Raspberry Pi Taxes?

ld13 said:
Why EMS? Just call your local customs office.
Click to expand...

Called 0860 111 502 and they gave me EMS as the number when I asked for customs. Typical I guess. Will call customs directly then.
 
noxibox said:
It's a standard fee, all the courier companies charge this. In fact for years DHL was by far the cheapest.
Click to expand...

Not quite. There are occasional mutterings against the other couriers, but as I say it is usually DHL who get fingered the most for shafting the recipient. Over the last 6 years I have ordered free samples and development boards from IC manufacturers. The consensus from the Australian, Europeans, South Americans, and Asian recipients in the other boards I have been to is that DHL would be the one most interested in collecting the processing fee for the privilege of customs clearance.

The last time I queried it, the guy said the invoice value for my item was $20 and under weight threshold, they should not be charging but because the item was marked as freight and was sent by DHL global forwarding who they (DHL) did not have an account with...

Having said all that, a quick search on the internet reveals that you can do custom's clearance yourself. Fedex* usually will provide it as a courtesy service to the customer, while DHL & UPS charge for this privilege. Which is why they are sending the Rpi's by Post Office these days.

*I did have a high value package sitting 3 weeks at Fedex, until I applied for (at customs) and supplied to Fedex my importers code. The package was released to me with no charges.
 
I've given up calling. Every number either rings forever, or gives me a new number to call
 
I picked up a Pi, power supply and 2 x Pi cases. Value was stated as 34 pounds. I paid R89 customs (R74 VAT + R15 clearance). Tarrif heading code was 8473.30
 
Last edited:
kaspaas said:
I posted a blog entry on this issue at http://nvdd.info/VYuvBa
The key question: Is RS going to complete the Customs Declaration professionally in future or not?
Click to expand...

Latest reply on the thread:
Are you sure RS are in the wrong here? It seems to me that their attitude here is spot on. They have looked in to it, and have applied the code as they seem to be required to do, ie. Pi + Accessories. Which won't have the same code as Pi by itself. I am guessing that customs are applying import duty as required since there are accessories in the box, as well as the Pi itself. RS are not allowed to misrepresent the contents of the box.
Click to expand...

The idiot clearly did not read the OP of that thread re: 6117.80 being seen as clothing accessories.
 
Received my PI (and accessories) today, and +1 on the overcharging due to no customs code being present on the packaging (Thanks to RS-Components)

Total package value was R448, and had to pay R288 in duties.
According to the manifest it was handled under tariff heading code 6117.80 by customs.

Worth fighting for? I guess after a day of fighting with incompetent SARS for 3 hours <cringe>, my reserves for fighting with customs as well is somewhat low.
 
Customs Import Duty can significantly depend on the entry clerk that processed the customs entry. The Customs Tariff Book has thousands of tariff headings for every imaginable product. If they lazy, they may slap it with a non-specific heading that attracts a general duty charge of anywhere between 5% and 40%. If they do their job and have some common sense, they could provide a specific heading that attracts 0%. As it's individual products (usually), SARS will not stop a shipment that is 1. low value 2. can fall under a range of tariff headings. Not worth their time, or just slips through.

All import/export entries require 1. Commercial Invoice (+ packing list if possible) 2. Waybill (depending on mode of transport). RS should state tariff on either. In the end, its up to the import clearing agent, whoever may be nominated.
 
I was told that all that is requried is to hand the package back to the Post Office to ask for a re-assesment.

That could take a while...

It depends how much R288 is worth to you - I decided the amount charged for cutoms was not worth the effort of getting it re-assessed.

But next time (yes, I would like another Raspi!) I will add another 4 weeks to my planning for getting the Post Office clearing agent/costums representative to sort stuff out.
 
received my Raspberry pi before Christmas. Delivered to my door and didn't pay anything extra! No taxes.. Guess i was lucky.
 
Ordered a pi, psu, case, hdmi cable and SD card on 20/11/2012, delivered to my po box today without warning, R104 in taxes.
 
Well, customs actually replied to my email! They say I definitely shouldn't have paid that much in taxes. Problem is, they suggested I get it re evaluated before I collect it... Pity I've already done that. There next suggestion is take it back to the post office in its origional packaging... So that could be a problem. Worth a try though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X