from Verdant and Teavivre a couple times with tea valued at approx. 40 – 50 CAD and haven’t been dinged. Yet. I do know that the description and value are pretty key to getting it through the system. I have sent items to the US through work as gifts (that WERE gifts) and had customs mess about with them though. I think the system might get a tiny bit abused.
I’ be read somewhere if the duty and tax collectible is relatively small they won’t bother as the cost to process it wouldn’t really be covered by the fee collected, but I think it is really up to the discretion of the person processing it. I think my biggest order was around $40 from Germany and I wasn’t hit with any taxes or fees either. Then again I’ve gotten away with BRI going in an extra bottle of wine before ( it was a last minute gift).
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