Import tax from USA to UK

Question

I want to order something from an American website. It costs $200.

1) How long roughly would it take to get to the UK by DHL?

2) Roughly how much Tax, fees etc... would I have to pay?

Answer 1

how much tax you pay depends entirely on the classification it falls under for uk tax purposes. this is something difficult to track down online. there is a classification service you can call on 01702 366 077 between 9 - 4:30 mon - fri, once goods are classified over the phone they'll tell you what the percentage of duty and vat will be. for most other customs related issues you can call the national advice service on 0845 010 9000 option 2.

as for how long through dhl? only dhl can tell you that really, depends on the service you pay for.

n.b, customs clearance takes about 20 - 24 hours in total, the rest is the carrier keeping an eye on the progress of customs clearance and collecting the item promptly, so i don't think it'll make a great deal of difference who you use.

Answer 2

cost me £25 on something that cost £100

the goverment instruct the likes of ups to collect

something else i brough i didnt pay anything

personaly if i did it again i would avoid the big carriers