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Saturday, May 16th, 2009
What Is The Tax Or Duty Problem When Import Video Game Accessories From China?
“I am really really angry when asked to pay more money. Since I had paid my order, WHY DHL courier is still asking money??”
This is the common email we received every day. The result is that customer refused to sign for the parcel. That is the typical tax / duty problem when import video game accessories from China.
“Import tax isn’t about who you are buying from. It usually doesn’t matter where the goods are coming from. It just matters that you’re trying to bring something into the country from the outside.” So it is your custom asking you more money not supplier.
Different countries have different policies about import tax, so it is better for you to make study on your countries’ import duty policy. Understanding tax policy of your countries will not be an easy job for us. That is the reason why we always suggest our customers to find out as much information as they can on this problem when making payment.
Read about our Tax, custom duty here.
No one likes paying tax and if there is some way to reduce import tax. Please pay attention that we are now talking about “reduce tax” not “evading tax”. Tax evasion by definition is a crime and we must not cover advice for that in this mini course.
A common way to reduce tax legitimately is under declaring the value of goods. For example, the total value of one order for video game accessories is $1500. You can require your suppliers quote it to $1000 or other value you wish. That means you tell your local custom that your order is worth $1000 but not $1500, so you pay less tax. But we do not recommend you do this.
As we state before, we do not know what your local custom think about this order. They will still charge you if they consider your order is more that $1000. What is more, you will get $1000 not $1500 as your compensation from your insurance once your order got lost.
Another common thing to do for small orders such as EBay purchases is asking the sender to send the goods as from a private individual (not a company) and declare the goods as a “gift”.
Again, this is not recommended if you are in fact buying the goods commercially, as it is a misrepresentation in the eyes of most countries’ Customs. Whatever approach you end up taking to import tax and goods declaration, we want to leave you a sincerely advise:
Even if the shipping / customs documentation is filled out by your supplier, shipping company or forwarder, YOU are the one who will be viewed as responsible for the goods, as the importer. Therefore if the Customs office considers — in its own opinion regardless of yours — that the goods declaration is false or misleading, they will tax you according to THEIR ideas of the contents and they could end up hitting you with:
Additional penalties;
Confiscation of the goods;
Criminal prosecution.
Remember, if you are thinking of taking chances, that Customs officers are not famous for being flexible or having a sense of humor. So if you are not 100% sure about what you are doing with an import order, just pick up the phone to your Customs bureau in your country and get some specific, case-by-case advice from the only people qualified to give it!
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