does chanel get taxed on arrival in spore?

tamanna

tamanna

CocoGal
O.G.
Oct 13, 2006
52
0
#1
Hey cocoholics

i just won an ebay bid on a 227 red metallic reissue bag.
I was wondering if you guys know if i will be taxed when the bags reaches the singapore customs?

Do let me know as i have heard different views regarding this? If so, how much??

Thanx tonnes, girls!

IM EXCITED:smile:
 
#2
Congrats on your reissue!

Yes, you will get taxed if the seller insures it for full value. It's approx 7% of the value plus some handling fee(estimate + - 20 bucks). If they ship it by EMS, you'll need to go to the Singapore post office (Paya Lebar) to pay tax before they release your bag.
 
#3
I guess I'm lucky that I've not being taxed for the 7% gst. I've bought 2 chanel bags (red metallic bag 226 last month & pink glazed jumbo this month) from 1 reputable ebay seller. Both items were not charged for 7% in SIN. I received the bags from the speedpost worldwide and did not pay for anything.

Hope you are as lucky as me :graucho::P Do keep us posted if u are being charged or not yah :smile:
 
#6
oh yah forget to mention that the seller did indicate the full value of the bag which I paid for in the courier slip and my bag was insured for the amount paid. The seller also indicate "merchandise" and not gift thus I count myself lucky. However, I get to know from another Tpf'er that she needs to pay for the 7% gst for her purchase thru ebay and paris boutique. Really depends on yr luck.

After all, I still find that the amount we spent buying thru ebay is cheaper than we buy from local boutique which is so much more than the retail price in the US and it is impossible to find the red metallic reissue and some others seasonal bags from the SIN boutique. It is still worth all the cost to bring it in from thru ebay reputable seller.

Congrats in getting the red metallic 227 she is a beauty:tup: :yahoo:
 
#7
I think if the seller declare it as a gift and value less than $100, then you don't have to pay anything. I just received my 2 bags, one new and one vintage and asked the seller to do that. I paid nothing.
 
#9
Hi,

I received my chanel bag via Speedpost (tie-in between USPS & Speedpost) 2 days ago and I weren't tax with the 7% GST.

The seller has been kind enough to mark the item as 'returned goods'. And the best part is, with this option, she's still able to insure the full amount of the bag.

I think this is important, as in any case, if the bag is lost, I can still get my money back.
 
#11
In my experience, about 20% of the stuff I buy arriving through EMS or even ordinary post gets pulled up for GST. It does not matter what is declared on the shipment, once pulled, you will be asked to provide documentation to prove its contents and value. I have had packages marked gift and less than USD100 that have got pulled, while packages fully insured for USD2000 slip through. The most "painful" episode was for a Birkin – you can imagine what the GST on that was!

As sweetprincess pointed out above, it all depends on your luck (or not). You do not have to go to Paya Lebar to get your shipment, you know. Just fax in your documentation and pay an extra $15 (on top of the GST) for home delivery or delivery to a nearby post office.

The safest way not to get taxed is to pay for shipping through FedEx (or DHL or UPS). You pay extra for shipping, but FedEx will only charge GST (on behalf of the government) if the declared value is above SGD400. They do not do random spot-checks, unlike SingPost. You could ask the shipper to under-declare the value, although technically, this is cheating and you could get prosecuted for evading GST if you ever get caught. My philosophy is, if you can afford the bag, you can afford the GST. If it slips under SingPost's radar, more power to you; if not, just pay up.
 
#12
Hi,

I might be facing the same problem as the original poster... if the item as gift, how can I provide documentation to proof its content right?
(though technically i would know what it is)

It is insured to bout 900 Sing... but I dont think it was written down on the courier slip as my seller told me...

So if I do pay the tax in Paya Lebar.. do i collect my bag there or at the respective post office..?
 
#14
Agree with Roxane. It is an offence under the Act for evasion of GST. You can be slapped with heavy penalties for evasion of GST (up to 3x).

Roxane said:
In my experience, about 20% of the stuff I buy arriving through EMS or even ordinary post gets pulled up for GST. It does not matter what is declared on the shipment, once pulled, you will be asked to provide documentation to prove its contents and value. I have had packages marked gift and less than USD100 that have got pulled, while packages fully insured for USD2000 slip through. The most "painful" episode was for a Birkin – you can imagine what the GST on that was!

As sweetprincess pointed out above, it all depends on your luck (or not). You do not have to go to Paya Lebar to get your shipment, you know. Just fax in your documentation and pay an extra $15 (on top of the GST) for home delivery or delivery to a nearby post office.

The safest way not to get taxed is to pay for shipping through FedEx (or DHL or UPS). You pay extra for shipping, but FedEx will only charge GST (on behalf of the government) if the declared value is above SGD400. They do not do random spot-checks, unlike SingPost. You could ask the shipper to under-declare the value, although technically, this is cheating and you could get prosecuted for evading GST if you ever get caught. My philosophy is, if you can afford the bag, you can afford the GST. If it slips under SingPost's radar, more power to you; if not, just pay up.
Click to expand...
 
#15
diana wang said:
Agree with Roxane. It is an offence under the Act for evasion of GST. You can be slapped with heavy penalties for evasion of GST (up to 3x).
Click to expand...

The Singapore GST law states that value above SGD400 will get taxed. Regardless of whether it is a gift or returned goods or purchase, any purchase including shipping totalling less than SGD400 will not be subjected to GST. If you item is less than USD100, your items can still be held by customs if customs deem that they do not have sufficient information to determine the value of the goods. That being said, once you can prove that the amount is less than SGD400, you do not have to pay GST.

I believe that the tax authorities will do whatever they can to ensure that all purchases made overseas and shipped into Singapore are checked and taxed accordingly. If GST is not charged for purchases above SGD400, it has to do with the way that the merchandise was declared as well as the paperwork that goes with it i.e. based on the supporting documents, if customs has concluded that the value was less than SGD400, they will not tax you, even if you paid USD1000 for the item. I understand that they do not look at the value declared on the parcel to determine the value taxable but looks at the paperwork eg: shipment invoice to determine the value taxable.

Generally if you make a purchase from another individual overseas without company names, invoices etc and the sender is willing to mark it as a gift or samples, you can probably avoid GST. Of course, this depends on the sender's willingness to do so, as it will affect the amount and type of insurance coverage on the goods.

However, regardless of the effort you make to avoid the GST, please note that the customs can still open your package when necessary to inspect. And if your luck runs out, you can be seen as evading taxes which is an offence.
 
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