# custom charge on parcel from Germany



## kellyoreilly (6 Jan 2012)

I bought some presents from a website for christmas. I thought the company was based in UK but it seems that they are in Germany. 
They notified me that my order was dispatched on 18th Dec via DHL and shd be delivered by 21st Dec.
The parcel failed to arrive before christmas or up to 4th Jan. 
I contacted the company who said that they would reissue the order at no cost to me. 
This morning an An Post van arrived with the original parcel which it seems had been kept in customs. The postman said he could not deliver the parcel unless i paid almost €40. I asked why and he said because it must hv come from outside EU. 
I told him that i thought it had come from UK but he said he didnt know. 
I paid the money and he said i could take it up with Revenue. When i got the parcel it had clearly marked on it the senders name and address in Germany in several places. The parcel had also been opened.
Does anyone know if something changed in the budget as i thought once it was within EU there were no extra charges


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## MugsGame (6 Jan 2012)

You are correct that transit of goods within the EU is exempt from customs duty - this includes Germany.

Did you get a receipt from An Post for the €40? What did it say?

Perhaps the merchant is a reseller for a supplier outside the EU? Sometimes merchants "drop ship" direct from their supplier to the customer. The address in Germany might be the merchant's business address, but not where the goods came from.


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## kellyoreilly (7 Jan 2012)

There is a yellow sticker on the package that the postman said was a receipt. 
There is nothing on the parcel 2say that it came from anywhere else other than Germany. 
The postman did remove the white sheet that comes in a lil  clear plastic envelope on the front of the parcel, it usually gives info on whats in the parcel and the address it is going to. I did not get to see this as the postman said he needed that and removed it before he handed over the parcel.
Would the company i purchased from not be obliged to inform you that the item was coming from outside the EU if it was going to alter the price you expected to pay?


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## mathepac (7 Jan 2012)

kellyoreilly said:


> ...
> Would the company i purchased from not be obliged to inform you that the item was coming from outside the EU if it was going to alter the price you expected to pay?


I think you''l find that the amongst the various T&Cs you agreed when purchasing there was a statement something like "local taxes or delivery charges are the responsibility of the purchaser". These are fairly standard on e-commerce web-sites.

Check with your local EU office /Citizens' Information outlet to see if it's legal.


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## Jim2007 (7 Jan 2012)

This all seems a bit "iffy":

I use DHL a lot for both sending and receiving parcels and in all cases I am given a tracking number, which I can use to find out what happened to the parcel.  Did you have such a number, if not can you get it from the vendor?  It would be interesting to see what DHL show as the routing information...

How come if it was sent via DHL that a postman is delivering it... do DHL not do their own deliveries in Ireland (sorry I'm in Switzerland and have only ever send parcels to Ireland).

The paper inside the plastic on the parcel is for the receiver of the parcel, it does not make sense for him to take it away.... and how come he had a receipt already printed and stuck on the box even before he knew he was getting paid???

If I was you I would start by contacting the vendor to confirm the source of the goods and to get the DHL tracking number, if you don't already have it.  

I would also have a word with the postman and demand to get a copy of the document he took a way, tell him you're making a complaint to an Post about the parcel, just to see his reaction....


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## kellyoreilly (7 Jan 2012)

Thanks everyone.There was no tracking on the parcel which they did tell me when they emailed to say the parcel had been dispatched. This is why I contacted the company rather than than DHL when it did not arrive. 
The sticker on the parcel(receipt) said vat was €31 and post office clearance was €6. The postman said he knew nothing and we shd get on to An Post and they would give the number to contact Revenue. I did not get a chance to ring An Post on friday.
The parcel also seems to hv been in Athlone.
DHL would normal deliver parcels but i assume customs took over from DHL. 
I think no matter what the reason for the charge or why they felt the need to open the parcel (which tore some of the stickers that were on it ) I think the customer deserves a letter of explanation as to why these things were done. The parcel only contained tshirts !


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## mathepac (8 Jan 2012)

kellyoreilly said:


> ... The parcel only contained tshirts !


Made in ????


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## jpd (9 Jan 2012)

Imports from EU are not charged custom duties but are liable to VAT at point of entry.


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## Sunny (9 Jan 2012)

jpd said:


> Imports from EU are not charged custom duties but are liable to VAT at point of entry.


 
€40 is a lot of VAT on some tshirts!


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## Leo (9 Jan 2012)

DHL will handle any customs due themselves, they will not hand over a package to An Post for delivery. 

What company did you buy this from?


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## kellyoreilly (9 Jan 2012)

The Company was Cafe press. 
Im sure it was a .co.uk site I bought from as prices were given in euro but cant check now until credit card bill arrives.
They do t shirt printing. I think the t shirts were made in China but  that shdnt make a difference when they are printing and selling on surely.
Couldnt get thru to Revenue today


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## mathepac (10 Jan 2012)

Shirts made in China printed in the USA, drop-shipped from the US to Germany / UK for onward shipment to Ireland?

From the web-site - "The Website and CafePress Service are provided by CafePress.com, Inc., a  Delaware, USA corporation ("CafePress") with a place of business at  1850 Gateway Drive, Suite 300, San Mateo, California 94404, USA. Use of  the Website constitutes your acceptance of and agreement to this TOS. If  you do not agree with this TOS you may not use the Website or the  CafePress Service."

They claim that contractually the laws of England & Wales apply but the bulk of the T&Cs seem to me to be American.


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## Time (10 Jan 2012)

I think someone is confusing DHL with Deutsche Post. 
It it was posted in Germany no taxes or VAT apply.


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## Mystic Oil (10 Jan 2012)

Time said:


> I think someone is confusing DHL with Deutsche Post.
> It it was posted in Germany no taxes or VAT apply.



There is a (very cost effective) small parcels service in Germany operated by DHL in conjunction with Deutsche Post.


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## newirishman (10 Jan 2012)

Mystic Oil said:


> There is a (very cost effective) small parcels service in Germany operated by DHL in conjunction with Deutsche Post.



DHL is in fact owned by Deutsche Post - the group is now called "Deutsche Post DHL", but they are still using both brands; DHL more or less for package services.

If the package was sold and shipped from Germany (or the UK), no Customs duty needs to be paid. However, if the origin of the goods is the US, and the stuff has not been customs cleared before being shipped via Germany, duty needs to be paid. The web site you ordered it from should (at least in theory) have some information about this. If it is a co.uk website and the T&C don't clearly state that the stuff originates from the US I would try to discuss with the seller on getting the custom duty back. 
Not saying that it will be of any use to contact them, but you can always try.

EDIT: just had a look at the website. They have a .co.uk which says all duties included on their orders - but it is really easy to end up on the .com web site. bit of a PITA.


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## kellyoreilly (13 Jan 2012)

Still hvnt heard back from the company and Revenue hard 2get thru to


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## ClubMan (13 Jan 2012)

Email _Revenue _- it's easier in my experience.


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## demoivre (13 Jan 2012)

kellyoreilly said:


> The Company was Cafe press.
> Im sure it was a .co.uk site I bought from as prices were given in euro but cant check now until credit card bill arrives.



A domain search shows cafe press to be US registered. I'm no expert but I don't think that the .co.uk address necessarily means they are based in the Uk or anywhere else in Europe for that matter. I know of several people who have bought contact lenses from www.eurolens.ie thinking that they were based in Ireland whereas they are , in fact, US based resulting in additional charges being applied as you would be importing from outside the EU.


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## demoivre (13 Jan 2012)

jpd said:


> Imports from EU are not charged custom duties but are liable to VAT at point of entry.



You will not be charged any extra duty or VAT on purchases where the  duty and VAT has been paid (for example, goods bought in shops,  supermarkets, etc.) in another EU country, provided the goods are for  your personal use. Limits may apply to some products.


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## ClubMan (13 Jan 2012)

Perhaps relevant?

http://www.cafepress.co.uk/cp/info/help/index.aspx?page=shipping.aspx



> *Duties and Taxes: *
> Items shipped internationally may incur customs duties and import tax.  Please note that additional charges for customs clearance may be  collected and are the responsibility of the recipient.


Even if the goods were posted in _Germany _it may be, as mentioned earlier, a drop shipment actually originating in the _US_. Although in that case I wonder why charges were not levied in _Germany_?


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## irishmoss (13 Jan 2012)

You could try asking here [broken link removed]
Cafe Press says vat is included should be entitled to a refund of the vat portion if thats not the case


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## kellyoreilly (30 Jan 2012)

I emailed revenue on 16th January and am still waiting on a reply!!!!!
The company acknowledged my complaint but did not reply yet either
The second replacement parcel arrived this week. The charge this time was €28. almost €10 of a differance
This seems very odd as the order was exactly the same and came from Germany the same as the last.


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## Luternau (30 Jan 2012)

DHL is owned bu Deutche Post, and all DP parcels are delivered in Ireland by An Post.
I have some experience of customs both here and Germany as a result of some audits of postal procedures. Items originating in Germany should have no duty or vat levied on them on arrival in Ireland, or any other EU country. However, if the items are held in bond in Germany, and then dispatched here, they are only arriving in the EU when they hit Ireland. In this case, vat and duty would apply. Differences in charges due could be explained by different freight charges or exchange rates ( if items billed in a non euro currency). If you ask me that's whats happening. It's one of the big buyer beware issues when buying from the web. It does not naturally follow that if the seller is in Europe, that the goods are too. Many are duped buying off eBay and other sites.

You will be lucky to get a reply from revenue at all. If the item was delivered by An Post, have you tried phoning revenue officers in portlaoise mail centre or dublin mail centre.


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