DHL people in cahoots with customs people??

[Innova_Boy]

I made an order online from HK online store worth 100USD with DHL shipping of 30USD, I told the HK online store to put it as sample items only...

My shock came when the courier arrive with a customs bill of almost 1800.00PHP, and unless i pay it, they will not give to me my package which i paid already by mycredit card...

any experience you have out there on out to minimize my payments to DHL agents/customs OR do i have no choice but to pay the amount of 1800 in protest....Thanks..


WBR,

[userfriendly]

AFAIK, ganyan talaga. You will have to pay for it.

[mazdamazda]

That can happen whether it's shipped via DHL, FedEx, etc.

Tsambahan din yan... minsan walang custom duties, minsan meron. That's why most foreign online stores have a disclaimer regarding local custom duties.

[smooth]

kung commerciable quantities yan, talagang malaki ang customs duties

[BlueBimmer]

natsambahan ka lang siguro, nakarami na akong online purchase from taiwan, US and UK pero walang customs tax, ang iba pa nga naka small box.

may binabayaran lang akong small postal fee bago iclaim ok na, but mabagal talaga ang post office natin hehe

[norrissee]

baka malaki yung box nilagyan... ganoon talaga yun. Pag maliit lang na box at magaan pa wala ka babayaran... door to door delivery pa. Happened to me before na nag order ko ng mga EEPROM chips from US. Listed as sample pero maliit lang ang box at magaan... ayun, arrived at our house in just 2 weeks.

[theveed]

First of all, that's the LEGAL TAX DUE on your item, so nobody's "cahooting" with anyone. DHL/FedEx/UPS are just following LEGAL LAWS to tax import items accordingly.

If you read most international sellers, it's clearly stated that customs/import taxes are not included in the payment and it's the buyer's responsibility to pay proper import taxes.

For example, Amazon explicitly says:

Your packages may be subject to the customs fees and import duties of the country to which you have your order shipped. These charges are always the recipient's responsibility. For further details, read about Restrictions (which apply to all international shipments) and Import Fees Deposits (which apply to Priority International Shipping only.)

My question is was there an invoice included inside the box? If so, tax is based on declared value. Even if you say it's "sample" if there's a value indicated, it'll be taxed.

A sample or defective item, for example should have explicitly stated zero value to be untaxed. Most sellers won't honor a zero value invoice unless it's a bit "small-time" and isn't familiar with international shipping laws.

If you're make a protest, you'll be protesting your preference to commit corruption... hehe

http://www.aseansec.org/14298.htm

Lastly, air mail is screened very diligently compared to seaport items.

This does not belong to the Goon Squad forum, I'm moving it to Pitstop.