Import Duty and VAT - A little too high?

[AdamLP700]

Hello everyone,

I have a quick question which may seem a little facetious due to my ignorance so apologies in advance!

I'm in the process of launching an online store for which I have purchased numerous products from Asia. I have paid Duty & VAT on these which has ranged from £20 - £113.00. Today, I received an SMS from DHL requesting a payment of £1155. This came as a shock as the import duty and vat on previous imports barely ever exceeded £100. The value of the products I'm anticipating is around £3000. From my understanding VAT is charged at 20%? If so, I should be paying in the region of £600 and not £1155? This seems ludicrously high when you consider the fact that the price of my products is £3000!

I have called DHL twice today, only to get through to someone who couldn't seem grasp what I was saying and I also struggled to understand the extremely strong foreign accent I was dealing with.

So my question is;

Am I right in thinking this is way too high? And what is the best course of action to take if this is indeed a far to high amount to be paying?

Cheers.
Adam

 

[ADW]

You will be paying duty fees as well as vat. Depends what you are importing as to the duty rate. Your vat goes on shipping costs as well. It could get that high easy enough with a heavy duty rate.

You were likely underlying previously. Many Chinese suppliers put through a lower invoice value when declaring so you don't pay as much. This is done wrongly thinking they are doing you a favour. They have done it to me in the past which doesn't help us that much as we claim the vat back. Had to go out of my way to ask for full invoice to be declared on any orders.

 

[AdamLP700]

I understand that some suppliers deliberately lower their invoice, however this doesn't seem to have been the case with me in the past. When I've calculated previous VAT charges, it has indeed been around 20% of the value of my items. So the past VAT charges appear to be more or less accurate.

With regards to what is being imported, on this occasion, it is 700 printed T - Shirts.

 

[Mr D]

Would be surprising if DHL got the figures wrong. Classification of goods is correct?

 

[Mr D]

I understand that some suppliers deliberately lower their invoice, however this doesn't seem to have been the case with me in the past. When I've calculated previous VAT charges, it has indeed been around 20% of the value of my items. So the past VAT charges appear to be more or less accurate.

With regards to what is being imported, on this occasion, it is 700 printed T - Shirts.

20% of the items plus shipping?

 

[ADW]

You should have an invoice with breakdown from DHL. Will show the vat element and tax added.

You should also ask your supplier what was declared. Would think 700 t-shirts will end up in the high hundreds for shipping charges. It is all vatable. In fairness, DHL are pretty much useless in sorting out problems. Better of trying to work out the answer yourself. Duty rates are easily found and you should have the exact invoice value as assume you have paid the bill.