ParcelForce charging customs duty when they shouldn't

[UpWrong]

I bought some specialist handmade trike wheels from Germany: Taiwanese hubs and rims, spokes from Begium. Most of the cost stems from the labour. Imported by DHL/ParcelForce partnership. Email notification received that a customs charge was payable. Had to wait for a card through the door with a barcode no. for on-line payment. I made the on-line payment but it wasn't matched to the delivery so I had to travel to the depot to prove payment and collect the wheels.

The seller declared Germany as the country of origin so there should be no customs to pay because of the UK-EU trade agreement. The customs label on the box shows a VAT charge as expected, but also a customs duty charge. Ok, so maybe the seller didn't certify the country of origin in the right way (there is signed CN23 form with a country of origin declaration though), but I should still be able to claim back the import tariff. Here's the web page to reclaim payment, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-appl ... rpaid-c285.

The first thing the on-line form requires is a 19-digit Movement Reference Number (MRN). This is not present in the DHL/ParcelForce documentation. I paid PF a £12 handling fee. Why haven't they provided me with the MRN? I have their consignment no. but that's not the same thing. This feels like a conspiracy by the bureaucrats to screw us. What's the point of a tariff-free trade deal with the EU if we have to keep paying tariffs for goods originating from the EU?

EDIT: there may be a simpler procedure to reclaim as documented here, https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ost-bor286

EDIT2: I think I'd struggle to breakdown the costs of parts and labour to show non-european parts were less than 50% of the value. That would need to be done by the manufacturer. Oh well, at least I found the right form for future use

[the snail]

Welcome to the brexit, sir!

[Blondie]

There is no such duty free deal between the U.k and EU.

[UpWrong]

There is no such duty free deal between the U.k and EU.

Yes, there is but rules of origin apply, https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/c ... kingdom_en

[mjr]

There is no such duty free deal between the U.k and EU.

Yes, there is but rules of origin apply, https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/c ... kingdom_en

You won: get over it. We told you this would drown British consumers in this sort of red tape, among other things, and you started on about it being a "protectionist club" rather than a mutual benefit association.

[UpWrong]

There is no such duty free deal between the U.k and EU.

Yes, there is but rules of origin apply, https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/c ... kingdom_en

You won: get over it. We told you this would drown British consumers in this sort of red tape, among other things, and you started on about it being a "protectionist club" rather than a mutual benefit association.

There's clearly misunderstanding regarding the zero tariff trade agreement with the EU which I have attempted to understand and clarify. And I have found an online application form to reclaim duties that weren't legitimate. There's an interesting contrast with buying from the States. UPS appear to be able to calculate taxes and duties correctly.

[mjr]

Yes, there is but rules of origin apply, https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/c ... kingdom_en

You won: get over it. We told you this would drown British consumers in this sort of red tape, among other things, and you started on about it being a "protectionist club" rather than a mutual benefit association.

There's clearly misunderstanding regarding the zero tariff trade agreement with the EU which I have attempted to understand and clarify. And I have found an online application form to reclaim duties that weren't legitimate. There's an interesting contrast with buying from the States. UPS appear to be able to calculate taxes and duties correctly.

The misunderstanding seems to be your beliefs around the trade agreement and certification of origin. Because you don't have the paperwork that you voted to lumber us all with, the duties seem to have been charged correctly.

We aren't in the EU any more, so we don't simply trust that the correct duties were paid on import to the single market. Indeed, we can't, according to international trade agreements.

[UpWrong]

You won: get over it. We told you this would drown British consumers in this sort of red tape, among other things, and you started on about it being a "protectionist club" rather than a mutual benefit association.

There's clearly misunderstanding regarding the zero tariff trade agreement with the EU which I have attempted to understand and clarify. And I have found an online application form to reclaim duties that weren't legitimate. There's an interesting contrast with buying from the States. UPS appear to be able to calculate taxes and duties correctly.

The misunderstanding seems to be your beliefs around the trade agreement and certification of origin. Because you don't have the paperwork that you voted to lumber us all with, the duties seem to have been charged correctly.

We aren't in the EU any more, so we don't simply trust that the correct duties were paid on import to the single market. Indeed, we can't, according to international trade agreements.

I discovered that the "paperwork"for reclaiming paid duties wasn't too onerous but my calculation is that the purchase probably didn't meet the 51% value threshold for originating in the EU afterall, So by accident rather than design, the ParcelForce default of charging customs was probably legitimate.

[mjr]

I discovered that the "paperwork"for reclaiming paid duties wasn't too onerous but my calculation is that the purchase probably didn't meet the 51% value threshold for originating in the EU afterall, So by accident rather than design, the ParcelForce default of charging customs was probably legitimate.

So why are you grumbling about "ParcelForce charging customs duty when they shouldn't" and praising UPS?

And what are you basing that calculation on if you don't have the origin paperwork?

[hamster]

You seem to think this is a problem with the EU, when it's the UK Customs who are applying the rules. If you can't prove origin then you pay duty.

[UpWrong]

You seem to think this is a problem with the EU, when it's the UK Customs who are applying the rules. If you can't prove origin then you pay duty.

I didn't at any point think it was a problem with the EU. I was suggesting it was a problem with ParcelForce.

[UpWrong]

I discovered that the "paperwork"for reclaiming paid duties wasn't too onerous but my calculation is that the purchase probably didn't meet the 51% value threshold for originating in the EU afterall, So by accident rather than design, the ParcelForce default of charging customs was probably legitimate.

So why are you grumbling about "ParcelForce charging customs duty when they shouldn't" and praising UPS?

And what are you basing that calculation on if you don't have the origin paperwork?

The (unopened) CN23 customs declaration gives DE as the Country of Origin. ParcelForce charged £12 to handle the import but they did not look at the customs declaration and incorrectly charged me customs.