# Question about buying a flashcard in ShopTemp.It's about tax.



## Balee56 (Apr 10, 2010)

Hi,I want to buy SCDSTWO or Acekard 2i from ShopTemp.*Do I have to pay tax?*If I have to,how much?I live in Hungary.


----------



## Gunmaster51 (Apr 10, 2010)

I did not have to pay tax for my acekard 2i. I live in Canada by the way. Here is how my order looked like... 

Item Details Price 
1 x Acekard 2i Card for Nintendo DS, DS Lite & DSi 

Items: $12.08 
Gift Wrapping:  
Shipping: $2.63 
Handling:  
:  
Total Cost: $14.70 CAD


----------



## ShadowSoldier (Apr 10, 2010)

Taxes are already included on the price. Hence why the odd numbers like 12.08.

So you are paying for taxes, they're just already included.


----------



## Golfman560 (Apr 10, 2010)

Usually you won't ever have to pay taxes unless they have a physical building in your country/state. So you wont have to pay.


----------



## hunnymonster (Apr 10, 2010)

Balee56 said:
			
		

> Hi,I want to buy SCDSTWO or Acekard 2i from ShopTemp.*Do I have to pay tax?*If I have to,how much?I live in Hungary.



According to EU rules, anything over €22 (or equivalent in non-€uro local currency) delivered via the post should be taxed (VAT plus any import duty on the class of item involved) - in practice ShopTemp will probably declare it well under €22 and it'll escape. Depends how tight they are at the incoming mail section of the postal service.

This is a summary as it applies in the UK (should be more or less the same in the rest of the EU)

Just a quickie for all who may import stuff personally from outside the EU (inside the EU doesn't count as an import).

First thing to understand is that there is a difference between VAT & Customs Duty. When it's all charged, you pay on the whole amount including postage.

So ((Goods + postage) * Duty) * VAT

Then on top a brokerage fee (which varies by carrier)

The "official statement" is here written in governmentese.

Article 27 of EU Regulation 918/83 sets out the threshold for items delivered by letter or parcel post to be admitted free of Customs duty. This is €150 (£105) from 1 December 2008. Customs duty is not collected if the amount of duty due is less than €10 (£7). VAT applies from €22(£18)

So between £18 and £105, you pay the VAT but no duty - if it's £106 you pay VAT & duty.

Royal Mail used to charge a different fee depending whether it arrives as parcel post (ie. Parcelforce) or as Letter Post - no idea if they still do or not - it's decades since I had the pleasure (it's nice when your postie is helpful at losing the paperwork 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 )

You'll notice that the limits are in €uro and translated in to £ at a strange rate (compared to the actual rate today of about 1.10, it's nearer 1.20) - these conversion rates are set once per year - not sure exactly when that happens though. It has no bearing on the exchange rate applied by HMRC on imports though there's a separate rate used for that changed generally once a month. So sometimes it's possible that the duty-free limit in the UK is higher (or lower) than into the Eurozone (same applies for viewers in Denmark & Sweden, but in DKK or SEK)

A quick worked example:

I buy a widget for $200 from WidgetCo in the US. It's shipped by USPS Priority International Airmail (say franked as $29) and declared as "Widget $200" on the CN22 customs form.

Customs will assess this as ($200+$29), unless there is a document enclosed that HMRC find saying the price paid including shipping is $200.

They will convert this into sterling at their prevailing rate for the month. It's generally an "ok" rate - not spectacularly good or bad (unless there has been a big change in the exchange rates).

So this month that's $229/1.419 = £161.38

Now they work out the duty - I'll assume it's 3.5% (no idea if it is or not, but it's a figure to work from) the duty will be £161.38*0.035 = £5.64 (so they won't collect it! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 )

Then they work out the VAT (based on the base price plus the duty) - so in this case on £161.38 (15% VAT = £24.21)

Add on the brokers fee and that's what you get to pay at the door - usually in cash, and the postie/delivery driver rarely, if ever, has change - so time to keep a jar of change near the door - if it's a courier, I like to pay in 5p coins 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 This is vitally important - get a receipt! If the driver is on the fiddle, you may find a demand for payment of the duty arrives by post weeks later.


----------



## Balee56 (Apr 10, 2010)

Thanks everyone!
So,if i order a SCDS2 with 4GB Kingston sd card it's risky?Because their price together is 38,21€.
There is tax to the USA?Because mycousins are having a vacation there,and if there's no tax,then I speak with them to order it and get it home.

@hunnymonster
Thanks for the detailed answer,but I'll read it tomorrow,because it's too much for me at the moment.


----------



## hunnymonster (Apr 10, 2010)

It depends how "hot" the Hungarian postal service is on the €22 VAT limit (the killer here isn't the VAT, but the GBP8 charge by the postal service for handling the GBP5 VAT bill)


----------



## jlsyber (Apr 16, 2010)

Has anyone in the UK bought anything at Shoptemp over £18 and had to may customs?


----------

