Shipping items home...

[Tinks1984]

Hello guys,

Well, the subject says it all really, BUT, if we go a little crazy on the shopping whilst over there and sorta, well, run out of room in our suitcases, whats the next best way to get things home?

I'm undecided if it would be cheaper to have some items shipped home or just buy another suitcase and pay for the extra weight on the plane if needed? I understand that we'd pay tax doing both ways, but has anyone actually used the methods above? Or am I just going OTT on merchandise!

 

[Shooby doo]

Tinks if you really intend on going I would take your cases out lighter,probably with enough clothes to last a few days,freeing up all that extra space.What you're trying to avoid is the VAT on the way back in,if you post it you will have to declare the value on the custom's invoice & you will be charged Import tax & handling fees
SD

 

[Tinks1984]

Tinks if you really intend on going I would take your cases out lighter,probably with enough clothes to last a few days,freeing up all that extra space.What you're trying to avoid is the VAT on the way back in,if you post it you will have to declare the value on the custom's invoice & you will be charged Import tax & handling fees
SD

Yes, I agree, I do need to avoid the VAT man

The cases will be 'packed' as light as possible too. Oh it's not fair, I know I'll want all kinds when I get back there. Will just have to be good and try and restrain myself!!

 

[heatherbelle]

take all the labels off your clothing, so the vat man won't know.

With shipping, I think if you mark the outside of the wrapping as gift, then you don't have to pay vat. Check out HMRC.GOV.UK and that will clarify the subject.

I asked as Disney about shipping and it was so expensive.

Don't forget that everyone gets the VAT allowance including the kids.

I make a list of who has spent what, to make sure we stay under the limit. The if I get stopped, I have the list and the receipts to show.

 

[Jakey Rowling]

take all the labels off your clothing, so the vat man won't know.

With shipping, I think if you mark the outside of the wrapping as gift, then you don't have to pay vat. Check out HMRC.GOV.UK and that will clarify the subject.

That won't work, its the value of the items that's important and that must be declared.
Whether you declare the true value is debatable but if you cant get it home in a suitcase, I doubt customs will believe a declaration of less than £18.

In most circumstances this applies
Customs duty - if the amount of duty is £7 and over.
Import VAT - if the value of the goods is £18 and over.

See here for more info

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P53_4320

2.3 Are import duties and import VAT always payable?
No. Customs duty is waived if the amount of duty is less than £7.

Import VAT is not payable on:
commercial consignments eg goods purchased over the internet with an intrinsic value not exceeding £18, but this does not include alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters
gifts, excluding alcohol, tobacco, perfumes and toilet waters, with a value not exceeding £36 and which comply with the rules shown in paragraph 2.4.

2.4 Gifts
Goods sent as a gift are not free of import duties and import VAT. However, customs duty will not be collected if the amount is less than £7, and import VAT is not chargeable if:

the value of the gift does not exceed £36
the customs declaration is completed correctly
the gift has been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in this country
the gift is for the use of either yourself or your family
there is no commercial or trade element and the gift has not been paid for either directly or indirectly
the gift is of an occasional nature only eg for a birthday or anniversary.
Please note the purchase of goods from outside the EU to give as a gift to a relative or friend, whether or not addressed to that person, is treated as a ‘commercial consignment’ for which the import VAT relief threshold is £18 (paragraph 2.3 refers).

Duty and vat rates can be found here for common items
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...ent&id=HMCE_PROD_009989&propertyType=document

 

[mickg7dyd]

Hi,
Shame we handed over the running of our country to the EU or the allowance would have been £1000 per person for almost 2 years now..

Mick.

 

[Disbabe]

That won't work, its the value of the items that's important and that must be declared.
Whether you declare the true value is debatable but if you cant get it home in a suitcase, I doubt customs will believe a declaration of less than £18.

In most circumstances this applies
Customs duty - if the amount of duty is £7 and over.
Import VAT - if the value of the goods is £18 and over.

Posting items from outside EU are treated the same as purchasing over the internet by the looks of things. Gifts sent can have a value of £36, but guess would need to be marked as "gift".
As I understand the original post - you want to purchase goods over there and bring them back. As you are travelling back to the UK from outside the EU you are allowed £145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs. Please check out http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk under travel - Information and guides

 

[Disneyjoey]

We have always came back from Orlando with tons of Gifts/clothes you name it!! Just don't declare it when you come back!! Customs are only really looking for the people coming back from the places that have really cheap booze and fags!!

 

[Jakey Rowling]

As far as I can tell that is for importing goods purchased over the internet. As I understand the original post - you want to purchase goods over there and bring them back. As you are travelling back to the UK from outside the EU you are allowed £145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs. Please check out http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk under travel - Information and guides

The link was provided as a reference to shipping the goods home as per part of the original question.
Although it is accessed via the internet & shopping section, its a separate guide for goods delivered by post (including gifts for yourself) back to the UK, not limited to internet purchases as I understand it for values < £2K.

1.1 What this notice is about
This notice explains what happens when you import or export goods by post through Royal Mail including Parcelforce Worldwide


2.4 Gifts
Goods sent as a gift are not free of import duties and import VAT. However,customs duty will not be collected if the amount is less than £7, and import VAT is not chargeable if:

the value of the gift does not exceed £36
the customs declaration is completed correctly
the gift has been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in this country
the gift is for the use of either yourself or your family
there is no commercial or trade element and the gift has not been paid for either directly or indirectly
the gift is of an occasional nature only eg for a birthday or anniversary.

As the OP was talking about running out of suitcases, I assumed the value to be more than £145 hence you will be liable for the full duty even if you carry it back as the OP stated.

The link was for info on the shipping side of things.
The duty if you carry it back is the same I think as that provided in the 2nd link.

If you're not careful that bargain can be not so good if you have to pay the import fees.

I've imported a few things in the past but I'm no expert, so if you have any more info regarding shipping stuff home then please inform me.

 

[Jets fan]

You can get stung by all the tax and duty you may have to pay. I ordered two swimsuits from a US site. The cost in UK pounds was £147.00 and they were sent by UPS. When they arrived in this country I had to pay another £52.21 in Import Duty, VAT and the Parcelforce clearence fee.

If you need to courier things back to the UK make sure they are old and clearly worn or you may end up with high charges. Luckily I was expecting mine.

 

[Jakey Rowling]

You can get stung by all the tax and duty you may have to pay. I ordered two swimsuits from a US site. The cost in UK pounds was £147.00 and they were sent by UPS. When they arrived in this country I had to pay another £52.21 in Import Duty, VAT and the Parcelforce clearence fee.

If you need to courier things back to the UK make sure they are old and clearly worn or you may end up with high charges. Luckily I was expecting mine.

I agree, even for small items the £8 Parcelforce fee can make it uneconomical.

 

[Tinks1984]

Well wow, this has turned out interesting reading!

I think I'll just have to be good and just 'cram' as much as possible into my suitcase and hand luggage! Whatever I see that doesn't fit in them will have to stay there I guess. I'm just hoping that like someone said, they're not looking for Disney items, just really booze and cigs - and I won't have any of those in there!

If they do want to be that awkward though, I'll fight for my Disney items They will not have them!!!

Thanks for the help guys

 

[Pinky166]

Hi Tinks......I have over my past 4 trips to WDW mastered the art of getting as much back as possible!! I have absolutely no self control and buy lots of Disney Merchandise and lots of trainers, clothes, make up, perfume....the list is endless.

Here is my biggest tip - get one large suitcase and one medium suitcase, put the medium case inside the empty large one (if need be pack out the edges with socks, towel etc to stop the smaller case moving around in transit) then pack everything you need in the smaller case and zip them both up. Then when you have shopped till you drop you have an extra case to bring it all home in!!

Just make sure when you pack to come home that you spread the weight evenly across both cases as some airlines can be funny about combining the weights to total your overall allowance.

I also remove the price tag or sticker on everything that i buy and if you buy a bottle of perfume or make up for example - i always bin the box and use it at least once before I pack it in my case. Don't keep the receipts for anything unless you really need to. (Just incase you get stopped at customs ) Hope this helps.

 

[Tinks1984]

Hi Tinks......I have over my past 4 trips to WDW mastered the art of getting as much back as possible!! I have absolutely no self control and buy lots of Disney Merchandise and lots of trainers, clothes, make up, perfume....the list is endless.

Here is my biggest tip - get one large suitcase and one medium suitcase, put the medium case inside the empty large one (if need be pack out the edges with socks, towel etc to stop the smaller case moving around in transit) then pack everything you need in the smaller case and zip them both up. Then when you have shopped till you drop you have an extra case to bring it all home in!!

Just make sure when you pack to come home that you spread the weight evenly across both cases as some airlines can be funny about combining the weights to total your overall allowance.

I also remove the price tag or sticker on everything that i buy and if you buy a bottle of perfume or make up for example - i always bin the box and use it at least once before I pack it in my case. Don't keep the receipts for anything unless you really need to. (Just incase you get stopped at customs ) Hope this helps.

Haha! We've done this before, but it was when there was four of going. We went as kids with my Mum and Dad, so we were allowed more luggage. Great idea!

On this trip though, there's only me and DBF and we have a restricted weight limit of 25kg each, so they'll want to know where my 'extra' case has come from I imagine!!

 

[mushumadness]

ahh shopping a topic close to my heart lol

I used to ship candles home while I was in Florida as they weigh quiet a bit, it used to be cheeper, but no you get the tax on nearly every package, plus a handling fee the largest one I have had for a box of four candles is £22 duty and £10 handling fee!

so now I fetch them home in the cases and pay for extra luggage if I am over weight at the airport.

Also if I have something worth alot of money I declare it, like this time chris fetched a mac notebook back so we declared it, customs were not even interested and just said thanks for declaring!!

I get all my shopping home and trust me I can shop lol

 

[Pinky166]

Haha! We've done this before, but it was when there was four of going. We went as kids with my Mum and Dad, so we were allowed more luggage. Great idea!

On this trip though, there's only me and DBF and we have a restricted weight limit of 25kg each, so they'll want to know where my 'extra' case has come from I imagine!!

There is only me and my DH and we do it every time! We go out with 2 cases between us and come back with 4!

Who are you flying with? I know that with Virgin you can have two cases each weighing 23kgs......i still manage to go over.

 

[Tinks1984]

There is only me and my DH and we do it every time! We go out with 2 cases between us and come back with 4!

Who are you flying with? I know that with Virgin you can have two cases each weighing 23kgs......i still manage to go over.

We're flying with First Choice and from what I can gather we can only have one case each, which weighs 25kg!! Anything over that we must pay on the way back in, I asked for extra baggage allowance and was declined.

I know I'll be over anyway, so I imagine I'll be definately pulled up if I do have two suitcases!

 

[Pinky166]

We're flying with First Choice and from what I can gather we can only have one case each, which weighs 25kg!! Anything over that we must pay on the way back in, I asked for extra baggage allowance and was declined.

I know I'll be over anyway, so I imagine I'll be definately pulled up if I do have two suitcases!

OMG i couldn't cope with that.......not with my shopping habits!

Hope you have a great time.