Petition against new tax regulations for Temu and Shein garners 15,000 signatures

[Mirai]

Nope. You pay tax per item value. Each item value has to be declared. If you get credit or a voucher off the total order then it doesn't matter in the customs declaration.

Plenty of examples of people complaining on social media when they think they get free items but have to pay huge customs bills off those free items.

Unfortunately we all have tried to get Buffalo to give us a breakdown of the customs calculation for our orders but they refuse to.

Your invoice should include the actual price paid per item. You pay tax on what you paid.

When customs does not believe the invoice they ask for a proof of payment. They work from that. Proof of payment would then be a credit card statement.

Someone is doing customs declarations wrong there.

You don't pay tax on some arbitrary value but on actual cost of goods. Otherwise you should pay duty and VAT on the manufacturer's recommended price. So Temu discounts which they state for each item should not be valid and you should pay duty / vat on full price.

The discount should be spread out across all items in the invoice. They're just declaring the items wrong.

 

[skimread]

Your invoice should include the actual price paid per item. You pay tax on what you paid.

When customs does not believe the invoice they ask for a proof of payment. They work from that. Proof of payment would then be a credit card statement.

Someone is doing customs declarations wrong there.

You don't pay tax on some arbitrary value but on actual cost of goods. Otherwise you should pay duty and VAT on the manufacturer's recommended price. So Temu discounts which they state for each item should not be valid and you should pay duty / vat on full price.

The discount should be spread out across all items in the invoice. They're just declaring the items wrong.

Again I am not f'ing talking about discounts. I never did. Stop trying to make that my argument.

Have you ordered from temu? Post your buffalo customs invoice rather than what you think it works.

 

[Mirai]

Again I am not f'ing talking about discounts. I never did. Stop trying to make that my argument.

Have you ordered from temu? Post your buffalo customs invoice rather than what you think it works.

I have been buying online for 20+ years. Maybe Temu is declaring the items incorrectly. But Temu credit is discount. You should only pay VAT and duty on what you actually paid, minus shipping (for Temu that's free).

Temu credit which comes from you, as in a refund, is different to a promotional credit. All Temu items are 'discounted'. In that case you should pay vat and duty on the actual full price per each item.

Have you seen the actual Temu listings, here is an egg timer:
R25 -87% almost over RRP R200

So if we followed your logic, you should pay DUTY and VAT on R200 when buying the egg timer but you'll pay that DUTY and VAT only on R25.

These prices are not set in stone. Temu manipulates them. It doesn't really matter how Temu does that, whether direct on site or by promo discount "credit". That credit is not something you can get back as cash.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I never mentioned discounts.

I am talking about vouchers not discounts. Temu gave me a R700 off voucher off a total of R2100 so I only paid R1400 for the order. Discounts per item will impact the per item price so is not applicable in my example.

Yeah I missed the word voucher in the first line.

100% with you now.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I have been buying online for 20+ years. Maybe Temu is declaring the items incorrectly. But Temu credit is discount. You should only pay VAT and duty on what you actually paid, minus shipping (for Temu that's free).

Temu credit which comes from you, as in a refund, is different to a promotional credit. All Temu items are 'discounted'. In that case you should pay vat and duty on the actual full price per each item.

Have you seen the actual Temu listings, here is an egg timer:
R25 -87% almost over RRP R200

So if we followed your logic, you should pay DUTY and VAT on R200 when buying the egg timer but you'll pay that DUTY and VAT only on R25.

These prices are not set in stone. Temu manipulates them. It doesn't really matter how Temu does that, whether direct on site or by promo discount "credit". That credit is not something you can get back as cash.

In this case the voucher is essentially an additional payment method.

Like someone giving you a gift card and using that to pay.

The value of the items don’t change, so the cost of goods stay the same.

So it’s correct to be paying duties on them.

 

[skimread]

I have been buying online for 20+ years. Maybe Temu is declaring the items incorrectly. But Temu credit is discount. You should only pay VAT and duty on what you actually paid, minus shipping (for Temu that's free).

Temu credit which comes from you, as in a refund, is different to a promotional credit. All Temu items are 'discounted'. In that case you should pay vat and duty on the actual full price per each item.

Have you seen the actual Temu listings, here is an egg timer:
R25 -87% almost over RRP R200

So if we followed your logic, you should pay DUTY and VAT on R200 when buying the egg timer but you'll pay that DUTY and VAT only on R25.

You have zero clue about the various Temu promotions and how Buffalo who does the customs deal it. Temu constantly sends out vouchers if you make an order. My last order I got 3 vouchers. The example I gave I used the voucher I got. When you join temu you immediately get vouchers after your first order. Everyone gets it.

Again you go on about f'ing discounts. I did not mention discounts once. You are making your own argument so it is pointless discussing with you. I have made 20 orders from temu. You have how many? Zero I guess. Yet you choose to insert yourself into a discussing you add zero value to.

 

[Mirai]

You have zero clue about the various Temu promotions and how Buffalo who does the customs deal it. Temu constantly sends out vouchers if you make an order. My last order I got 3 vouchers. The example I gave I used the voucher I got. When you join temu you immediately get vouchers after your first order. Everyone gets it.

Again you go on about f'ing discounts. I did not mention discounts once. You are making your own argument so it is pointless discussing with you. I have made 20 orders from temu. You have how many? Zero I guess. Yet you choose to insert yourself into a discussing you add zero value to.

You're quite an aggressive little man or woman.

Temu credit is not cash they send out. It's a custom discount made out to you. They could have just shown you a different price when you log in, their website is just not complex enough to do that, so to make things easier they give you promo discount as 'credit' but that credit has 0 ZAR monetary value. You can't ask to have it refunded. If you return the items they won't put that 'credit' back on your card. It's not real money, it's just an implementation of discount with attached marketing BS to make you feel more special and keep on buying there.

Temu just does the customs declarations sloppily. I've been telling you that but you seem to have a lack of understanding of the issue. Buffalo does not do declarations, the shipper declares items and prepares the invoice.

If you were correct, then we should all be paying duty and vat on the RRP prices and not the discounted ones.

I've made 4 orders with Temu so far.

Now had you had genuine credit that would be different. In other words maybe some cash you paid them already. But 'vouchers' are not cash.

 

[skimread]

In this case the voucher is essentially an additional payment method.

Like someone giving you a gift card and using that to pay.

The value of the items don’t change, so the cost of goods stay the same.

So it’s correct to be paying duties on them.

That is why I mention it. If I buy from takealot and I get a R150 off R550 voucher. I do not pay VAT off the pre voucher amount since tax is on the total after the voucher is deducted. However with Temu, VAT and the tax are per line item before voucher off total. That makes a big difference. This also does not include the Temu after fact price adjustments like I got R80 off two items that were worth R400 in total. So we end up paying way more tax than the article tries to portray in saying we have to pay the fair tax amount.

 

[skimread]

You're quite an aggressive little man or woman.

Temu credit is not cash they send out. It's a custom discount made out to you. They could have just shown you a different price when you log in, they're website is just not complex enough to do that, so to make things easier they give you promo discount as 'credit' but that credit has 0 ZAR monetary value. You can't ask to have it refunded. If you return the items they won't put that 'credit' back on your card. It's not real money, it's just an implementation of discount.

Temu just does the customs declarations sloppily. I've been telling you that but you seem to have understanding issues.

If you were correct, then we should all be paying duty and vat on the RRP prices and not the discounted ones.

Temu does not do customs. Again you are speaking about something you have zero clue about. Buffalo does the customs. You have not ordered once from them and are some pseudo intellectual who can make up your own arguments so you can give yourself a pat on the back. Some little man know it all. Not sure what is wrong with you.

 

[Mirai]

Temu does not do customs. Again you are speaking about something you have zero clue about. Buffalo does the customs. You have not ordered once from them and are some pseudo intellectual who can make up your own arguments so you can give yourself a pat on the back. Some little man know it all. Not sure what is wrong with you.

Temu has to do customs declaration. By law the merchant or sender has to declare items. The courier acts as the customs broker or agent and works with what's given to them by the merchant or sender. The mechant's representative has to sign a declaration that the information is true. Buffalo does not sign that.

Temu should be deducting the value of the 'voucher' (even using their marketing bs lingo) from each item and putting that as each line item and then the total you paid is what they took from your credit card plus any genuine credit you had (which came from your card in some other time, if applicable).

I keep telling you when customs did not believe my invoices, they would demand a proof of payment - and they didn't want PayPal, they wanted the actual credit card statement.

 

[skimread]

Temu has to do customs declaration. By law the merchant or sender has to declare items. The courier acts as the customs broker or agent and works with what's given to them by the merchant or sender. The mechant's representative has to sign a declaration that the information is true. Buffalo does not sign that.

Temu should be deducting the value of the 'voucher' (even using their marketing bs lingo) from each item and putting that as each line item and then the total you paid is what they took from your credit card plus any genuine credit you had (which came from your card in some other time, if applicable).

I keep telling you when customs did not believe my invoices, they would demand a proof of payment - and they didn't want PayPal, they wanted the actual credit card statement.

Any input you make is pointless as you have zero clue how Temu and Buffalo works as you have never ordered from Temu

 

[Mirai]

Any input you make is pointless as you have zero clue how Temu and Buffalo works as you have never ordered from Temu

You seem to have some issues.

ONLY the merchant may declare items for customs. That's the law, in China, in SA, in every country around the world. Buffalo does not declare items. They only act as the customs broker or clearance agent. They work with what the merchant (Temu) provides them, the commercial invoice.

Temu is just declaring the items in such a way that reflects the price without the 'voucher' discount they sent you.

 

[skimread]

You seem to have some issues.

ONLY the merchant may declare items for customs. That's the law, in China, in SA, in every country around the world. Buffalo does not declare items. They only act as the customs broker or clearance agent. They work with what the merchant (Temu) provides them, the commercial invoice.

Temu is just declaring the items in such a way that reflects the price without the 'voucher' discount they sent you.

Here you go again. Making false statements. I never said the merchant does not declare the items. You again make up stuff so you can argue against it.

You misconstrue intentionally and now say the same thing I stated what you originally criticized. You are some really weird pseudo intellectual egotist who argues with himself.

Stop it.

 

[Corelli]

One of the main reasons for these duties to be placed on low-value and small-volume imports is to protect the local clothing industry, which cannot compete with the pricing models employed by Temu and Shein.

If they cannot compete, fix the problems that stop them from competing, with Temu and Shein. Don't protect them.

Temu and Shein will happily loose billions to take over a local market, and once done, prices are hiked. Problem is its not easy to start multiple manufacturing businesses once they closed.

Its nothing personal, its purely business.

 

[Corelli]

15 000 signature vs 120 000 job losses due to cheaper imports in just the clothing industry.

And then we arent even looking at Toys. Did you know Prima Toys used to manufacture a lot of Toys in SA? Then one day they closed it all down, retrenched everyone and started importing from China because it was simply easier, not really better.

Even Korea has suffered.

Nikes used to be Made in South Korea. Now in China. Difference is remember when a pair of Nikes could have a razor thin sole and last 10-15 years? Now it falls apart within 1 year.

 

[Speedster]

Temu and Shein will happily loose billions to take over a local market, and once done, prices are hiked. Problem is its not easy to start multiple manufacturing businesses once they closed.

Its nothing personal, its purely business.

Lose

 

[Pegging]

15 000 signature vs 120 000 job losses due to cheaper imports in just the clothing industry.

And then we arent even looking at Toys. Did you know Prima Toys used to manufacture a lot of Toys in SA? Then one day they closed it all down, retrenched everyone and started importing from China because it was simply easier, not really better.

Even Korea has suffered.

Nikes used to be Made in South Korea. Now in China. Difference is remember when a pair of Nikes could have a razor thin sole and last 10-15 years? Now it falls apart within 1 year.

Lots of made up crap from you again.

 

[Pegging]

Temu and Shein will happily loose billions to take over a local market, and once done, prices are hiked. Problem is its not easy to start multiple manufacturing businesses once they closed.

It’s nothing personal, it’s purely business.

More crap from you.


Temu are making a profit, easy to google that I posted that a few pages back.

 

[Pegging]

You seem to have some issues.

ONLY the merchant may declare items for customs. That's the law, in China, in SA, in every country around the world. Buffalo does not declare items. They only act as the customs broker or clearance agent. They work with what the merchant (Temu) provides them, the commercial invoice.

Temu is just declaring the items in such a way that reflects the price without the 'voucher' discount they sent you.

I haven’t figured out customs yet. Maybe you can.
I can tell you that on 16 orders of R15 000 out of my pocket, my average customs on that is 15.7%.

Here is my last invoice, I haven’t seen the customs bill yet.
On which number will I be paying customers duties on?



I received a coupon that gives me R500 off on a purchase of R2000 or higher.
I got a R400 credit because one of my “prizes” were not in stock.
I got R20:back in “price adjustments” because previous items I had ordered have dropped.

R8807 is what Temu says the value is before their “discount”. R2025 is what I would pay if I did not have the R500 coupon, and R400 plus R20 credit.
R1105 is what I paid with my credit card.

 

[skimread]

I haven’t figured out customs yet. Maybe you can.
I can tell you that on 16 orders of R15 000 out of my pocket, my average customs on that is 15.7%.

Here is my last invoice, I haven’t seen the customs bill yet.
On which number will I be paying customers duties on?



I received a coupon that gives me R500 off on a purchase of R2000 or higher.
I got a R400 credit because one of my “prizes” were not in stock.
I got R20:back in “price adjustments” because previous items I had ordered have dropped.

R8807 is what Temu says the value is before their “discount”. R2025 is what I would pay if I did not have the R500 coupon, and R400 plus R20 credit.
R1105 is what I paid with my credit card.



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Hard to tell but this is from my experience. I have made around 20 orders.

The discounts of R6K is fictional made-up marketing BS to try to think you get a good deal and make you more likely to buy. Many e-commerce websites including takealot and amazon has that. Just ignore it.

That R500 Temu coupon is R500 off orders of R1500 or more.
The credit of R420 you get can be from price adjustments, returns or in your case something different
The banks also charge a credit card fee for Temu orders. I think it varies but is 2.5% for my bank what I recall. For your order it will be around 2.5% of R1105. For me the bank deducts it around 1 day later in a separate transaction.

From my Temu experience we pay customs per line item. Assuming all your items have 15% customs I would guess your customs comes to R303 (15% of 2025).
However I have noticed there is a customs handling fee that Buffalo/Fastway hides and never give you a proper customs invoice. It might be around R50 for Buffalo. From my orders experience I would take a guess and say your customs total will be around R350. A fair system should have been paying only 15% off R1105 which should have been R165 but life is not fair.

I welcome anyone else to add input and say what they think your Temu customs will be and not just come with non constructive BS.

After 1 July that is when everything changes with new customs on clothing and who knows what. Buffalo/Fastway are going to be swamped with customs invoice calculations requests. Something they have refused to provide in the pastbin order to hide their handling fee.
I am guessing they will not be able to hide their calculations anymore as otherwise customers will just say send it back and ask for refund as they will not be able to afford the customs.

I feel sorry for Temu customers after 1 July as they are going to get shocks.
A customer gets free items, coupons, credit via returns and price adjustments so ends up paying a low amount for their goods. Their end customs amount they might pay could easily be way more than what they paid for the goods and not something they expected.