How much money does the UK post office charge a person to receive a package?

Question

My girlfriend lives in the UK and I live in the US and I sent her a package and timed it to arrive on her birthday. The last time I sent a package a year ago, they charged her to receive the package. This does not happen in the US and I'm not sure how much she is going to have to pay to receive the package. I believe they charge her a tax or duty according to how much the merchandise in the package is worth. I had to fill out a "Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note" declaring the value of the goods inside and it is my understanding they use this amount to determine how much she is charged. If I valued the merchandise at $27.75, how much will she have to pay to receive the package? Also, what if my estimation is wrong and the value of the goods inside is actually worth a little more than what I declared, will they know and if they find out, what will they do about it if my estimation is wrong? Please help me with these two questions, thanks.......

Answer 1

Customs check a percentage of the mail.

If the one you sent is not checked, or checked and the value is as low as you say there will be no charge.

If however yours is checked and found to be higher than you say and above the limit then your girl friend will pay customs duty + value added tax + a charge to collect the taxes.

Answer 2

As far as I'm aware if the item has a value of less than £18.00 ($35) you will not have to pay duty or VAT.  Also if you declare the item as a "gift" you should also be exempt from duty and VAT.  Anyway I get goods delivered from the U.S all the time and only get stung for charges about  one in five items.

Answer 3

We had the same thing this week! £16.95 for a jiffy bag from the US. Apparently customs charge this for packages which contain goods worth more than $100!  License to print money isn't it?

Answer 4

usually the charge is less than £5