On 20/11/2012 13:31, Adam Funk wrote:
On 2012-11-20, Man at B&Q wrote:

On Nov 19, 9:00 pm, Adam Funk wrote:
On 2012-11-19, polygonum wrote:
The HMRC really do not help with all the oddities about charges -
different rules for duty versus VAT, and so on. No wonder there is a lot
of confusion.

I can state that although we buy quite a lot of things from abroad, we
have NEVER been charged when the value of the goods only has been less
than £15 - even when (goods + P&P) has been over.

We HAVE been charged VAT when the value of goods only has been only a
few pence over £15. (Actually, it worked out no more expensive in that
case to abandon the goods to be returned to the shipper and re-order
having made a tiny change which kept the price below £15.)

The limits are also absurdly low for 2012. They ought to be
automatically scaled with inflation.

They're high enough to make it worthwhile companies shipping orders
for DVDs from the US now that the Channel Island scam has been closed
down.

You don't go to the high street and not pay VAT if you spend less than
£15. Why allow imports to be VAT free at all?

Gifts? (The limit is higher, but not good enough.)

Apart from that, I only import stuff that I can't get here.

We import quite a bit which is actually significantly cheaper - despite
postage, etc. - than it is in the UK, as well as stuff that is not
available.

Luckily it tends to be several small things so can often be split across
multiple orders.

--
Rod