Import duties - Electronic item shipped from Europe

[ExpatOilWorker]

What kind of tax, VAT and import duty can I expect for a small $300 electronic device,  a sensor and a display, when shipped from Europe?

 

The vendor only ship by DHL or FedEx and they include the real invoice.

[fdsa]

Approx 15%.

 

Note that DHL ALWAYS charges the customs fee because they profit from it — use DHL only if the item is expensive or you need a fast shipping (N.B: this is not the case lately - I've recently had a shipment from US shipped by DHL Express that came in 14 days which usually took 5 days pre-covid), otherwise use the usual Registered Air Mail because this way you might get no customs duty at all.

 

this is my invoice for $250 shipment by DHL: paid $50 extra in taxes

Edited September 21, 2021 by fdsa

[ExpatOilWorker]

22 minutes ago, fdsa said:

Approx 15%.

 

Note that DHL ALWAYS charges the customs fee because they profit from it — use DHL only if the item is expensive or you need a fast shipping (N.B: this is not the case lately - I've recently had a shipment from US shipped by DHL Express that came in 14 days which usually took 5 days pre-covid), otherwise use the usual Registered Air Mail because this way you might get no customs duty at all.

 

this is my invoice for $250 shipment by DHL: paid $50 extra in taxes

15% is reasonable, but I have heard so many horror stories about DHL, so I am having it shipped to the US and a friend will hand carry it in. Hopefully there is no or little tax in the US. It is about $400.

Did you have to pay and collect it at a local DHL office or did they deliver direct to you?

[fdsa]

They deliver directly to you. I don't know about paying customs duties in the US but here in Thailand DHL sends you a link in SMS and you pay duties online.

[ExpatOilWorker]

3 hours ago, fdsa said:

They deliver directly to you. I don't know about paying customs duties in the US but here in Thailand DHL sends you a link in SMS and you pay duties online.

I see. Maybe DHL is not as bad as I initially thought. 

A few threads on this site gave examples of how DHL charge storage fees and don't deliver the last mile.

Hopefully my stuff will make it to the US.

[Crossy]

If your item is accurately described, has a sensible customs code and a reasonable declared value you will end up with reasonable charges.

 

IMPORTANT Duty is charged on the CIF (Cost Insurance Freight) value, not just the cost of the item, then VAT is charged on the total value.

[fdsa]

On 9/21/2021 at 5:57 PM, ExpatOilWorker said:

I see. Maybe DHL is not as bad as I initially thought. 

A few threads on this site gave examples of how DHL charge storage fees and don't deliver the last mile.

Hopefully my stuff will make it to the US.

before covid DHL was great in terms of speed and customer support, but now they appear to become very slow. Still I would trust them any expensive item or any document (e.g. my home country ships a replacement passport only by DHL in case you lose your passport, and my bank ships a replacement credit cards only by DHL too).

But they ALWAYS charge any possible and impossible customs fees because they are a registered customs broker so they profit from charging those fees.