Custom duty discussion on blu-rays imported

[just4kix]

Hi..for stuff bought from Amazon UK - do they remove VAT while billing? I ordered some 92-93 pounds worth of blu ray yesterday of which around 14 pounds was VAT. I emailed them and they said online retailers dont refund VAT. I ordered it to a UK hotel address of a friend who is visiting london

So wondering if ordering directly to India means no VAT, but shipping - since I paid VAT and zero shipping because of Amazon Prime - Not sure which one is a better option. Assuming its no VAT - then maybe shipping to India offsets VAT - and we can order anytime we want - unlike in my case where I have to keep on asking friends if they are travelling abroad

If the items are shipped outside EU, then VAT is automatically deducted from the order.

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[bluraymaniac]

Do you route your deliveries through Aramex? How much does it cost?

Well i direct order from amazon and choose standard shipping , amazon usa ships all parcel to india via aramex . so no use for sns for movies , dvds and books even videogames

edit shipping cost 8. something dollars for first item and 12 .something for 2 items and so on and on.

this is standard shipping the lowest one

 

[bluraymaniac]

Hi..for stuff bought from Amazon UK - do they remove VAT while billing? I ordered some 92-93 pounds worth of blu ray yesterday of which around 14 pounds was VAT. I emailed them and they said online retailers dont refund VAT. I ordered it to a UK hotel address of a friend who is visiting london

So wondering if ordering directly to India means no VAT, but shipping - since I paid VAT and zero shipping because of Amazon Prime - Not sure which one is a better option. Assuming its no VAT - then maybe shipping to India offsets VAT - and we can order anytime we want - unlike in my case where I have to keep on asking friends if they are travelling abroad

i would say stick with ur friend for bringing movies worth that price , coz if u direct order , there is high chance of customs.

direct order saves lot of money by removing vat of the parcel if it is one item , like hitchcock box set or james bond collection. if u have multiple orders it is more or less same .i mean vat saved will be almost shipping charged .

only order through friends when the prices are too high like stuff worth 90 to 100 gbp

 

[AnkurShahi80]

Well i direct order from amazon and choose standard shipping , amazon usa ships all parcel to india via aramex . so no use for sns for movies , dvds and books even videogames

edit shipping cost 8. something dollars for first item and 12 .something for 2 items and so on and on.

this is standard shipping the lowest one

Hmm... Interesting, so far i have only ordered Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc Edition [Blu-ray] from Amazon USA. Although, this was ordered on 30th Aug with the estimate delivery date of 08th Oct, i am yet to receive it:sad:

 

[thebanik]

Hmm... Interesting, so far i have only ordered Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc Edition [Blu-ray] from Amazon USA. Although, this was ordered on 30th Aug with the estimate delivery date of 08th Oct, i am yet to receive it:sad:

With the cost of shipping and custom deposit, I feel amazon.com is worthless(atleast for BR). Amazon.co.uk with its regular offers and Vat discount, cheaper shipping price comes out far ahead in pricing.

 

[vktyagi]

But I'm more interested in knowing the terms & conditions on which basis customs charges are applied on these small value items as well !!
AFAIK, Govt. has decided custom duty exemption up to the items Rs. 35000;
then why customs charges on such smaller items, which cost 1K, 2K...5K...7K...only ????

35K limit is for goods brought in baggage under Baggage Rules 1988. Stuff imported otherwise is not covered under these rules.

 

[just4kix]

With the cost of shipping and custom deposit, I feel amazon.com is worthless(atleast for BR). Amazon.co.uk with its regular offers and Vat discount, cheaper shipping price comes out far ahead in pricing.

Very much agreed there. I created a thread on this some time ago:

http://www.hifivision.com/movies/23973-amazon-com-vs-amazon-co-uk.html

The shipment from Amazon, UK is handled by Royal Mail, UK and then by Indian Postal Service. For Maharashtra and Gujrat, the parcel lands in GPO, Mumbai (400 001). The post master at GRP, Mumbai has become smart and now levying duties. Hence, Amazon, UK is no longer cheaper for us. Others are luckier.

Now that bluraymaniac has mentioned that Amazon,US+Aramex is working out nicely, I have just placed an order is USA and hoping for the best.

Another thing that with Aramex, deliveries are expected to be quicker.

 

[thebanik]

Very much agreed there. I created a thread on this some time ago:

http://www.hifivision.com/movies/23973-amazon-com-vs-amazon-co-uk.html

The shipment from Amazon, UK is handled by Royal Mail, UK and then by Indian Postal Service. For Maharashtra and Gujrat, the parcel lands in GPO, Mumbai (400 001). The post master at GRP, Mumbai has become smart and now levying duties. Hence, Amazon, UK is no longer cheaper for us. Others are luckier.

Now that bluraymaniac has mentioned that Amazon,US+Aramex is working out nicely, I have just placed an order is USA and hoping for the best.

Another thing that with Aramex, deliveries are expected to be quicker.

I have been an Aramex member since S&S was setup. But lately I have found that they are charging customs on everything(have not tried BDs though), sometimes even without proper proof of whether they even paid customs or not. Hence I have sort of stopped using Aramex. Last shipment was in July.

But no doubt that the service is much faster Let me know if they charge customs for BRs

 

[just4kix]

S&S is a special service by Aramex. As per bluraymaniac, if you order from Amazon, US, the delivery is sent via Aramex and not Aramex-S&S. Amazon does collect the duty fee in advance and he says that his duty was refunded back as it was not charged. So Aramex does not play any part in the monetory transaction apart from delivery (as per bluraymaniac).

 

[thebanik]

S&S is a special service by Aramex. As per bluraymaniac, if you order from Amazon, US, the delivery is sent via Aramex and not Aramex-S&S. Amazon does collect the duty fee in advance and he says that his duty was refunded back as it was not charged. So Aramex does not play any part in the monetory transaction apart from delivery (as per bluraymaniac).

Oh, I misunderstood but I tried today only to order a movie which was not in .co.uk and they were charging 10$ + 4$ for shipping + custom deposit for a single movie. Pretty costly I say even if they return the 4$. Will try 3-4 movies in a lot and see if that reduces the amount.

 

[just4kix]

Oh, I misunderstood but I tried today only to order a movie which was not in .co.uk and they were charging 10$ + 4$ for shipping + custom deposit for a single movie. Pretty costly I say even if they return the 4$. Will try 3-4 movies in a lot and see if that reduces the amount.

Read my Amazon comparison thread again. Amazon, US shipping charges are:

per item (boxed set is also one item ): $3.99
per delivery: $4.99

Suppose you order one BD/boxed set, your shipping charge will be 8.98 (3.99+4.99). If you order more and assume that everything is sent in one delivery then per delivery charge of 4.99 is spread across all items making shipping a little cheaper.

 

[bluraymaniac]

got pillow talk digibook , was charged 160 rs customs :x cost was 10.25 gbp

amazon uk customs are one hit one miss now

well had ordered dr strangelove digibook and strangers on train blu ray from amazon usa and used the promotional certificate i got from refund of import duty on last purchase.

so total cost is 36$ including import duty , highly chance i should get import duty back and the parcel is shipped again via aramex , so should get by next week

 

[bluraymaniac]

Read my Amazon comparison thread again. Amazon, US shipping charges are:

per item (boxed set is also one item ): $3.99
per delivery: $4.99

Suppose you order one BD/boxed set, your shipping charge will be 8.98 (3.99+4.99). If you order more and assume that everything is sent in one delivery then per delivery charge of 4.99 is spread across all items making shipping a little cheaper.

True i only order those stuff which isn't available in India and costly in UK

 

[bluraymaniac]

S&S is a special service by Aramex. As per bluraymaniac, if you order from Amazon, US, the delivery is sent via Aramex and not Aramex-S&S. Amazon does collect the duty fee in advance and he says that his duty was refunded back as it was not charged. So Aramex does not play any part in the monetory transaction apart from delivery (as per bluraymaniac).

till now i got 3 parcels from amazon usa direct order shipped by amazon via aramex and i haven't been charged yet touch wood

cost are 37 $ , 36$ and 42$ .

got import duty refund the same day i got parcel.

note if u ask for refund to CC they say it will take time maybe 60 days coz they have to check and verify and calculate difference.
funny thing if u suddenly ask give me promotional certificate instead of refund , they will give u in half hour , lol now don't they need to verify for haha .
if u order regularly ask for refund via promotional certificate.

now waiting for my 4th parcel

 

[just4kix]

Another advantage of Amazon, US is that shipping is trackable.

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[crossbow]

Received Sherlock Holmes double SB from amazon DE. No customs. Now I am starting to believe that parcels coming through Deutsche Post DHL are cleared duty free.

 

[just4kix]

My second order with Amazon, us had a shopping charge of $16.96 (3 bd's). At the time of actual shipping and charging the credit card, they refunded the shipping charges. I am happy but?????

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[bluraymaniac]

My second order with Amazon, us had a shopping charge of $16.96 (3 bd's). At the time of actual shipping and charging the credit card, they refunded the shipping charges. I am happy but?????

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can't get you ??

 

[just4kix]

can't get you ??

I mean is there some kind of scheme/promotion going on? I have my order less shipping charges. :yahoo: :clapping:

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[bluraymaniac]

got delivery of strangers on a train and dr strangelove both worth 29$ plus 7.61$ import deposit today in 8 days as yesterday was holiday.

well one incident , aramex guy came with parcel and was asking for custom duty worth 832 rs that is whopping 55% , i said i already paid to amazon and amazon has paid ur aramex office, then he called his boss and his boss said to take back the parcel , well i refused to give back and asked him to wait and i will show him the bill where it shows i paid , my dad then had chat with his boss , i showed the guy the bill and my dad talked about the bill to his boss and his boss agreed to give me my parcel. i gave him the copy of bill to take away and ask him to contact his aramex head office in usa.

one thing , he had no customs receipt just aramex document where we have to sign and he said sir waha likha hain custom charge that too printed in small size. i am now not sure really customs was charged or not. my post man use to show receipt.

and 55% charged , coz amazon had printed 29$ price tag on box and it was big box with air bubble bag packing.so i suggest be careful guys