Help With Customs Fees Please

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livethelake

livethelake

O.G.
Feb 11, 2006
10,896
2,423
#1
Background:
I purchased a preowned item from a Japanese seller. Value of $2,700. Item was manufactured in France.
Seller shipped EMS (to USPS).
Post office carrier brought item to my house and told me I owe $557.49 in duty.
He didn't have any info on how the amount was calculated, all he had was an email with the dollar amount to collect on delivery.
(I did not accept the delivery, at the suggestion of my carrier, he said he would leave a delivery slip stating delivery attempted but no one available to sign for the package. )

I have been googling plus searching the USPS site but cannot find updated info related to how duty is calculated.
Can anyone point me to a site or link to a document that provides guidelines for how duty is calculated?

thanks
 
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#2
Was it jewelry? I have been charged duty on a gold watch before, but it was through DHL, not USPS. I know precious metals tend to trigger import taxes. I think I would take the notice to the Post office and ask for a detailed invoice.
 
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#4
livethelake said:
Background:
I purchased a preowned item from a Japanese seller. Value of $2,700. Item was manufactured in France.
Seller shipped EMS (to USPS).
Post office carrier brought item to my house and told me I owe $557.49 in duty.
He didn't have any info on how the amount was calculated, all he had was an email with the dollar amount to collect on delivery.
(I did not accept the delivery, at the suggestion of my carrier, he said he would leave a delivery slip stating delivery attempted but no one available to sign for the package. )

I have been googling plus searching the USPS site but cannot find updated info related to how duty is calculated.
Can anyone point me to a site or link to a document that provides guidelines for how duty is calculated?

thanks
Click to expand...
You could look through this thread there is a lot of information:

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/us-customs-discussion-airports-importing.905560/
 
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#5
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#6
caannie said:
Was it jewelry? I have been charged duty on a gold watch before, but it was through DHL, not USPS. I know precious metals tend to trigger import taxes. I think I would take the notice to the Post office and ask for a detailed invoice.
Click to expand...
No, a bag...this is the first time I have ever been charged duty with usps...ugh
 
#8
livethelake said:
Background:
I purchased a preowned item from a Japanese seller. Value of $2,700. Item was manufactured in France.
Seller shipped EMS (to USPS).
Post office carrier brought item to my house and told me I owe $557.49 in duty.
He didn't have any info on how the amount was calculated, all he had was an email with the dollar amount to collect on delivery.
(I did not accept the delivery, at the suggestion of my carrier, he said he would leave a delivery slip stating delivery attempted but no one available to sign for the package. )

I have been googling plus searching the USPS site but cannot find updated info related to how duty is calculated.
Can anyone point me to a site or link to a document that provides guidelines for how duty is calculated?

thanks
Click to expand...
Wow I was charged $101 for importing 3 items from coach.uk via a forwarding service. The package value including shipping was just over $1000. I could not find any information either. I wonder if I should call a local agent to verify the accuracy.
 
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#9
Wanted to provide an update for those of you who are like me and need to know how a story ends.
The customs and border protection officer I spoke with yesterday asked me to come into their offices (an hour away from me) and bring a copy of the ebay listing and paypal statement. He told me the onsite import specialist would review my docs, adjust the amount due if necessary, accept payment from me and give me a receipt for USPS, allowing my bag to be released. Sounds straightforward. Well, it wasn't that simple or easy :(

Arrived at the CBP offices and explained why I was there. The receptionist called over an officer and I explained what I was told on Monday. She took my docs and came back a few minutes later, asking questions about the bag (material, size etc). Went thru the ebay lisitng with her. Feeling hopeful...

She came back 15 minutes later with a printout highlighted showing I should have been charged 6.3% of the net cost (excluding shipping and insurance costs). BUT - she said the officer I spoke with yesterday was mistaken - CBP has no authority to modify the amount due and they cannot accept payment in their offices. Pointed me back to the USPS.

Eventually spoke with my local postmaster who made some phonecalls . Found out that the duty is calculated at the port of entry by CBP. In this case, New York. How they determined the amount to charge me is a mystery. No one could explain that to me........

Options are limited but there is a process to dispute the amount charged.
Option 1 - Pay full amount
Option 2 - Refuse the shipment
Option 3 - Pay full amount and file a protest of fees. Could be months before I hear anything and there is no guarantee of a partial refund.
I ended up going with the last option, it was the only one that made sense.
So now I wait............:)
 
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#10
Someone doesn’t know what their doing. The customs/duty chart that is used including the tariff code states what you should be charged and is nowhere near what you are being charged. I’ve purchased from the same seller on eBay shipped via Ems delivered by my mail lady and charged less than 50.00 for a 2700 handbag.

I would fight this as they are WRONG.
Here’s an approx calculation on free shipping with 100 insurance on a leather handbag cost 2700.00 shipped from Japan to US. Around 26.00
C4FF3EAE-3EEC-4EBB-BE25-4C5FB2093862.jpeg
 
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#11
In your calculation, it looks like it assumes 2700 JPY. My bag was $2700 USD, an equivalent of 297891 JPY.

I'm def fighting this. It was not a good day. On top of this mess, I sent my tax documents to my CPA via USPS overnight mail on Monday. Guaranteed delivery by noon today. Guess what - no delivery.
And the last scan was last night when the envelope left my local post office. Waiting for a call back from the postmaster...
Not a great feeling knowing your tax documents with SS numbers are lost somewhere within the USPS network...........FML
 
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#12
It still is an incorrect calculation. You paid 2700 USD am I correct?
You don’t pay customs based on reverse calculations as you are US not living in Japan. I hope I am making sense.
You didn’t pay 297891 JPY as you didn’t import the bag to Japan- they perhaps filled the paper work out incorrectly.
I actually have the paperwork from my 2700 handbag. I won’t post it publicly but I’d be happy to email it to you.
 
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#14
Rouge H said:
It still is an incorrect calculation. You paid 2700 USD am I correct?
You don’t pay customs based on reverse calculations as you are US not living in Japan. I hope I am making sense.
You didn’t pay 297891 JPY as you didn’t import the bag to Japan- they perhaps filled the paper work out incorrectly.
I actually have the paperwork from my 2700 handbag. I won’t post it publicly but I’d be happy to email it to you.
Click to expand...
Thanks. You're making total sense! The paperwork the seller filled out asks for the dollar amount to be listed in local currency. That's what she did. The USPS has the correct equivalent on the form, it shows $2700 as the amount I paid.

I have no idea how the entry officer came up with the amount due. It is clearly wrong and makes no sense at all. The employees are shielded from the public and all I can do at this point is file the dispute.

I did consider refusing shipment but it would be weeks, maybe months before final resolution.
 
#15
Rouge H said:
Someone doesn’t know what their doing. The customs/duty chart that is used including the tariff code states what you should be charged and is nowhere near what you are being charged. I’ve purchased from the same seller on eBay shipped via Ems delivered by my mail lady and charged less than 50.00 for a 2700 handbag.

I would fight this as they are WRONG.
Here’s an approx calculation on free shipping with 100 insurance on a leather handbag cost 2700.00 shipped from Japan to US. Around 26.00
View attachment 4651971
Click to expand...
This site told me I owed nothing, but going to the CBP site and searching the HS code and % duties, I found leather hangbag is assessed at 10%, which is about what I was charged. I think if my value was under $800 then I would have avoided the charge. And from what I can tell, what the customs officer decides is final. Crazy.

https://dataweb.usitc.gov/tariff/database/details/42022160
 
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