Import Duties for a bonnet catch.

[Fisherman]

I apologise for mentioning ******, but I do so for a good reason, and as a warning to you all.

I required a new bonnet catch for my Roller Team Pegaso.
They stated that as it was out of warranty they would supply it for £27, plus £55 import duties.
I enquired about the import duties, and was informed that this was because of ******.
So the Toal would have been £82.
So I went to a local garage and they informed me that the locking hook had never been welded to the plate, simply forced together.
As I am rarely inside the engine it took over two years for them to come apart.
Anyway the garage welded them together in five minutes for free.
But I insisted on giving them £10.
I bolted it all back together, and it's working fine now.
So beware of import charges.
Heres photos of the parts involved.
Forgot to mention, it would have taken 8 to10 weeks for them to supply a simple catch.

 

[wildebus]

All I would say is that I am 99.99% sure it is totally incorrect for them to say there would be £55 import duties to be paid on a £27 part. They are using ****** as a excuse to rip off customers (They had, no doubt, a different scheme to do so before ******).

Now THEY may have a £55 charge to bring the part in, or their supplier may charge £55 to send the part, but neither of them are Import Duties, and for them to make that claim is very bad and potentially could be illegal as mispresenting official HMRC charges (it would be the same as saying that there would be a £55 VAT bill - but as we all know the VAT rate, they would not do that).

Having sent a few things out to EU customers (and the duties both ways are pretty well the same), this is something I have had to look into so the customers are prepared, and the duty rate is a fairly low percentage of the item cost, and not even chargable below a certain value (and £27 is likely a duty-free value). In fact, I don't think my customers ended up being charged any duties (and the customs labels were filled in correctly with values and not marked as "gifts"!)

Out of interest, Victron Energy also have a £55 charge for certain items, but that is a Shipping Cost and is anything upto a pallet of goods - so one catch could be £55 over the item cost, but 1,000 on a pallet would also cost £55.



But good result on the repair

 

[Fisherman]

All I would say is that I am 99.99% sure it is totally incorrect for them to say there would be £55 import duties to be paid on a £27 part. They are using ****** as a excuse to rip off customers (They had, no doubt, a different scheme to do so before ******).

Now THEY may have a £55 charge to bring the part in, or their supplier may charge £55 to send the part, but neither of them are Import Duties, and for them to make that claim is very bad and potentially could be illegal as mispresenting official HMRC charges (it would be the same as saying that there would be a £55 VAT bill - but as we all know the VAT rate, they would not do that).

Having sent a few things out to EU customers (and the duties both ways are pretty well the same), this is something I have had to look into so the customers are prepared, and the duty rate is a fairly low percentage of the item cost, and not even chargable below a certain value (and £27 is likely a duty-free value). In fact, I don't think my customers ended up being charged any duties (and the customs labels were filled in correctly with values and not marked as "gifts"!)

Out of interest, Victron Energy also have a £55 charge for certain items, but that is a Shipping Cost and is anything upto a pallet of goods - so one catch could be £55 over the item cost, but 1,000 on a pallet would also cost £55.



But good result on the repair

I have removed names David for obvious reasons, but here is what I received today.
Also after looking carefully I now see that the total would have been £109 not £82 as I stated in previous post.
I did check online David and after January 1 2021 charges can be applied to goods over £39.






Good Afternoon Mr H I have just been informed by our warranty department that the claim has not been Authorised for the bonnet catch as the warranty period has expired I have put the part prices below if you want to Order The Items:

080B40000558000

HOOD S PLATEMH X290

£27.00

080B40000551000

BUMPERS CLOSURE BRACKET

£27.00

Import duties £55.00

8-10 weeks lead time from Order



Kindest regards



Amanda

 

[Fisherman]

Heres what I found online when receiving goods from Germany

According to the UK government website: “Most goods arriving in the UK are liable to any or all of the following taxes: Customs Duty, Excise Duty and Import VAT”. If you are sending a gift from Germany to the UK, import VAT typically only applies to goods where the value is over £39, or the equivalent in Euros.22 Feb 2021

 

[mariesnowgoose]

The above is implying that bonnet catches are not kept in stock and will have to be imported from the EU?

So if they are not already shipping regular items in for your make and model of motorhome (sorry, Bill, can't remember what moho you have?) and this is a one-off then they could well be charging £55 import duty, but I agree with David that it sounds like a rip-off.

"The key document that enables the import (EU to UK) to take place is the customs declaration. This is the official document that gives details of the goods that are being imported. There are over 50 fields of data that need to be completed on the declaration. In order to submit a customs declaration you will need to appoint a customs compliance provider who will complete and submit the declaration on your behalf. Typically, the cost of submitting a declaration is between £15 and £55 per declaration – sometimes higher – which could represent significant additional costs for businesses."

Source: Deloitte

 

[wildebus]

It is not that complicated to do a customs declaration. Interestingly, electrical parts are in the same category as parts for a Nuclear Power Station

I still don't believe that there is an import duty of £55. shopping costs and the rest ok, but NOT Import Duty as correctly identified as such (so cost payable to HRMC)

 

[SquirrellCook]

What you do have to remember is the 20% vat that has to be applied, then the brokerage fee (theft) and of course duty. So small imports can be expensive.
We have been told horror stories from our overseas customers how uk companies inflate prices for export. It’s doing us the world of good. For once it pays to be honest.

 

[trevskoda]

OMG nut under the bonnet in 2 years, you should at least open every week for the so called walk around inspection, oil water b flued tyres etc, so ten lashes with a wet shoe lace tonight for you me lad.
Been there with my catches, 2 on the iveco and have to be in sink or the bu--er wont open at both sides, glad you got sorted.

 

[wildebus]

What you do have to remember is the 20% vat that has to be applied, then the brokerage fee (theft) and of course duty. So small imports can be expensive.
We have been told horror stories from our overseas customers how uk companies inflate prices for export. It’s doing us the world of good. For once it pays to be honest.

but they are all different. maybe the total IS £55, but it is not a £55 "Import duty".

 

[alwaysared]

Sorry I got mixed up

Regards,
Del

 

[Fisherman]

It is not that complicated to do a customs declaration. Interestingly, electrical parts are in the same category as parts for a Nuclear Power Station

I still don't believe that there is an import duty of £55. shopping costs and the rest ok, but NOT Import Duty as correctly identified as such (so cost payable to HRMC)

Possibly they are simply using the term to explain the additional charges David. But the bottom line is prior to January 1 2021 none of these charges would have been made. Worth considering when buying a van manufactured in the EU.

 

[trevskoda]

Buy British, what they dont make anything any more LOL.

 

[SquirrellCook]

We contribute to the economy, then the politicians waste it! About 80% of what we make goes overseas.

 

[Fazerloz]

A lot of firms I dealt with both in Europe and UK no longer trade across the boarder simply due to the import export hassle and costs caused by ******.
People get what they vote for.

 

[SquirrellCook]

A lot of firms I dealt with both in Europe and UK no longer trade across the boarder simply due to the import export hassle and costs caused by ******.
People get what they vote for.

They are just lazy. It's no more hassle than it's always been shipping outside Europe.

 

[Phantom]

So the bit that stops the bonnet flying open when you are driving along failed, well that's not very good.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

So the bit that stops the bonnet flying open when you are driving along failed, well that's not very good.

Yeah, on a new van I would have expected something like that to last a helluva lot longer than 2 years.

Ah well. Long time since we had our own British and highly skilled Sheffield steel works that produced metal products that lasted , so I guess we have to suck it up.

Welcome to 21st century mass produced Asian goods & equipment = naff-ery and rip-offery.

 

[Fisherman]

A lot of firms I dealt with both in Europe and UK no longer trade across the boarder simply due to the import export hassle and costs caused by ******.
People get what they vote for.

This is a concern for many who export to the EU. Why would a company within the EU who have seamless trading within the EU deal with a supplier in the uk with all of these issues, if they can get their supplies for the same price or slightly more within the EU. Hence why our trading has dropped of since January 1 2021.

 

[Fisherman]

Yeah, on a new van I would have expected something like that to last a helluva lot longer than 2 years.

Ah well. Long time since we had our own British and highly skilled Sheffield steel works that produced metal products that lasted , so I guess we have to suck it up.

Welcome to 21st century mass produced Asian goods & equipment = naff-ery and rip-offery.

Marie the two parts had never been welded together. The U shaped locking part was simply hammered through the two holes on the plate. If they had even hammered the ends it would have held. But now they are welded together thanks to the garage. Bye the way the guy in the garage was really helpful. He stopped what he was doing took the two parts away and came back 5 minutes later with them welded together. Then he would not take any money. I had to leave him £10 on a table and make my exit. He saved me £109 and weeks of waiting for the parts. All I had to do was bolt the parts back on to the bonnet when I got back. I have a bottle of whisky in the cupboard, I intend to take it to him soon.

 

[SquirrellCook]

Then he would not take any money. I had to leave him £10 on a table and make my exit. He saved me £109 and weeks of waiting for the parts. All I had to do was bolt the parts back on to the bonnet when I got back. I have a bottle of whisky in the cupboard, I intend to take it to him soon.

Look after those that look after you, it makes life so much sweeter.