Hello
I just wondered if someone could clarify whether customs fees and import duty is due for an item costing £12 plus £7 postage, total £19 shipped from US. When I looked online it said no import fees/duty is payable on purchases under £15 but wasn't sure if this includes postage costs.
Thanks.
If under 15 excluding post then no fees. If over 15 then vat calculated on value including post.
Thanks for clarifying!
Cripes, I thought it was £18 a few years ago. If over the limit and they'd decided to charge (more likely if it came via a delivery service other than Royal Mail), there could also be duty, depending on the class of goods, plus a fee for collecting the payment.
The HMRC guidance is here:
gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abro...
Duty (as opposed to VAT) is unlikely to be a problem in most circumstances.
Duty was always likely to take the shine off a piece of camera gear, back when I had the eyes and spending power.
Some older allowances are here, all ancient history now: mynewsdesk.com/uk/pressrele...
I've been tracking a package sent to Canada, only £18 value, but the recipient will be faced with a charge because that's over the 20CAD allowance, and there'll be a 9.95CAD collection fee 
Not wishing to be political, but life's a lot easier dealing with EU countries.
And if you get something from a country not in the EU that people think is in the EU (eg Russia) around the time of Eurovision, you rarely get charged (well, round here anyway)
Yes, I once ordered a supplement from US costing £18 and was hit by an additional £20 charge for VAT, duty and Royal Mail handling fee.
But sometimes the postie doesn't charge you even when they are supposed to. Too much paperwork perhaps. I get charged about 70% of the time for lower value purchases (but over the limit) and about 95% of the time for high value ones. If it comes by mail rather than courier, I've found you are less likely to get charged (even if there is a customs charge sticker on the parcel!).
Certainly some items get through without charges. I can't remember one which had a payment due (VAT and Royal Mail charge) which didn't collect - usually have to pay before you get it. But they might well have a declaration of value on them.
I had one a coupe of weeks ago. It had a charge sticker for the Royal mail £8 + a couple of quid VAT, but the postie just handed to me and left! I didn't actually notice the sticker until I started to open the box (it was large, I'm just visually challenged).
Yes they do!
The royal mail 'handling' fee is an arbitrary £8. Sometimes on small orders, it's larger than the duty fee.
I think there should be some joined up thinking in HMRC and in such cases, no fee should be payable, especially where my envelopes clearly state 'Medicine for personal use'...
Other carriers charge even more!
Now it's funny you mention that Rod because sometimes when I buy things on eBay ( shoes bags gloves hats more forgiving clothes pretty underwear bigger than a fig leaf...) from the US, I have no option but to use something called Pitney Bowes international. I pay very expensive S&H and the customs charges in advance, 'track 'my item sitting in a warehouse in Arizona for ten days and then three weeks later, often when the tracking tells me the package is still in US, my package arrives. It's muyder ! 
They get you by charging VAT.
No "they" do not if the order value (excluding p&p) is less than £15.
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