Advice on Import duty & fees from China please

[johndoe121212]

Hi,

Could someone please give me an idea of how much I would pay in total (including VAT, import duty, any applicable fees), in the following scenario when importing a machine from China off Alibaba:

- Item to import is 1x electric paper gluing machine
- Item is for personal use, not to resell
- Unit cost = $650 + $350 Shipping cost
- Shipping is 2 days via TNT direct to my address in the UK

How would the VAT and import duty be invoiced?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Nico Albrecht]

try this one https://www.simplyduty.com/import-calculator/ to start.

 

[Deleted member 302361]

TNT will contact you to discuss payment

 

[CHUKTC]

It really depends on the terms of your contract. Some suppliers ship DDP in which case they will pay the duty and VAT. If not you need to pay it TNT will contact you when it arrives and invoice you. You can find how much duty you will have to pay (if you don't know) here https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/trade-tariff/sections it will also tell you what rate VAT will be charged. Rember VAT is payable on the value of the goods plus transport costs plus insurance plus duty!

 

[paulears]

TNT don't contact to discuss payment? They simply slap you an invoice that is non-negotiable as they've already paid the VAT, possibly duty and their handling charge. On that $1000 transaction I'd not expect any duty to be charged - so it should be 20% VAT plus their £12 or similar to process it. There's even a 25% chance it will just arrive. Be careful though, depending on systems, you can get a bill in advance of delivery, which has to be paid first, or you could get the bill two or three weeks after delivery. Occasionally you may find it delivered by a different courier company from the expected one.