New HMRC revalorisation limits

From 1st January 2013, anyone who imports small non-commercial consignments (gifts) by post or freight, either through Royal Mail/Parcelforce or a Fast Parcel Operator/Agent will see the following changes taking effect.

1) GIFTS

The limit before VAT is applied to gifts sent between private individuals is reduced from £40 to £36 (Value Added Tax (Small Non-Commercial Consignments) Relief Order 1986).

Proper use of the Gifts Relief (EC Regulation 1186/2009 – Chapter VI – Articles 25 – 27) only involves a private individual from outside the EU sending occasional gifts, within the proper parameters and limits of the Relief, to other private individuals established within the EU, for personal or family use by the consignee. On no account can the gifts be sourced and sent from retail stores – this is not allowed within the Gift Relief protocols as all consignments must be of a non-commercial nature.

2) Low value consignment relief

There is no change to the current limit and it will remain at £15. Goods with an intrinsic value of £15 or less will not be liable for import VAT, however, all mail order goods sent to the UK from the Channel Islands are liable to import VAT.

3) Customs Duty waiver

Customs duty will not be collected when the amount of duty due is less than £9.

Note Section 1 - I'd advise that if you have a friend/frinds overseas that can purchase items in their home country from a retail store, you get them to post these items to you. Note that "high-value" items such as camera bodies and lenses are likely to "catch the eye" of HMRC, so in reality, the above advice (in a photographic sense) would be beneficial to anyone buying filters, memory cards, and other small items from outwith the EU for delivery within the UK.

Does the £15 limit for low value exclude postage costs,
which I've often seen to be quite high on ebay from the US?

This FILTER for instance £9.31 + £7.20 postage.
Would that be free of all import charges?

-

Yes, Algi - the duty/vat is calculated solely upon the value of the item itself. The correct way this should be shown on the invoice is as you have broken it down (above), with the combined values to indicate the grand total.

Don't forget too that the postal/freight service will charge you a service fee for collecting the VAT from you.

Item 2 is very important for those of you who buy from the 7-Day shop too.

Support your local shop, if you have one

In my experience, VAT has been calculated on the value of the goods plus the postage.

To quote HMRC:

"The import VAT percentage rate is applied to the total value of the goods. In the case of goods brought in this is the sterling equivalent of the price paid abroad, as shown on the receipt. In the case of goods posted from outside the EU, it is the amount on the Customs Declaration, which includes the price paid for the goods, the cost of transport, postage and packing, insurance and any duty* that may be payable." (my bolding)

Source: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/tax-and-duty.htm#3

They also state the sender should complete the green customs declaration affixed to the package such that the total value shown includes both elements. HMRC can, and on occasion do, have parcels opened to check that the figure given matches the invoice total. They also claim that you, as importer, have legal responsibility for ensuring that the sender completes the declaration properly.

*The good news is that they only collect duty when the value is above £135 and where the duty due exceeds £9.

Handy info to know, thanks!
It still irks me at the prices in the UK and I find it baffling sometimes how UK pricing can be justified. For instance, a couple of years ago, I looked at a high value item as a possible purchase but was put off by the cost in the UK.
I looked at the cost in the far east and found that I could get a cheap flight to Tokyo and spend a long weekend sightseeing with a moderate hotel cost, purchase the item and bring it back to the UK, paying full duty and VAT, and still save money!