Paying customs on product from a company with a .ie address!

landlord

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I ordered a tumble dryer part costing €34.23 from https://www.buy-spares.ie/ AN IRISH COMPANY. (well at least an Irish website).
I then received a customs declaration anpost email….
Customs Value:
Customs Reference Number:

Import Duty:
Excise Duty:
VAT:
An Post Fee:


Total paid:
Date paid:
€ 34.23
21IEDUB500CM2JIA

€ 0.00
€ 0.00
€ 7.87
€ 3.50


€ 11.37


This adds approximately 33% to the cost of this item. I note anpost make a nice little moneyspinner out of this as well!!
I assume the product was sent from overseas even though it is an Irish company. Should this company not warn you about these excess charges? Should these charges apply if it is an Irish company?
 
But they are not an Irish company, as their website attests to:-

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I note anpost make a nice little moneyspinner out of this as well!!
An Post have to collect the tax and pay it to Customs. They have to have systems in place to do this and it costs money.

The likes of DHL, DPD, etc. charge a lot more (€10+) for this service.
 
Nothing to do with 'price match', but rather more to do with Brexit and UK not being in the EU.

Have I misunderstood Brexit?!

I'm saying that despite the customs charge, they will hopefully refund it at a minimum, so the OP wont lose out.
 
Strange - they say "Orders are shipped from our distribution centre based in France" so there shouldn't be any customs arising. Is there anything on the documentation to say where the package came from?
 
"Orders may be sent from our distribution centre in the UK or France. Certain shipments may incur local customs duties and taxes that will be made payable to your local postal provider."

Source: https://www.buy-spares.ie/terms-conditions/help.pl

So it appears that even though buy-spares.ie has an Irish domain name, and an Irish VAT number, one risks being liable for VAT, and an administration charge as the goods enter Ireland.
 
"Orders may be sent from our distribution centre in the UK or France. Certain shipments may incur local customs duties and taxes that will be made payable to your local postal provider."

Source: https://www.buy-spares.ie/terms-conditions/help.pl

So it appears that even though buy-spares.ie has an Irish domain name, and an Irish VAT number, one risks being liable for VAT, and an administration charge as the goods enter Ireland.
That contradicts what they say elsewhere on the website about shipping from France. You could make a legitimate case to them that you shouldn't be out of pocket for customs as a result.
 
They also run espares.ie whose Ts and Cs say:

If your delivery address is outside of Ireland or the UK, you may be required to pay import duties and taxes when your eSpares order reaches your country. These and any additional charges for customs clearance are your responsibility.
They charge VAT but I still got whacked with a charge from An Post. I've complained and instructed An Post to send it back and am seeking a full refund.
 
I got orders from a Dutch company and a German company recently and they had both marked them as being "cross border" so I got charged customs. When I contacted them they refunded me the costs and explained they thought Ireland was now outside EU because of Brexit!!
 
I have used espares.ie recently and had checked their delivery terms very careful as I was aware they are a UK company. The following clearly details that they include Irish vat on their prices. My delivery arrived with no additional customs charge.

I would also note that Buy-spares.ie also details delivery information for orders to Ireland at this link and clearly states they will be delivered from France.

Hard to know what has happened here, but suspect its a mistake on the company's part, what have they said to you?
 
I got orders from a Dutch company and a German company recently and they had both marked them as being "cross border" so I got charged customs. When I contacted them they refunded me the costs and explained they thought Ireland was now outside EU because of Brexit!!
I can understand the person on the street not knowing if Ireland was in the EU but you'd think a company sending goods to another country would check each country.
 
Actually got another 2 items this afternoon, both from Sweden, shipping label says destination GB :oops:
 
I thought it was an error as they have Irish registration, but in their terms and conditions they say tax is due even though they also say vat in included.

Seriously poor form

Orders may be sent from our distribution centre in the UK or France. Certain shipments may incur local customs duties and taxes that will be made payable to your local postal provider. Duties and taxes will vary depending on the delivery destination and the value of your order; unfortunately because these are paid locally we cannot give you a breakdown of possible charges in advance of your order being placed. If you have provided us with a valid email address or phone number you will contacted by your local postal provider to make payment. These duties and taxes are non-refundable. If you choose not to pay these duties and taxes then your order will be held for 3 days before being sent back to us.


Sort of attitude of " if you don't like it, tough"
 
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At least it is spelled out loud and clear - if you don't like it, shop elsewhere
 
I emailed buy spares customer service to query these charges ….. email reply just received….

Good Morning,

Thank you for your enquiry.

We are aware, that in a small number of cases the local authorities (AN Post) have been contacting customers and requesting that additional VAT be paid locally.

- This is different to customs duties and taxes which are only applicable on orders over €150.
- We are aware that VAT has already been paid when you processed your order online.

We are currently working with “Royal Mail” and “AN Post to resolve the situation and give you clarity on VAT charges.

Please advise of the VAT charge and proof of payment so we can refund you this amount.

We have made a note of your details and we look into this further. We ask that you allow 7 days for us to investigate this further and we will update you by text, email or phone.

We try our very best to provide value for money with our service and are sorry that this hasn’t been the case this time.

————
Customer Service Team


Hopefully they will refund some if not all of the charges
 
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Half the population of the UK thinks Ireland is part of the UK
True only last week I was on a call with some americans based in Texas and one goes........I hope you guys in Dublin are ok but your prime minister Boris Johnson is a badass
 
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