Tax Payable
I cant remember the exact amount but remember being charged about 10,000 yen for some Vader armor parts when they arrived - was quite miffed.
What I do is ask the party who is sending the goods to stick a note in the box saying "Happy Birthday Danny!" because if its a gift then tax over here is not payable.
I know that at Amazon you can designate goods as a gift before its sent - even if its sent to yourself.
But the folks at customs must be thinking "how many birthdays has Danny had this year?!"
Only joking - I only do this once a year on my birthday...
Whats the most you've paid on goods that you have received before?
Original text from G2 below.
Received my figures last Monday and was informed that I need to pay cash for GST (Goods & Services Tax) and handling fee. According to the deliveryman, as long as the things I purchased from oversea exceeds S$300 and delivered to Singapore, I need to pay GST.
Encounter this for the first time, so I was quite surprised. More at my blog.
Did anyone encounter this too?
- Akihabara News - Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- Japan Probe - Japan news and entertainment (Subscribe)
- Kirainet.com - A geek in Japan (Subscribe)
If you are interested in reading about life in Japan, seeing photos taken daily around Tokyo, like Japanese subculture (anime, manga, figures, Dollfies) then you may want to start delving into the Japan or Figure categories for a start or have a gander at all photo articles.
If you don't have much time now, maybe subscribe to the RSS Feed, Twitter Feed or join the other readers in the FaceBook Page.
Alternatively, you may want to read more about the site.
If you are a regular reader then this message will probably annoy you each time - hide it forever.
-Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
Student
http://dgraymanime.wordpress.com/
as in 7 per cent?
Passerby
http://jitokun.wordpress.com/
Ya, cost me and my brother $43 for the GST.
Lazyass human
http://nipah.wordpress.com
What if you send them in separate shipments?
Policy & Research Officer
http://www.alafista.com/
As long as the total shipment don't exceed SGD 300, GST is exempted.
http://twitter.com/phossil
http://www.animoe.net
same here. usually its the 5% of the total bill. (+shipment costs..)
Apprentice Baking & Pastry Chef
http://Ima-Monogatari.com/
nooooope.
Geotechnical Engineer
Curse d government for their sucking money schemes!
Student
http://crashacat.wordpress.com
It's normal that countries have protective measures in order to keep the grey import out.
Here it's no different. But the customs here does only random checks, so ussually i got lucky.
conscript
I don't think its about keeping the grey import out.. GST is more of like, taxing people for buying things and spending money..
Mad scientist
Whenever I order something overseas I have to inform the tax office in advance and pay VAT. Failure to do so will result in a fine. This great system also means that if you say order a CPU and a motherboard and the motherboard is broken, then you return it to get a new one. However you will not get a return of the VAT because you didn't return the entire package.
The result is that people don't report packages in advance. I know a guy who ordered two DVD movies. One was picked up in customs and one wasn't. Fine+VAT on the one they found was less than VAT on both of them... so stupid.
I have to admit I failed to report one too. I didn't feel like spending at least an hour reporting that I was expecting a package which I paid £5 for including shipping.
Oversea shopping can be so complicated at times. One of the stupidest rules I heard of is when EU decided that people should only order DVD movies online if the shop is located within EU. This means that if somebody wants to buy a DVD online and pay for shipping from say Japan (both Europe and Japan use DVD region 2) then it's not allowed, even if the DVD is not available within EU and never will be. It is ok to travel there, buy the DVD and bring it home though. So much for free worldwide trade.
System Design Engineering (UWaterloo)
http://robostrike.wordpress.com
I remembered an old online company once sold PSP's to EU before EU's release date and got sued. The online company was at such a loss that they had to shut down. I remember the company now, it's lik-sang (or something like that). Oh man, I better check up on my import policies cuz I'm expecting a delivery in a week and a bit X_X
IT techie
Not quite what happened. Lik Sang shipped via a base in Germany & absorbed the tax costs. They were shut down by Sony for importing things before official release even though the rumour was that Sony Europe high ups were buying their stuff from Lik Sang. I do miss them, they were very good.
IT techie
Ok. I know replying to myself is bad. But I misread Robostrikes post. Sorry. Hope the delivery goes well.
sysop
http://www.wowtuga.org/forum/
quote:
"Blame it on Sony. That's the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as gaming industry leader. The Empire finally 'won', few dominating retailers from the UK probably will rejoice the news, but everybody else in the gaming world lost something today."
sysop
http://www.wowtuga.org/forum/
they weren't shut down. They just got fed up of sony messing with them.
It was around the time most people said "screw you" to sony and went the nintendo/microsoft way.
Their site is still online: http://lik-sang.com/
Passerby
http://jitokun.wordpress.com/
Wow! That's really troublesome. Luckily it doesn't happen here.
Otaku Security Guard
Ouch! That totally sucks about the DVDs. The rest sounds crappy too. I'm kinda glad all I have to do is order something, pay customs, and get it.
Student
http://www.certaincake.com
Where in Europe ARE you?
As far as I know I do not have to report imports in advance in Germany, anyway. So it's a local thing?
And the DVD thing is kind of nuts. O_o
Web Designer
http://mcklain.wordpress.com/
I've never heard about not being able to buy dvd movies outside the EU. I have bought dvd movies on amazon.com and cdjapan withouth problems, although not recently.
Mad scientist
To be honest I'm not sure if the VAT thing is still valid. A few years ago some guys at the ministry of tax was told to counter that so many people ordered stuff on the internet to avoid VAT. They came up with the solution I told about and applied it. Some politicians got upset with it and wanted to pass a law to remove much of the hassle. I didn't hear anything afterwards.
The reason why it would take me at least an hour to inform of my order is that I didn't know how to get the form, so I had to show up at the tax office and ask.
The EU "law" regarding DVDs was passed 4-5 years ago. The idea is that all companies should open an office in EU and pay taxes. However if a company isn't in Europe then they really haven't got anything to fear so it should be possible to get them to send stuff anyway. If it's caught in customs, then the customer has to pay a fine, but it would appear that the risk is minimal (maybe they concentrate on drugs instead or something) so it's likely that either people are unaware of this rule or say it's worth the risk. I don't know a single person who claim not to have ordered a DVD due to this rule.
Looks this the same thing happened here as it happened in USA (before it became USA). The king made high taxes, and instead of getting a lot of money, he made a lot of contraband :P
Marketer
I was working in Vietnam, over there, taxation is totally random
as IT goods are usually second hand, i ordered a HD by internet, i finally had to pay import tax for it, it doubled the price of the merchandise !!!
same for Oakley sunglasses :(
Administrator
Then you don't know where to buy. If you know where to, and do your research things should be cheap enough and new (my rigs were all brand new HWs). Still, there're things that can only buy from oversea. I've just bought my ASUS Xonar D2X. But I got a friend brought it back and hadn't to pay a cent for tax. Wanna buy a Klipsch speaker set but that will be too big to slip through lol. Also when I bought my Samsung LCD panel, was planning to ask a friend of mine in Korea to get me one, but after checking the price, in Korea it is more expensive, weird lol.
Self Employee NEET
http://www.nekoroid.com
In indonesia, i must pay tax if the item worth 50 USD over (for toys). HOWEVER, I buy my MR FX Lightsaber from amazon, worth for 130 USD (shipping included). This value also written on the custom declaration, but still free of tax....?
weird...
Passerby
http://jitokun.wordpress.com/
Just over 50USD? Then I will have to pay a lot of extra tax if I'm there. =_=
Self Employee NEET
http://www.nekoroid.com
Yeah, but like i told you before. Me and my friend buying FX lightsaber for over 100 USD of total value (each) but all of it is free of tax.
May be toys got different regulation, but i dont, know since the documentation still saying above 50 USD of value will got import duty and tax
Indonesia is load of crap
-.- haet indonesia (i'm indonesian)
http://twitter.com/phossil
http://www.animoe.net
That means customs guy supports the rebelion..
Naye Sayer
How much was the GST?
Passerby
http://jitokun.wordpress.com/
Remembered that it cost S$43 for the 7% GST and a S$5 handling fee.
HS student
Yeah, sony sued them and they had to close down the shop. I miss lik-sang:(
Here it's pretty bad as well. If the value of the package is over 50$, you have to pay a certain amount of tax and handling fee, though sometimes they miss the package and you don't pay nothing if your lucky. Usually it's 12.5% for simple stuff and up to 50% for electronics.
A while ago I ordered a few stuff from Play-asia and the value of the order was about 700$.
I remember getting a call from UPS about two days later saying I had to pay upfront to the delivery guy about 1200NIS(about 300$) for tax and handling fee.
I swear I almost got a heart attack._.
Associate Network Administrator
Anything over $20 in Canada...
Student
http://meganemarshmallow.wordpress.com/
But if you get it to be marked as a gift, $60. But any time I've ordered anything over either value, I've never been taxed.
Civil Student
I think the customs are under educated in PVC,
and to be honest, a 1/8 PVC can range from 11'000 yen (like.. alter hayate ?) to your dispensable Sega set @ under 2'000 yen.
not to mention WF08 or normal editions..
thank god, to most of the tax rev canada, its nothing but oriental action figures and barbie dolls :p (hopefully).
instantly screwed if they realize how much a box of PG gundam really cost
but yea? so far so good with you two?
been asked to *prove value* of something before..
have had goods value *estimated* and then taxed on that as well... but not on PVC or anything .. yet *
Programmer
http://benohki.blogspot.com
it's a lot of luck of the draw with the customs agent who takes your package into the country. I've had been relatively lucky and haven't been taxed nearly as often as I should. A lot of times it was a shipper from Hong Kong who'd mark "gift" and some bogus value declaration and the package would be taped up in such a way, the agent would never be able to open it for inspection and repackage it after! LOL!
To answer Danny's question:
The most I've ever paid was for a UPS package from HLJ: a Kamen Rider belt (I think it was the Faiz belt). Declared at full value, I paid my 7% tax on it. plus a brokerage fee from UPS (administered via a firm called Global Logistics)... and I think at the end of the line, I spent about $150 in additional charges that had nothing to do with the purchase price from HLJ and the shipping charges. That, I can tell you, sucked big time.
Video Game Tester
http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Xelotath
UPS are thieves, I'll never use them again and if it's my only option I won't order at all. I bought something from the US for a value of 50$ with shipping and they charged me an additional 60$ for handling fees. USPS FTW!
Student, Bioresearch Assistant, WAVE VP Communications
http://gndynames.wordpress.com
I never had to pay for anything yet. Although I'm starting to doubt that for my christmas order. I wonder how they're going to charge me, since I'm having it sent to my school and I wouldn't be picking it up until I return from the winter break.
However, if I end up having to go into town, I'd be royally screwed.
University's Slave
I'm not sure what the cap is before they start taxing imports in the US, but I'm sure there is one. . .
Lucky for me, most hobby items coming into the US don't get taxed, and I'm frugal, so the odds of me ordering enough to get taxed are fairly low. ^^;
security/3d graphic artist
http://www.kennethleishman.com/
same here.. no problems on importing.. and no tax for it... yet.. surprised since we tax EVERYTHING!.. can't even die withougt paying a tax...
Scientist, unemployed.
http://fmphoenixhawk.livejournal.com
Depends on what you're importing. For most things, though, it's pretty high. I know my uncle had to pay it on a Japanese car that GM imported for him to drive for a year. For most items, I think it's already calculated into the final cost + shipping.
software manager
http://wawawawasuremono.com
i haven't had to pay any taxes on my orders yet either. hoping it stays that way ^^; if there is a cap, it must be pretty lax 'cuz i've had huge orders come in without a penny in taxes applied (thank goodness too because i was already done in by the shipping costs ;_;)
Student
In Chile, over 50 bucks, but it's really random.. (a few times, with orders up to U$100, nothing was paid, and i think was lucky xD)
Phone technician
In the Uk our limit was £17 (About $30) before taxing us etc, but its just been raised to £100 to increase xmas shopping
IT techie
ooh where did you see this! I have just checked on the Customs site & it says:
You will be charged:
* Customs duty if the amount of duty is €10 (£7) or over
* Import VAT if the value of the goods is €22 (£18) and over
so on a dvd the import duty and vat would be about 19%
Wage Slave
IIRC the limit has only been raised on duty not on VAT and the chances of getting charged any actual duty were pretty minimal as you don't tend to get charged unless the charge for that goes over £7-8. VAT still applies, admittedly now at the new lower rate. The big joke is the large admin fees which are added by the post office.
In answer to Dannys question; around £80 ... that was DVDs from Amazon JP which unfortunately ship via Fedex so you get stung every time. It would have been higher but I challenged the Fedex bill as they had put on a random, large, additional shipping charge in the calculations for Duty and VAT which had thrown the calculations off completely (not for the first time and I don't know why they do it as it's clear on the Amazon JP invoice how much the shipping is).
http://animaticfigmation.com/
holy crap that would break me right there if that happened to me. what happens if you can't pay it?
Mad scientist
I have no idea about Singapore, but here failing to pay for a package would mean it would go back to the post office. After two weeks they will return it if you still haven't paid and picked it up. If you can pay for it, but not the taxes, then you will gain a debt to the government, but you will get the package. A debt to the government means that they can take money from your paycheck before the money goes into your account. If the debt is huge, then you will have to attend a meeting where it's settled how much you are able to pay every month (they will not force you to sell your house or starve).
However do you really order something without having enough money left to pay taxes? Sounds kind of risky to me or am I the only one who ends up with unexpected expenses? (so unexpected that I save money for them :P )
Graphic Designer
http://anjerasu.wordpress.com
Well, the thing that happened to me was when my bro bring back my anime DVDs from Australia back to Malaysia. What happen was he had to pay tax of RM50 just because it was more than 20 DVDs. They even checked the DVD to see if there's like 'naughty' stuff there, but haha sorry boys you ain't getting me for those stuff.
Creative Director
That would blow my shopping overseas it would make items more than what I would pay locally. I'm safe for now... I think.
Student & Authorized Chicken Slapper
http://www.otakuinternational.com
wow wow wow? Does US have something like this? I ordered a few things from overseas before but I never got taxed, they weren't too expensive though....I am just asking to see if I just got lucky or what.....
BioResearch Assistant
When it comes to regular consumer purchases I don't believe so. I've ordered from overseas ranging from $20-120 worth of goods and never been taxed.
The US does have an import tax that the Customs department collects yet I think that only applies to businesses and/or mass quantity purchases from overseas.
Office Administrator
http://aquilla429.co.uk
I've been taxed on my BJD's before but never on figures.
http://twitter.com/phossil
http://www.animoe.net
I got it all the time. but its funny the way they label them as "dolls"... haha..
http://nopybot.com
I've paid GST for items that I've imported before, but only if the sender listed it as something I bought. If they list it as a gift, then I don't have to pay GST.
Artist
Didn't it use to be 5% in Singapore? In the UK it's much more expensive or use to be, so it really put me off importing especially from Japan.
Student
http://animestuff.wordpress.com/
lolol S$300? that is equal to 154€, here you pay tax to anything above 22€ that comes from outside EU which is S$42 and I pay around more 40% of the merchandise and its transportation tax, so you guys are lucky, try leaving here where everything that comes out of the EU is taxed
Student
http://animestuff.wordpress.com/
huh wrong word, I meant living
Mad scientist
maybe leaving wasn't quite incorrect when they show up and realise the costs xD
Student
It the same here in EU, if you buy something outside the EU and pay more than some x sum, then you have to pay customs and Goods & Services tax. Don't remember the exact sum right now..
Otaku / Student in Networking
http://hayasaki-kun.blogspot.com/
No doubt about that. Even here is the same thing...
Student, Gamer, Part-time EFSF Pilot
Yep, pretty much always pay that...
I think it's for packages over 50€ or something around that and from outside European Union space... F'ing LEECHES I tell you.
Student
http://animestuff.wordpress.com/
Actually it's only 22€
Lê aquilo da alfândega e vê quanto nos roubam XD
security/3d graphic artist
http://www.kennethleishman.com/
yay open borders!.. my dad sent me an email on taxes in the us.. and it listed like 100 items.. it was insane.. then at the end it said.. 100 years ago every one of these taxes didn't exist.. yet the government still ran... greedy bastards...
no problem on imports here.. thankfully.. exported a few things here and there.. shipped some sand from hawaii to austrailia... and customs there took it and never gave it back..! oh how i hate governments...
Dropping computers, starting all over again at Journalism
http://xspblog.com
Yep, we have those here too... Brazil, the country were the government will make the most to steal money from it's people.
Taxes for electronics can get higher than 60% of the product (no kidding).
I never ordered figures before, but I think toys taxes will apply to it, which is about 40%.
Plus shipping and some other taxes, ordering a figure from Japan to Brazil can probably make the price go up 3 times.
A Real RocknRolla
thats insane! your better of taking a trip TO Japan and get the stuff your self o_O what doesn't sound like a bad reason to do so ^^
Student
http://blackcomet.pcriot.com/
ard $20 bucks for two books recently personally. They were really expensive books *sighs
Executive Seneschal of the Third Ward
http://phaeton99.deviantart.com/
So far, I've managed to avoid this little complication, thanks in no small part to those who send the goods.
I don't fall under import taxes most of the time.
Usually, I have to go to the post office to pick up parcels and the customs officers do not see the value I paid for, but the value they think it's worth. I've only been charged for an airbrush studio BN$5 as I told them it was worth about BN$200. That means only 2.5% on goods over BN$200.
But those greedy DHL bass turds. They ALWAYS charge me tax. One of my orders didn't even reach $100 and they charged me $7 for just having a freakin' power adapter. Mediocre reasons. Even if it was just a Blu-Ray, they charged me $5!
Jr. Software Developer
http://mrklo-olstphn.livejournal.com/
Here in the Philippines, customs usually levy tax on items over 50usd. The computation is as follows
{Original cost of the product in peso after applying CURRENT exchange rate + Shipping cost in peso rate as well} X 22% + 750 pesos for handling fee. It sucks. It much too high in my opinion. So in some cases especially when the package arrives when the peso is weak against the dollar you may find yourself paying around half the amount you used to pay for the product itself. For gifts on the other hand, customs would tax it sometimes. It really depends if they deemed that the parcel should be taxed
I'd say but then I'd have to kill you :D
oh yeah do You have any experience on the procedure for SAL items? I usually ship via EMS but my recent shipment form HLJ I goffed and had it set for SAL X_X
Otari Vader, Sith Lord for Hire, will fillet Makoto Itou for free
http://coffeebugg.blogspot.com/
Pretty much the same thing. You might pay a little less than what you'd pay via EMS but more or less the same. I suggest checking with the Peso-dollar exchange rate as our fellow countryman has mentioned.
A Real RocknRolla
usually nothing. since most of the stuff (books, games) i buy is on eBay and i buy from people who are in the EU so no tax for me ^^
http://www.marvinryan.com
tax for items in the Philippines is minimal, but obligatory grease money for the postal agent to release your items borders at extortion. I'm not sure if the declaration as gift works there though. Some say it does.
In Canada on the other hand, I distinctly remember one would still get taxed for gifts. It feels like the Canadian govt. would tax you for almost anything, the stangest thing my family was taxed for was for dental braces. My cousin has hers done in hongkong since she thought it would be cheaper, only to end up paying more because she was taxed for them. ^^
All that said I would prefer being taxed than have the postal officer pocket my money. At least when taxed the money would be used to improve your community, rather than some shumk's beer fund.
http://www.marvinryan.com
then again beer is cheap, it's prolly for their whore fund.
Otari Vader, Sith Lord for Hire, will fillet Makoto Itou for free
http://coffeebugg.blogspot.com/
A bottle of Fundador or Johnnie Walker to the post master every Holidays usually works.. that's how I do it. :D
Overman
http://myplasticmoustache.blogspot.com/
You must have a lot of orders then...0_0
Otari Vader, Sith Lord for Hire, will fillet Makoto Itou for free
http://coffeebugg.blogspot.com/
usually me and a bunch of friends bundle up our orders that way we save on shipping. ^^; just being economical.
Overman
http://myplasticmoustache.blogspot.com/
Ah. Oo nga naman...
http://www.marvinryan.com
lol some alcohol greasing. ^^; I don't really order stuff that often though. ^^; but since you guys bundle your orders together, I guess that is economical. btw do you still need to drop by the postal office to pick up your stuff or do they deliver them to your door?
Otari Vader, Sith Lord for Hire, will fillet Makoto Itou for free
http://coffeebugg.blogspot.com/
we often have to pick them up from the postal office or customs as they are fairly large packages. but that's not too much trouble. just time consuming.
Art/Media
http://sgallen.wordpress.com/
In UK, Royal Mail randomly put custom charges on my orders.
5/10 chances of the same items will get custom charges.
- 2 packets of pens, on has more and weights heavier. The lighter one get customed charged and that one arrives first. The second pack arrive with nothing attached.
They're quite odd with delivery too.
I order something and that took 3 weeks. At the the second week on the first order I made another order with the same shipping at the same store. Funny enough, the second came through within a week where as my first took 3 weeks. >_>
Royal Fail.
王オタク ｘ 天才様
http://www.zakarius.com/
I've imported quite a bit into the US but haven't been charged a penny in tax as of yet...
Web Design & Marketing
http://ciaopanda.com
No me, but some of our customers in Mexico, Peru and Argentina had to pay hefty tax fees for marketing supplies sent from us. OOPS!
Graphic Designer
I've never encountered anything like that with my online purchases. Even the over-seas ones.
IT-Architect, SysAdmin, WebDesign and Coding, Virtualization (VMware + NetApp)
http://www.milkdrop.de/
Common here... which sucks is i have to drive half an hour to the local customs station to get the package.
They ask you to open it so they can verify whats inside, you also need to bring copies of the invoice and your personal ID.
Think the highest Tax so far was when i got my Japanese High School bag from Japan (haha) ... bout 50 Euros Taxes since it was a leather product and so on ...
Usualy when i order my figmas in Japan it gets really... funny?
Cause the shipping alone is 17 Euros, the Figma itself is usualy around 14-15 Euros if it's not a WonFes special or alike.
The point is, if the content of the package does exceed a cash worth of 20 Euros then i need to pay taxes, otherwise not. If i have to pay (example i did buy 2 figmas), then they include the shipping costs into the amount which is being taxed too!
Just the other day i got surprisingly 3 figmas (only did expect 2), the package contents worth was 94,- Euros (Suzaku was a expensive one ><!) so i had to pay bout 24 Euro tax.
Sometimes you can be lucky and they let the package pass too... if they don't look to close on the stickers outside.
Tho, that happened only once to me.. out of... err... a lot of orders by now. (20+ figmas in my room now)
Moving to Japan is soon cheaper then going on with importing them figmas. :(
Graphic Designer
http://www.valiantho.com/
It's the same here, I have to go all the way to the Post Office near the airport, get some form, and open the package infront of them to show them what's inside. Then bring it to another officer for tax calculation.
Most of the time my packages will pass though even if it's over the limit, as long as the box is not really huge, it's easier to pass. At times even if it's not over the limit they might held it and this happen to me once and I had to waste my time going there just to pick up the package.
Graphic Designer
http://www.valiantho.com/
I just paid RM80.05 in tax for my Hayate, since the limit for EMS here in M'sia is RM500. Fortunately that's the only time I got tax for figures, most of the time they will pass without a problem even if it's slightly over the limit.
I'd say but then I'd have to kill you :D
For my 3x Figs that go through EMS it's 10% import tax for toys plus 12% VAT and a couple hundred for customs processing fees for a grand total of around P2200 X_X (around $45). One reason why prefer FEDEX :p
Manufacturing
http://sotbest.blogspot.com/
Malaysia Customs still tax u if it is a gift! They are dirty bastard.... which tends to sux money frm the ppl here.....
Professional Panhandler
http://theinfernoproject.com
I remember paying $30 in duties+GST+PST for a used Lego set that only cost me $80 sent from Germany.
Delivery Driver | Semi-student
http://www.soulfringe.com/
I was noticing half way down the lack of american posters. That was somewhat reassuring as I was planning to buy a few imports for the first time soon.
it's not often that I am glad I live in America, but this is one of those moments.
Student / Software Engineer
I'm with you on this one. I've never heard of these kind of crazy tax issues. Usually when I pay tax on something, its all handled from where I made the purchase, I didn't think you would have to pay extra when you received it.
JR. College Student
http://npc.talkingincircles.net/
Hahaha my thoughts exactly.
Though our state could use the money... maybe we should start!
University Student
haven't encountered this situation before. I just received my ryougi-san figure yesterday too.
browsing the nets
http://otakuposts.blogspot.com/
common here. i've paid taxes on almost 95% of the figures i got. it does not matter whether the box is labelled as a gift or not, the customs here opens and checks almost all packages. though there were some they didn't and i didn't have pay anything on them.
anything above 100 USD is taxed at 10-14% and also depends on the nature of item. electronic items are charged more. the most i paid was around 70 USD including some bribe money to get the package released >.< worst is they dont convert to local currency before taxing. place is >.<
also i heard if we dont pay the tax then the packages are sold through auction. they dont send those back. oO
like someone said, customs here see the pvc figures as barbie dolls and such (toys are tax free upto a certain amount only)
Your local Otaku Cashier.
I have yet to run across this, but I'm betting I will soon.
Multimedia Technology Student
http://thehappyninjadrawn.wordpress.com
When I was looking to import a video camera from the States late last year I found out that for anything imported over $1000 AUD you would be charged like 10% of what you paid for the item. That really put me off from buying that video camera haha. Luckily I found a similar video camera that had a lot more functions off ebay within Australia.
student
http://www.gunpla-inochi.com
Being taxed for receiving goods from anywhere is stupid. period.
Mad scientist
Actually not. If people could buy everything from some strange country, then all the money would go into that country and not the country where the buyers live. This would drain the economy. The tax is there not only to give money to the government, but also prevent that all the money leaves the country, which would make the state go bankrupt.
Stupidity is not the import tax itself, but the implementation. Sometimes the implemention is just plain stupid and fails to work in the real world.
Game Designer & 2D Artist
http://catzstudio.blogspot.com/
The amount of tax we have to pay is the value of the item, which means ((*declared* item cost+shipping cost) - 50usd)=subtotal * 32.5% (in total) = $$$
Yeah quite a lot
like I state in my previous post, if you're using private shippign company like UPS, DHL, or FedEx, you have to pay ANOTHER handling fee to pay.
Otherwise, you only have to pay Rp. 8000,- (abt 80 cents) for "Repackaging Fee" (which I think is is unneeded and a waste of plastic bags
Multimedia Technology Student
http://thehappyninjadrawn.wordpress.com
That really sucks. So anything over $50 USD you get taxed?
Medical School Student
wow, would my figma tsukasa gift from jlist got charged too?
Game Designer & 2D Artist
http://catzstudio.blogspot.com/
no, it wouldn't reach 50usd, even with shipping included
Medical School Student
ah, ic, thx 4 the answer :)
student
right1
bum
http://keilu-hime.blogspot.com/
here in the phils, the last time i got taxed was when i had a shipment sent via EMS from an online store. Had to pick it up at the post office, and the tax was computed at declared value of the item plus the shipping cost. then they compute for the customs duty tax, the doc stamp then compute for Value Added Tax on top of it!
The total cost of my package was $82.08 and i had to pay a tax of $32.93! :(
Oh yeah, most online stores doesnt declare the item as a gift even if you request it. Eitherway, even if you declare it as a gift (esp. if sender is an online store), some customs officer here still computes tax for it - so there's no point really in having it marked as gift :(
Game Designer & 2D Artist
http://catzstudio.blogspot.com/
Reading all the comments here, I think the asean countries (except Singapore) have similar regulations:
- Max 50 usd tax free
- Gift marking are useless
- Calculating value (shipping +item cost) instead of item cost only
- Pick up at local post office
Student
I ended up paying $121.67 for six pvc figures totaling 63085 yen once, don't seem to pay extra with my smaller orders lately
Hikikomori in the making
http://supermariabros.deviantart.com/
Never ordered anything online so...
College Freshmen
I don't usually buy from out the country so I don't know about having to pay for that. The only thing recent that I bought from overseas is a custom designed mousepad from Hong Kong. Total for everything was $3 so I don't think tax really applies.
Customs & Weird Stuff
General US Customs Importing Fees:
under 2000.00 USD = Duties Fee(If applicable) + Merchandise Processing Fee ($2.00 USD)
over 2000.00 USD = Duties Fee(If applicable) + Merchandise Processing Fee(0.0021 * Total Declared value
all the items) These are just Customs Fees, you may have Postal/FedEx/UPS/DHL/Broker fees. :)
Oh and in case you get want a container load of stuff ^_^, Customs wants an additional .00125
Yes, Customs *IS ALWAYS* out to screw you regardless of what country.
Otaku / Student in Networking
http://hayasaki-kun.blogspot.com/
I paid for my 5 SOS brigade figma 28$CAN
Student Otaku (ITM Student) and ACG NA Staff
http://koiaichaku.com/
Well, I get most of my figure from Hobby Search and the good thing is that they mark it as gift...
If I get my goods on Play Asia...I have to pay the tax...
I wish everything I get shipped is marked as gift...
bum
http://keilu-hime.blogspot.com/
re Hobby Search - lucky you! none of the online sights i usually order from mark my items as gifts. Unfortunately for us residing in the Philippines, Hobby Search doesnt ship to our country :(
re: playasia, i usually have them sent here via fedex. i dont get taxed since i normally limit my items to below $100 (which includes shipping cost).
???Confused???
Haven't had that happen to me before...and hope it never does...
NEET (no, student, AND employed min. wage)
http://otterhangar.blogspot.com/
can't say... California has some kind of weird state tax on sale purchases... So some online store (mostly English one) have some kind of tax added on.
most stuff from ebay or resin stuff I bought have not been taxed... However, supposedly I am supposed to state that in my tax form....
Dirty Gentleman
http://cantstanzya.wordpress.com/
The most I've ever been dinged by Canadian customs is $90.15, and it was for only one item. Needless to say I'm not a fan, and I hope they choke on it.
http://www.marvinryan.com
lol, I got taxed $300 for a watch I was wearing once. ^^;
High school student
http://www.animeraku.com
Hmm, in Czech, goods under €22 cannot be taxed. When the price is higher, it can be taxed, but it depends on the custom staff. If they are thorough, then you will have to pay, but they let most of the parcels go. The parcel must be really large or very expensive to be taxed I guess, because the only time I paid tax was when I got a really big package with goods. But I don't remember exactly how much it was.
Student
http://justobserving.wordpress.com/
UPS sucks for this. Ordered a DVD boxset FROM THE US, got charged like $50 import fee. Usually I ship through Japan, and it never happened then :S
~Undine~
http://bluebluewave.wordpress.com
Here in Belgium we don't have too many problems, EU items aren't taxed and many sellers or stores from US or Asia will send parcels marked as gift.
When you do encounter customs they open your parcel and charge you/fine you for importing goods. I've only been charged for a few parcels from Japan.
Customs randomly picks parcels out to open, inspect and charge a fine for, so you do not end up having each parcel opened and charged for. The absurdity in it is that I am each time charged/fine with the exact same amount regardless of the value of the goods, whether it's a parcel with just 2 Cospa t-shirts worth 38Euro or a large parcel with over 200Euro of artbooks, figures,... the fine they supposedly calculate by item value is always the same. So I'm sure they're just ripping citizens off randomly. ^^;;
Warehouse Employee
http://daftline.wordpress.com/
Well, I've been charged 2 times out of 3 when I ordered a figure from Hobby Search Japan. I wans't too happy about it, because they charged me € 25 for each parcel, knowing the content was just one figure...
I've also ordered some items from the US. Shipping was more expensive, but the first parcel wasn't charged by the customs. For the second parcel, I had to pay € 10, which I can live with.
I think, the change of avoiding customs fee, is higher when there is no purchase receipt in the box. Then they don't know the real value of the content. Or maybe if you know somebody in Japan who can send you the items you need, accompanied with a "happy birthday" and a "no commercial value" in the package. Anybody some useful tips?
aspiring to become a doujin and graphics artist cum lawyer
http://aki7.bottled-wish.info
ah when i imported the much coveted crisis core psp limited edition. God it was freaking expensive. Back then, play-asia didnt have the option to have it fed-exed. Customs asked me to pay around $80 for it because it unfortunately had to go by airmail. it raised the psp value by $420 excluding the $20 shipping that isnt courier.
So horrible unlike if i had it sent by fedex I wouldve just paid the $20 shipping and nothing more :c so unforseen.
IT engineer
http://secretzone81.wordpress.com/
always ask it to be send as gift and will never need to pay GST :)
Policy & Research Officer
http://www.alafista.com/
Okay here are some tips for folks living in Singapore.
1. Avoid bundling your figures together. Keep it to below SGD300 and they cannot tax you.
2. If your package is above 300 SGD, ask the figure company you are ordering from not to put the total price on top of the package.
3. Use Fedex instead of DHL. The ICA folks prefer to check DHL for some reason.
Graphic Design student | Receptionist | Otaku
http://sukidesho.blogspot.com/
Hmm, I've never ordered anything more than $50 US, so I haven't really been caught in that situation before..
Photography Student
http://hugodeathy.deviantart.com/
I've to pay for every figure I get and since HLJ doesn't do the Happy Birthday thing, I've to pay or pray for them to let the package pass without taxing it.
Student
http://shockerz.wordpress.com/
Never get caught before because I'm just buying books. They don't weight heavy so no charge there.
IT Student
Once I paid 50€ tax for a Manga that i bought in Amazon Japan. The manga+shipment was arround 30€, it means nearly the double of the original price :S
The worst of all is that in Spain the tax for books is the 7% and the 7% of 30€ (even including the shipment) is not 50€
Graphic Designer
Theres no import tax here in HK, so everything is great here.
However I used to work for an online store in HK and have great experience with all the import tax going on in the world.
Student & Game Designer
http://www.artificialzeromedia.com/
around 40 $ last time
hate tax... =D
I bought some gunplas off HLJ 2 months ago and got charged with 20% tax for no reason. My previous orders weren't charged.
College Student
Good idea on the happy birthday thing haha, thought a lil naughty ^_^
I'm not sure about the tax amount, but it's all counted in shipping costs and stuff, and if it's overseas its loads, so im sure a large chunk of that is just for tax lol.
http://www.nanyate.biz
Import tax here in Holland is hell - the first time I ordered from HLJ, the tax I had to pay was nearly was much as the items+shipping combined because I used EMS. Our local postal services (TNT) charges around US$25 on all EMS shipments, regardless what's in it as 'handling cost',
on top of that they charge the usual 19% mport tax. talk about being ripped off..
That was the last time I ordered by EMS...
Highest import tax I had to pay was around US$70 for some watercooling parts from the US.
http://xcomprandomness.co.uk/
Tax on imported electronic goods is nasty here... Sometimes if you're lucky you can get by it. I remember ending up paying the double the price for a game because of handling and tax charges.
3D Video Game Artist
http://gamedevtalk.wordpress.com
Ohh Canadian Tax.. How I love Thee! :(
http://www.marvinryan.com
lol it's little mac from Mike Tyson's punchout!
3D Video Game Artist
http://gamedevtalk.wordpress.com
Yup it sure is little mac!
And he is coming back on the Wii... cant wait!
Highschool Student
Wow, you can get around the tax just by saying it's a gift? That's pretty cool, I'm not sure/doubt you can do it here. That kinda does sound like something you can get in trouble for though if it isn't really a gift.
DREAMCASTER,Nihongo no Gakusei
In my miserable country the law says that taxes should be 20% (without shipping cost).
But I always pay 23% and at least 50-60% of times is calculated with shipping cost.
An extra 5-7 euro for customs work and 2,20 euro for stamp (another tax!!).
But almost service is very bad.
3 days from shop (in Japan) to Custom.7 days from custom to my house.
Haruhi-sama! curse all italian customs!
DREAMCASTER,Nihongo no Gakusei
Ah,I forgot. Under 45 euro (more and less) Is not necessary to pay.
Do you think this always happen?
Nah. I think it's random. I ordered some stuff for 7000yen during summer and I didn't pay for tax. My recent order was 5000 yen (40€) but I paid tax.
Also,
http://recensioni.ebay.it/Come-funziona-la-dogana-italiana-Dazi-e-documenti_W0QQugidZ10000000000795762
Anime Store Owner/Otaku
http://otakumitsukai.com
thats what i like about buying from stores that are in the same country you are living in. you dont have to pay that GST. =3
浦の引き篭り
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/3219/haruhimemew.gif
My first encounter with taxes was a total surprise... and not a good one T_T
http://twitter.com/phossil
http://www.animoe.net
theres always a first time...
.NET/Web Developer
http://scrumptious.animeblogger.net
Over here we get taxed when our orders exceed $100. anything below that and you only have to pay about $0.75 for postal services. I knew about it when I shipped two figures together and totaled to about $120. Learned my lesson and never shipped anything over $100 again. heheh! last time I came close though which was $98. Also marking as gift exempts you from tax but sadly play-asia doesn't provide that option anymore.
Gamer, the hardcore kind
http://even248.wordpress.com
Norway is such a retard country. The limit for when we have to pay taxes hasn't been raised since...forever. It's still less than $30! It should be at least $115 today according to global prices and stuff, but noooooo! God, I hate our government sometimes.
Needless to say, I get lots of "gifts" in the mail...
Physics Student
http://dark-kai3.blogspot.com
Here in the UK, if it's less than £18 we don't get import tax....but almost everything imported comes to over £18 T_T
Student
I ordered a bunch of games and dvds from amazon uk (it was about 150 francs) and then they decided to add another 30 franc tax ontop of that...those ba****ds. I WANT MY TAX MONEY BACK!!
just kidding, there are many friendly swiss people. BUT its true, they like to tax stuff. And make things ridiculously expensive ^^;
Physics Student
http://dark-kai3.blogspot.com
I ordered some kits from hlj.com and it came to 26 pounds, and as I wasn't going to be in this house for 45 more days, I took the quick delivery, which was another 20 pounds. Then, I get an email, like 'your package is currently being held awaiting customs tax payment. This comes to £20.86'. You can guess how annoyed I was! £66 for 2 mecha kits...all because I'm yet to find a good place over here, and our Customs suck!
Teacher of English
http://www.freewebs.com/superrobots/
That is EXACTLY the situation I'm facing right now. Whenever, I purchase goods from HLJ.com (and I buy a lot from them)my goods are held at the customs office, then I receive a note to declare what's inside and to send an invoice (even forwarding the shipping notice via email will do) and then I get charged 18% VAT (Value Added Tax), Duty (if available) and an annoying fixed rate of Euro 15 for Customs Clearance. And yes these guys can ruin all your fun when receiving a parcel. They can change your happy-dream-come-true into your worst nightmare. The reason? (or should I say the excuse?)is that the parcel has arrived from a non-EU country. That is one of the 'benefits' Malta has received when joining the EU. But to be honest at least this situation has stopped when I receive parcels from European countries.