Dear all,
This is just a note to be be careful not get charged through the nose by your postal company, if you order stuff from the US to the EU. Also there is a round way, how to avoid this, but you have to have an action plan ahead.
So the background story is this - I have very worn DS splines and rcgreaves offered me a shaft in a lot better condition plus some other bits and bobs, my bike needs. With postage the bill was something like 175USD, a VERY reasonable amount. The parcel left the US promptly and arrived to Hungary, across half of the globe in three days. Since then (7 days and counting) it has been sitting at a local sorting office probably not 15 miles from me and finally I managed to get an answer as to why it is not being delivered. The post office wants me to pay VAT (27% in Hungary), postal charge (15USD, no matter the value) and if the amount is in value over 150 Euros, import duty too (that is another 15%). Although the postage itself was around 65USD, they include that figure in the taxable amount too. This pisses me off greatly, as a) I have already paid for postage and a sales tax on postage in the US b) it is a very unfair way to collect money. Also the used parts were already taxed, when they made their first journey from Germany to the US. BTW there is no greener way of motoring, than to buy second hand items, which would probably end up in landfill. But what is even more irritating, that I have to snitch on MYSELF, as they do not have the faintest, how much this stuff is worth, but they do have access to bank details and paypal payments, if they want to, so I have to tell them the truth.
This is apparently valid all across Europe, VAT and import duty amounts vary, but the basic principle is the same. If they think, your parcel has got a taxable value, you have to prove, it is not. If I would have known this, I would have paid through paypal in two installments, one lower value not going over the tax threshold and then the rest. Also I would have had two email streams with Clayton (as the post office wants a record of the agreement made between oneself and the seller), one proper, discussing what's what and a dummy one, that would discuss giving parts away for free only for the price of the postage (the lower amount paid through paypal) as gifts qualify for a higher tax free margin (45 Euros is VAT, duty and admin charge free if receiving a present, if you buy stuff, the threshold is a whopping 22 Euros). If you have emails, bank statement and paypal payment summary, you can admit to the lower value and not getting chased for money these f*ckers are not entitled to.
