Ering is here - But the duty payment is SO HIGH. Bottom Lip is out...

[CushionNovice]

Wanted to share my devastation.
Been waiting for my Ering to arrive… (HW Style GOG AVC Halo – from JBEG).
FedEx just called me - YEAH IT''S HERE

then BAM and they need $2,500 in duty and taxes.!!!!! Whoops I didn''t really calculate that one coming. Very silly of me

I’m so so floored that I can’t even think about what to do. There is no way I can come up with the funds, and I just never expected it to be that much.
Gosh I could FLY over to the states from Australia and collect it for cheaper…

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Oh I am so sorry to hear that CN. I doesn''t help with the dollar dropping in recent weeks either. Is that taking in to account the 5% duty or 10%? there''s a thread around here about only having to pay 5% due to the free trade agreement but I know that doesn''t help you right now since you will have to come up with the whole lot at once

I hope you can find some way to get creative and come up with the money!

 

[CushionNovice]

Thanks for the note.
soooo saaadddddd

 

[missydebby]

ughh... so sorry

 

[crisnpearl]

i believe flying there and pick up we will still have to declare the item in custom and still pay the same amount

on the bright side, one last hurdle to overcome before you can wear your beautiful and unique AVC. pls post pics

this might not help but here's the thread on avoiding the 5% custom and only paying 10% GST

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/custom-ring-ausfta.130164/

 

[erlcb99]

Oh that is terrible to hear. I hope you work something out so that you can get your gorgeous ring ASAP. Good luck!!!

 

[cutes814]

oooooh ouch. that''s a bummer. so sorry to hear that. $2500 is A LOT of money.

 

[CushionNovice]

It''s SO much money when I consider how hard it was to get the funds in the first place.
It''s my own silly fault I simply got blinded by the bling and forgot all about the tax! Silly Novice!
Crying into my soup..

 

[pancake]

CN, does that include the 5% duty or is it the 10% only? I hope you find a way to get that lovely thing on your finger!

 

[lknvrb4]

WOW, I had no clue it was that expensive. I would be crying as well.

 

[loveloveloveit]

Hi Cushion Novice, that is terrible news. I am soon going to be receiving a cushion into AU, and assume your original purchase must have been quite substantial to have that level of taxes? Would you mind clarifying (without wanting to pry into what you paid of course)? I am just wanting to make sure my own situation won''t be ridiculous. I keep trying to get up the brain power to research AJ''s extensive posting on how to try to get the ring into AU without the 5% import duty ... but I''m not there yet!

 

[RaiKai]

Ouch! I am in Canada, but I know the pain of duties for sure!

On completed jewelery though I onlly pay the 5% GST, no duties per NAFTA (must be completed...loose stones still attract duties). I hope you can figure something out! How many days do you have before they send it back? Did they declare it as completed jewelery/adornment?

Good luck.

 

[arjunajane]

CN, I am sorry - I know what a shock this can be for the first time, and yours is an awful lot of dough

I am happy to walk you through the process of applying to have the 5% duty refunded to you..

As some have mentioned, there is the thread titled "Custom Ring and AUSFTA" in which the Free Trade Agreement between our countries is discussed.
Under this law, you only need pay the 10%GST on imported jewellery from the US, however if you do not prepare the paperwork beforehand they will also slug you with the 5% import duty automatically (plus ~$150 in processing fees).

I don't know (nor am I asking) what your whole ring cost and so can't say exactly what it would be, but by the looks of it 5% could make a decent amount of difference in your case...

There are two things you can now do:

1. Contact FedEx customs broker service - explain that the ring is eligible for AUS-US FTA, but that you did not get to arrange the paperwork in time for the delivery. Ask for the taxes to be recalculated - in order for them to do this, you will need some paperwork from both GOG and JBEG which you will have to email or fax to FedEx. They will then consider the validity of the claim, and more than likely recalculate so that you will only have to pay the 10% GST.
GOG have done this ppwk for me, and I can advise you so it won't be too hard. For JBEG, anything a vendor needs to know to help is in that thread.
FedEx will charge you ~$150 for doing the re-processing, and you won't get your ring for another couple of days, perhaps up to a week.

OR

2. Pay all the tax now and allow your ring to be delivered. Look at the last couple pages of the aforementioned thread, where I have shown how to fill out the paperwork in order to apply for a refund of duty from the Customs office. All the info you will need is in the thread, but again I will happily assist you if need be.
This will take up to 30 days to be processed, but if you get all your ducks in a row and send them the correct paperwork, you are guaranteed to get your 5% duty back, and you can enjoy your sparkly in the mean-time.

It is really a personal decision - of course, you could also just pay the lot and chalk it up to a lesson learned; however, seeing as this is your legal right not to have to pay these extra taxes, I don't really like that option

Let me know if you would like any help at all,
I hope your have your gorgeous ring to enjoy soon.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 6/1/2010 7:15:20 AM
Author: loveloveloveit
Hi Cushion Novice, that is terrible news. I am soon going to be receiving a cushion into AU, and assume your original purchase must have been quite substantial to have that level of taxes? Would you mind clarifying (without wanting to pry into what you paid of course)? I am just wanting to make sure my own situation won't be ridiculous. I keep trying to get up the brain power to research AJ's extensive posting on how to try to get the ring into AU without the 5% import duty ... but I'm not there yet!

Hey Loveit - I know that thread is pretty info-heavy, as Lestat and I were learning as we posted

When the time comes, please feel free to either post in that thread for help or start a new one with a title I won't miss - I would be happy to assist you as much as possible with the logistics and ppwk.

 

[MrsBettyBoop]

Girl, I am crying for you

That is terrible news

 

[ericad]

Hi AJ!

Thanks for your help on this. One thing to note is that I did include both the docs from GOG as well as ourselves for purposes of the AUSFTA, and submitted all of the paperwork in with the customs declarations docs. The info I included clearly states that the goods being exported have originated from the US under the FTA.

Since customs has already been given all of the necessary paperwork, does Cushionnovice simply need to re-direct a supervisor''s attention to this fact? Sheesh - you''d think they would actually take a look at the paperwork we have submitted.

Cushionnovice - I did a fair bit of research to ensure that AUS customs had all of the necessary paperwork in order for you to pay the minimum duties. Perhaps if you contact them again and REMIND them that they have all of the necessary documentation there already?

 

[spicytuna]

CN...that is horrible!

That is S.E.R.V.I.C.E! All I can say is WOW -- Erica! I own my own small business and I know how much we do and what we will go through for our clientele... Filling out all that paperwork for your customers goes above and beyond!!

I will definitely remember this for my dream ring!

 

[MrsBettyBoop]

Date: 6/1/2010 10:26:57 AM
Author: spicytuna
That is S.E.R.V.I.C.E! All I can say is WOW -- Erica! I own my own small business and I know how much we do and what we will go through for our clientele... Filling out all that paperwork for your customers goes above and beyond!!

I will definitely remember this for my dream ring!

You got that right!

 

[jessica1973]

RaiKai, I am also in Canada. I received my new engagement ring and wedding band from BGD at the end of April and had to pay GST and PST. Be prepared for that. Oh, and the package was marked adornment.

 

[ericad]

"Adornment" is the description that corresponds to the harmonized tariff code we are required to list on the commercial invoice and other customs declaration docs for this type of jewelry.

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 6/1/2010 11:31:12 AM
Author: jessica1973
RaiKai, I am also in Canada. I received my new engagement ring and wedding band from BGD at the end of April and had to pay GST and PST. Be prepared for that. Oh, and the package was marked adornment.

I live in a province without PST.

Hence, only having to pay the GST!

I already received my rings and bands, and only was dinged GST.

 

[northyvr]

Date: 6/1/2010 11:59:44 AM
Author: RaiKai

Date: 6/1/2010 11:31:12 AM

Author: jessica1973

RaiKai, I am also in Canada. I received my new engagement ring and wedding band from BGD at the end of April and had to pay GST and PST. Be prepared for that. Oh, and the package was marked adornment.

I live in a province without PST.


Hence, only having to pay the GST!

I already received my rings and bands, and only was dinged GST.

RaiKai, you''re so lucky in not having to pay PST. My Leon is going to cost me over $900 in just PST when it arrives, plus the GST. Are you in Alberta?

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 6/1/2010 12:08:16 PM
Author: northyvr

Date: 6/1/2010 11:59:44 AM

Author: RaiKai

Date: 6/1/2010 11:31:12 AM


Author: jessica1973


RaiKai, I am also in Canada. I received my new engagement ring and wedding band from BGD at the end of April and had to pay GST and PST. Be prepared for that. Oh, and the package was marked adornment.

I live in a province without PST.



Hence, only having to pay the GST!

I already received my rings and bands, and only was dinged GST.

RaiKai, you''re so lucky in not having to pay PST. My Leon is going to cost me over $900 in just PST when it arrives, plus the GST. Are you in Alberta?

Yup. I used to live in Manitoba though, so know the pain of PST well! Paid more taxes, and still had more potholes.

While I *knew* there was no PST here, it was quite exciting when I bought my new car after I moved here and realized my expected taxes were halved!

 

[pancake]

Date: 6/1/2010 10:06:45 AM
Author: ericad
Hi AJ!


Thanks for your help on this. One thing to note is that I did include both the docs from GOG as well as ourselves for purposes of the AUSFTA, and submitted all of the paperwork in with the customs declarations docs. The info I included clearly states that the goods being exported have originated from the US under the FTA.


Since customs has already been given all of the necessary paperwork, does Cushionnovice simply need to re-direct a supervisor''s attention to this fact? Sheesh - you''d think they would actually take a look at the paperwork we have submitted.


Cushionnovice - I did a fair bit of research to ensure that AUS customs had all of the necessary paperwork in order for you to pay the minimum duties. Perhaps if you contact them again and REMIND them that they have all of the necessary documentation there already?

Erica, it sounds like everything possible was done to avoid CN having to pay the extra 5%. Unfortunately, FedEx won''t give a stuff even if the mistake is theirs and if the processing has already done, they will charge ~$150 if CN wants to lodge a dispute and have it re-processed.

I had the same unfortunate experience with FedEx about 4 months ago and no amount of emailing or phone discussion made any difference - regardless of the fact that the fault was with them, I was only given the choice of paying the dispute fee, or paying the full amount.

In the end I paid the full amount and then lodged a claim with Customs; fortunately this process is relatively simple, quick, and the money was paid into my account a few weeks later without incident.

The AUSFTA thread has all of our tales of woe in it - I hope that at some stage, FedEx will pull up their socks and provide some actual customer service.

 

[ericad]

That''s really helpful to know, pancake. In future, when we have AUS customers, I can better prepare them for this process.

Sounds like Fed Ex doesn''t want to get in the middle of the importer (customer) and customs. I suppose I see why they would avoid it - if they collect a reduced amount and remit to customs, then find out that the item wasn''t eligible for the reduced tariff, or that there was fraud, etc. they get tangled up in a big mess. That''s probably why they insist that the customer pay the max amount and take it up with customs for whatever reimbursements they are eligible for.

At least I hope that''s what is happening, and not that they are simply unwilling to go the extra little mile for their customers.

 

[pancake]

I''m not sure, Erica - in my case it seemed to be that whilst all the appropriate paperwork was there, the "Eligible for AUSFTA" information was not clearly visible on the paperwork on the OUTSIDE of the package (I guess in the plastic pocket where the shipping receipts are). At least that is what they told me; they said that it is a case-by-case thing where an individual broker may expedite the process of calculating fees and taxes if they deem the shipment to be "uncomplicated"; in my case that basically meant that my taxes and duties were calculated days BEFORE the package even reached Australian shores.

It is hard to know whether their stated "reason" is true though, because I had to speak to about 4 different people for a total of over an hour before I squeezed that out of one of them.

I was also told that it is essentially a one-way process, so once a decision has been made along the way it can''t be unmade...unless the buyer is willing to pay a fee

 

[ericad]

Oh for Pete''s sake, that just makes me so mad! Why even go to the trouble of requesting that the shipper include all of this type of paperwork in the pouch if they''re going to require that the recipient pay it all and claim it back anyway?

Sounds like perhaps they are doing the minimum they must do to comply with import/export regulations (collecting the AUSFTA supporting docs), without actually following the process through to the end (oops, the shipper didn''t affix it to the package in a way that was utterly obvious and we just overlooked it, cuz you know it''s just too much effort to open up the resealable pouch and look at the paperwork inside, so technically we did what we are obligated to do, no more no less).

 

[missydebby]

Question: I am an American citizen with homes in both the US and Holland. (I have the equivalent of a green card and am married to a Dutch guy. Our daughter is currently a dual citizen) Does that have any baring on making customs declarations?

If an American living in America buys a 10k ring say, and immediately goes on a trip to Holland and wears the ring, but will eventually go back to the States after her long visit, does she have to declare it? What if said American babe buys a ring and leaves it in the States for a year, if she eventually wears it back into Holland, does she need to declare?

 

[missydebby]

just a note from the thread-jack-o-sphere: I discussed this with my husband and he's looking into it. There are some "clauses" so to speak. For instance, if you want to bring a car over to Holland with you, you will have to pay import and VAT taxes unless you have owned your car for at least a year before bringing it. The idea is to prevent people from importing for sale. Thus it seems likely that if I want to avoid paying these same taxes on my ring, it would have to sit in the States for a year. Also, he thinks it's possible that as a US citizen with 2 residences, the same would be true, but probably depends on how many days I live in the States on average. Anyway, I will post the answers when we get them. I know it doesn't apply to OP, and again sorry for thread-jacking. I will post the answers in a new thread. Perhaps it will benefit other international PS'ers.

 

[swingirl]

How much were you expecting the duty to be?