Customs problem

[adi_boss1]

Hi so i ordered 3 separate items on ebay so 3 different tracking number 3 orders and the seller shipped with dhl but dhl in my country montenegro is awful they try on everything to charge you something so i buyed 90$ item on ebay and customs stopped that in my country and contacted me saying i need to pay 19% + something else and i dont want to pay because its not worth it so what should i do how to return it and get a full refund like this order never happened ? Thanks

[lintbrush*]

Customs and duty fees are always the responsibility of the buyer.  

You can't undo the transaction now.  The shipping money has been spent.  That would be unfair to expect your seller to be out of pocket for something you no longer want through no fault of theirs.   

Refusing delivery voids your buyer protection as you did not act in good faith.  Your seller may accept returns, but it would be up to you to ship them back at your expense.  They may also have valid restocking fees that can be deducted from the return.  Then you'd likely have to file with your country's customs office for a refund of the fee paid due to the return.

19% sounds high.  DHL likely has a fee as well, but from what I can tell, Montenegro only charges 3% - but it would be based on the total amount (item plus shipping).

[thallidguy]

I suspect that the reason DHL stuck you with a surcharge is that they expedite packages through customs. UPS and FedEx do the same thing, at some cost to the recipient.

When stuff gets sent through national postal systems, they have to clear customs on their own. And that's why you're being charged import duty. All import duty and taxes charged by the destination country are the buyer's responsibility.

[green-night]

Hi so i ordered 3 separate items on ebay so 3 different tracking number 3 orders and the seller shipped with dhl but dhl in my country montenegro is awful 

What method of shipping did the seller advertise? 

[adi_boss1]

Only 3% so not 19% + something more i forgot what they asked more 

where did you read that ? 3%

[berserkerplanet]

Your profile says Montenegro.

Following in info I found via Google in 30 seconds and is general:

The standard VAT rate in Montenegro is 19% starting July 1,2013. There are reduced rates of 7% and 0%. VAT is charged on sale of goods and services, as well as on imports to Montenegro.

Customs duties are calculated on the basis of an ad valorem rate, that is to say that fixed rates of duty are applied to the value of the goods imported. There are 14 different rates, from 0% to 30%. Montenegro is a small country but it remains open to foreign trade. Import procedures are very liberal.

So it looks like depending on the specifics of the purchases (amounts, types of items) and Montenegro's import rules (duty $ amount threshold, rates for certain types of items) and VAT amounts for particular items and values, 19% sounds perfectly possible along with a DHL brokerage fee.

All carriers charge brokerage fees one way or another. FedEx and UPS charge a brokerage fee on ground shipments for shipments from US to Canada, but roll it into their more costly express services up front charges, USPS doesn't charge, but most or all receiving postal services, Canada Post, Royal Mail, etc) charge a $5-10 customs fee on their end, and I don't know what specifically DHL does.

As others have stated, all that is the buyer's responsibility as the importer of record.

[beskriver]

I do always go for the alternative "gift" in the customs declaration. That is the smoothest way to get items through customs.
The Swedish customs seem to scrutinize everything from outside EU (European Union) for the moment. When something is not declared as "gift", it will get stuck there.
Swedish customs take fees and taxes on items worth more than 50 EUR.

[lancelotme]

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@adi_boss1wrote:

Hi so i ordered 3 separate items on ebay so 3 different tracking number 3 orders and the seller shipped with dhl but dhl in my country montenegro is awful they try on everything to charge you something so i buyed 90$ item on ebay and customs stopped that in my country and contacted me saying i need to pay 19% + something else and i dont want to pay because its not worth it so what should i do how to return it and get a full refund like this order never happened ? Thanks

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you could end up losing your items and not gettting your money back if you refuse to pick up the items ,review Ebay rules.

There is a fee for taking your item to customs office and retrieving them once cleared,DHL is no different than other carriers.

[penguins_dont_fly]

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@beskriverwrote:
I do always go for the alternative "gift" in the customs declaration. That is the smoothest way to get items through customs.
The Swedish customs seem to scrutinize everything from outside EU (European Union) for the moment. When something is not declared as "gift", it will get stuck there.
Swedish customs take fees and taxes on items worth more than 50 EUR.

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Please don't encourage falsification of import/export documents.

And to any other seller that does this ...[sarcasm] thank you [/sarcasm] for encouraging buyers to ask me to lie, because "other sellers do" .... and then have buyers  get angry when I don't.

[beskriver]

I still do the lawful way. The last things I like, is to "squander energy for the crows", so I actively seek to avoid any costs or extra efforts as long I can do it and still be following the law.

I regard everything through the LEAN perspective.

* LEAN is the philosophy in removing everything that causes issues and problems in a value stream from producing, through delivery until all of value is for the customer.

[penguins_dont_fly]

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@beskriverwrote:

I still do the lawful way. The last things I like, is to "squander energy for the crows", so I actively seek to avoid any costs or extra efforts as long I can do it and still be following the law.

I regard everything through the LEAN perspective.

* LEAN is the philosophy in removing everything that causes issues and problems in a value stream from producing, through delivery until all of value is for the customer.

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It is ILLEGAL to falsify customs documents.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/13/305

It is AGAINST EBAY POLICY to falsify customs documents (illegal activity)

https://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/encouraging-illegal-activity.html

You are also opening up the possibility that YOUR BUYER will be charged penalties and fees on their end.

You are committing tax fraud ... and your buyer is too if they ask you to do this 😞 If your buyer is not asking you to do it ... you are putting them in an ugly spot if the package gets flagged.

I don't want to hear about "nobody ever gets caught" ... that is not the point here. (And yes they do!)

LEAN initiatives are all well and good ... but they are not meant to encourage illegal activity.

[penguins_dont_fly]

One more thing ...

It is sellers who are doing things like marking the item as a gift or undervaluing the item that just may force eBay to change the way we do international sales.

I really don't want eBay messing with this ... and I'm sure you don't either ... but the UK government has already forced their hand for co.uk sellers.

They are just the first government to do so. There are also grumbles in Germany ... Germany is already going after Amazon sellers. ...others will follow suit

And if they change it for the UK, they will change it for all sites ... just wait and see.

 UK's seller update this spring included a policy wording change according to ecommercebytes:

It’s interesting to note that this year, eBay UK included a section about VAT (Value Added Tax) and included a strict warning, as follows: “Falsification of information to evade payment of VAT may result in fines and/or criminal prosecution. eBay cooperates with government authorities in cases involving potential falsification of information to evade payment of VAT.”

[beskriver]

It looks like there are some differences in how to do here. I acknowledge that you are from the US, and the US is definitively straight forward in its laws. It have been persistent for a very long time through the laws.

If I can challenge, I would do that. The only thing that stops me from challenging, is still to be on the right side of the law book. I DO NOT falsify customs declarations and DO NOT encourage that either. I only tick one option as long as it is possible. Believe me, I do thorough checks before, since I want to go in the most leniant way.

Also, if I am asked to, I go for that alternative, but I usually tell what the options may yield finally, i.e. possible consequences, and ask some questions to make a thorough check first.

The laws may differ a lot between countries, even between states in the US as well as between member countries of the EU.

I definitively favour how they make the interpretations in countries as Netherlands, Spain etc, who are liberal in these matters.

My main goal here, was to warn that the customs in Sweden seem to be very wary since hundreds of thousands people made many purchases in China during November-December, and the customs processing is really hampering the flow. I am above all most interested in the flow to be efficient and not hampered by bottlenecks.

The issue now with customs in Sweden, is of the bottle neck way. Packages from outside EU are getting stuck, since they do not manage to keep up to pace.

Yes, I do some help for the Swedish customs too. Especially in the area of getting things done in a speedy and smooth way. Yes, they like the ideas, but it takes some time to re-fit for the circumstances. Especially with thousands and yet thousands of parcels from China without any declarations at all. Sic! That really exists and that takes a lot of time.

For the customs, everything is about keeping items sorted from the first entry, and keep the flow going. Then it will be much easier to work with what is worth working with.

I help everyone who has issues with bottlenecks, and I am only interested in the problem solving. After that, everyone still involved, have to deal with each other themselves.

[beskriver]

Hmmm.. very interesting about UK. The people of UK did vote for leaving the EU. It looks like I will be avoiding UK far more, since all their actions on buying/selling will raise the extra costs there. UK is quite expensive today, so that philosophy at their authorities will drive it to its ruin actually.. I will stand aside and watch the demise.

Germany is well known for a long time to be very active in chasing up fees and taxes. They even have sales tax on many items still free in Sweden.

Yes, I am very well aware about certain countries in this area.

Many thanks for the case about UK. I did never thought that this was an issue in UK. It used to be fairly liberal in the past.

It looks like northern Europe (Sweden, Denmark etc), the Anglo-saxon countries as USA, UK, Australia etc, Germany, Austria and France are very strict in the area of customs and taxation.

But also, these countries are among the most well organised too on this earth. All these are used since centuries to go by the law in far extent.

Many thanks anyway, I will heed your advice and get more careful.

My main drive is the LEAN way. I help up many people just in that area and have been so for many years. The law issues, I usually hand over to they who are experts in that area.

[penguins_dont_fly]

That's a new argument SMH

"I am helping the government by cheating them out of taxes"

By checking the "gift" box on a package that is "merchandise" ... you are falsifying the document.

You are not sending a "gift" to great-aunt Hilda ... you are sending merchandise that has a determined value based on the invoice. If there is an exchange of currency for goods, it is not a gift 😞