Crazy rating of the product value by SA Customs

[ernest7119 10]

I am overseas seller, I found recently some SA Customs has crazy rating of the tax.

1 item including shipping charges total payment is about R160, but need to pay R240 tax.

More crazy, 2 items including shipping charges total payment is about R240, but need to pay R1640 tax.

If overcharged of the tax, can buyer appeal and to rerate again ?

 

Ernest

[Digital Wolf 10]

Were the items declared correctly? Mis-declaring will result in a fine being levied, usually around R1500 + 10%. The second one definitely looks like a customs and excise fine. And not just talking about mis-declaring the customs value, if the description is incorrect you can also get fined - avoid gift, commercial sample etc.

 

Not sure about the first one? What was the product value? Did the customer submit the correct invoice to the clearing agent (Post Office, DHL?)

 

With regards to appeals, if a fine was issued then it cannot be appealed. Otherwise you can appeal costs, it usually takes up to 30 days though and if you are not successful you will also be liable for admin fees.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Digital Wolf

[Fashion Police 10]

Perhaps the buyer who told you that she had to pay R1640 duty / tax made a typing error? It seems way too much for one little item that cost R240.

[mrmouse 12]

I am overseas seller, I found recently some SA Customs has crazy rating of the tax.

1 item including shipping charges total payment is about R160, but need to pay R240 tax.

More crazy, 2 items including shipping charges total payment is about R240, but need to pay R1640 tax.

If overcharged of the tax, can buyer appeal and to rerate again ?

 

Ernest

Customs also works on a price list if their value is R2000. and you only paid R50 and declared it as R50 they will work on their price irrespective of what you say .

[ernest7119 10]

Were the items declared correctly? Mis-declaring will result in a fine being levied, usually around R1500 + 10%. The second one definitely looks like a customs and excise fine. And not just talking about mis-declaring the customs value, if the description is incorrect you can also get fined - avoid gift, commercial sample etc.

 

Not sure about the first one? What was the product value? Did the customer submit the correct invoice to the clearing agent (Post Office, DHL?)

 

With regards to appeals, if a fine was issued then it cannot be appealed. Otherwise you can appeal costs, it usually takes up to 30 days though and if you are not successful you will also be liable for admin fees.

 

Every parcel I have attached the bidorbuy invoice, it has specified the selling price and shipping charges. It reflected the true and actual cost. I sent the parcel by registered air mail and with a declaration slip in which it has the product value in US$.

However,I found not too many parcels need to pay tax, I think daily SA Customs selects the mailing parcel randomly, anyone was selected, it needed to pay tax. only a small percentage of parcel was selected, so not too many buyers needed to pay, but sometimes met some crazy SA Customs, they valued great cost in the product, so the tax is great too.

[ernest7119 10]

Yes, I just believed what the buyer said, it has no proof.

[ernest7119 10]

Were the items declared correctly? Mis-declaring will result in a fine being levied, usually around R1500 + 10%. The second one definitely looks like a customs and excise fine. And not just talking about mis-declaring the customs value, if the description is incorrect you can also get fined - avoid gift, commercial sample etc.

 

Not sure about the first one? What was the product value? Did the customer submit the correct invoice to the clearing agent (Post Office, DHL?)

 

With regards to appeals, if a fine was issued then it cannot be appealed. Otherwise you can appeal costs, it usually takes up to 30 days though and if you are not successful you will also be liable for admin fees.

 

Every parcel I have attached the bidorbuy invoice, it has specified the selling price and shipping charges. It reflected the true and actual cost. I sent the parcel by registered air mail and with a declaration slip in which it has the product value in US$.

However,I found not too many parcels need to pay tax, I think daily SA Customs selects the mailing parcel randomly, anyone was selected, it needed to pay tax. only a small percentage of parcel was selected, so not too many buyers needed to pay, but sometimes met some crazy SA Customs, they valued great cost in the product, so the tax is great too.

Also I believed what you said is reasonable, usually many buyers requested me to fill the declared value less to avoid paying too many tax, so I did accordingly. Now I will do accordingly. Thanks

[Digital Wolf 10]

I think the best way to get to the bottom of this is to request the customs invoice the post office gave them. They are usually pretty detailed, they detail the VAT, duty etc. You could post a copy with the client's details omitted if you need help analysing it.

 

If it was requested that the client send them details or collect at the international mail centre, I know if they leave it for more than 7 days at the mail centre (or any clearing agent or courier) it gets put into government warehouse and you are charged a fee per day.

[Lukeness 10]

Recipients can also dispute the customs invoice, in which case they have to wait for it to be returned to the customs office for a re-evaluation, which usually takes another week.

[chrisc 10]

You can ask for it to be re-assessed. Have all documentation ready, plus the tariff code