Dealing with Douchebags from Customs/SARS

[rooi baard]

Hey dudes.
I recently purchased some items from the States (A Barnes and Noble Nook, and 3 pairs of earphones). I had them all sent to a parcel forwarding service and then shipped across to me here in South Africa by courier.

Now the guys at SARS are claiming that the items are actually from China and that a penalty must be paid. I've already paid them their customs/excise duties but now they want to apply a false extra charge.

Any ideas/tips/contacts to help sort this crap out?
I'm not a commercial importer - all of the items are for personal use. The items been sitting in Cape Town for days now...

 

[ISP cash cow]

Do you not have an import invoice that would state the country it originates in? This would tell them which country it is coming from.

Also just check though the product actually is not being sent from China, as you may have purchased it on a website in the US but that company may be shipping to the rest of the world from China.

 

[warchylde]

It's SARS/Customs, pay what they want and have done with it. There is no way to win. (plus you will save hours of wrangling with them, possibly days....)

If you are in a fighting mood get the original company where you purchased them from to supply you with a letter stating country of origin.

Also ask them to send you details on the reason for the extra charge (being from China is not a good enough reason, there are MANY agreements between our gov and theirs for cheaper imports so it may in fact be something they don't understand)

Option 2 means you are bored and want to fight them. Option 1 will get you quick results.....


Good luck my friend. I will have a drink for your pain.

 

[rooi baard]

Thanks dudes,

The Nook is only sold in the States - it can't be purchased anywhere else. It might indeed have been made in China, but so is virtually every other eletronic good on our dear planet.
If I buy a Macbook from States - it will clearly state - "Designed in California, Made in China". Will I then have to declare it a Chinese product....It's totally totally absurd and upsetting. They are trying to fleece me, and it seems the customs people haven't any backing for it save to say "It says made in China".
They haven't taken a look at any of their clothing labels in recent days it seems.

I have sent them as much proof as I have at hand (invoices - and shipping proof) to show it was all concluded in the US.

 

[TJ99]

My Nook arrived in under 72 hours, including customs. I don't know why you'd have a problem.

Of course that was in the old days when Amazon still shipped to SA, they seem to be on-and-off. Last year I bought headphones from them, now all of a sudden, the exact same product, they can't ship.

 

[rooi baard]

Nook wasn't from Amazon - Amazon Global Services facilitates customs clearance and payment: you'll typically get it quite quickly in such cases. Mine was through a 3rd party parcel forwarding service.

 

[Space_Chief]

Hey dudes.
I recently purchased some items from the States (A Barnes and Noble Nook, and 3 pairs of earphones). I had them all sent to a parcel forwarding service and then shipped across to me here in South Africa by courier.

Now the guys at SARS are claiming that the items are actually from China and that a penalty must be paid. I've already paid them their customs/excise duties but now they want to apply a false extra charge.

Any ideas/tips/contacts to help sort this crap out?
I'm not a commercial importer - all of the items are for personal use. The items been sitting in Cape Town for days now...

Local "Chinatowns" here in Cape Town sell tons of Chinese knock off Junk. Why must u now pay penalties? Is SARS protecting the revenue stream of Sennheiser or "SkullCandy"? These are not even South African companies.

An ombudsman is needed to deal with SARS BS.