Import Taxes

[Tosh McCaber]

I wonder what experience you've  have had, importing from Banggood (or anyone else!).  I am considering purchasing a model costing £165, with £16 postage on top of that from them, direct from China. 

Whilst I've had no problems with customs charges ordering smaller and less expensive items from them in the past, I don't want to be hit with extra import duties etc, on top of what I'm paying.  I'm not sure whether there's a threshold, above which import charges apply?

Look forward to any advice!  Thanks!

[MattyB]

For any single transaction there can be an element of luck to be honest, but by the letter of the law you are likely to be charged VAT (which it looks like BG collect at source anyway, though their help page is about the EU rather than UK), and customs duty dependent on what it is and the value. 

 

More on the Gov website...

 

Edited June 6, 2022 by MattyB

[Nigel Heather]

It can be rather unpredictable I’m afraid.

 

Some of the bigger sellers are now claiming that they include UK VAT in their prices which they collect onto the UK government - they may say this but I’m not convinced that they actually do it.  But if they do then there is nothing extra to pay.

 

Otherwise, there is VAT and duty on import and the shipping companies add there fees to.

 

VAT is easy - 20% on the total.

Duty is more complicated - depends on value and whether it gets classed as a gift or not.

Admin fees vary with shipping companies - I usually guesstimate £15

 

Of course there is still a chance that it sneaks through but now that the shippers can make a nice little earner with their admin fees (which are often higher than the actual shipping) this is less common.

 

Buying from a business the purchase shouldn’t be classed as a gift, in which case anything over £135 is subject to duty and the rate depends on the type of product - unfortunately there isn’t a convenient list - I guesstimate 3%

 

So for your purchase

best case figure - £0

worst case figure - £56

 

and it could be anywhere in between as Far Eastern companies often understate shipment value.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel

[Geoff S]

Regardless of the import tax situation I wouldn't recommend buying anything from Banggood unless you're prepared to write off the cost.  If there's anything wrong you're unlikely to get any worthwhile help.  Banggood do sell a lot of excellent products at a reasonable price (though that's getting marginal) but if anything's wrong, you're on your own. 

 

I've bought quite a lot of things from them over the years and be quite happy. A successful purchase of one of the 400mm ws T28s with 6 way gyro prompted me to buy the similarly sized Spitfire.  Unfortunately, the giros don't work and flying these tiny models in 'expert' mode (ie no gyro help at all) is very tricky.  Banggood were very uncooperative  always demanding more and more videos despite the fact I'd already sent one demonstrating the fault.  In the end, I gave up and I won't be using them again.

 

Geoff

[Nigel R]

12 hours ago, Nigel Heather said:

 there isn’t a convenient list

 

There is a very large and usually inconvenient list though!

 

That said I would now be very cagey about anything running over the duty threshold of £135 (and that is with post added, not just the item itself, I think). Something like a complete foamie I'd not touch an overseas seller.

 

Under the £135 limit and the company you buy from, if they collect VAT, have labelled the thing up properly - such that you do not need to pay the processing/admin fee that parcelforce or RM charge, and the VAT is already done. i.e. the price you pay at purchase time, is the end of the matter.

 

 

[Tosh McCaber]

Thanks for the input and info guys!

[Denis Watkins]

I just spotted this statement while buying from Bangood

 

About European Union VAT:Goods purchased from Banggood and delivered to the destination located in the European Union (EU), VAT and duties(if applicable) have been included in their selling prices, and you don't need to pay additional tax. For more information about these costs, please contact the tax and customs authorities in your country.

[Frank Skilbeck]

Yep, I've bought from Banggood recently, VAT is added to the sale and the goods just arrive with no extra charges. Batteries take a couple of weeks to get here, but no extra charges. Not sure what happens if you go above the duty limit, £135?, though.

[PatMc]

2 hours ago, Denis Watkins said:

I just spotted this statement while buying from Bangood

 

About European Union VAT:Goods purchased from Banggood and delivered to the destination located in the European Union (EU), VAT and duties(if applicable) have been included in their selling prices, and you don't need to pay additional tax. For more information about these costs, please contact the tax and customs authorities in your country.

 

I'm sure I saw somewhere that we're not in the EU now. ?

[Tosh McCaber]

That sounds ok, Frank!  Anyone else bought stuff from Banggood lately?...- VAt/ Duty/ any other costs??

Edited June 30, 2022 by Tosh McCaber

[Philip Lewis 3]

Not Bangood but Ali Express, under £135.00, VAT was paid on order and delivered no problem with no additional fees to pay.

[Tosh McCaber]

Was the VAT applied on delivery, Philip, or was it part of the adverised price on the AliExpress website?

[Philip Lewis 3]

Paid at time of ordering as part of the purchase, clearly stated that it was VAT of 20% that was being paid and added to the non VAT price at checkout stage, the impression I get is that Bangood, Ali Express and E Bay are big enough to have sorted this out properly and want to continue to do business with the UK, unlike HK who appear to not have a clue.

 

For anyone that says "you should support your LMS" (not that I have one) this is for items not available in the UK.