Customs charges

**Mikilt** · 17th February 15, 06:50 AM

For those of you who have been charged duties on goods shipped to the US, how did your Customs bill come? Was it mailed or emailed?

I have a parcel coming from Canada (Hi Freedom Kilts!). The US postal tracking has been going back and forth between "Inbound to Customs" and "Processed by ISC" since Thursday. I keep checking on it and it keeps flipping back between those two statuses.

The US Postal Service suffered a nationwide network outage last week but supposedly only their retail operations were impacted, not tracking and delivery. Yesterday, 2/16 was a bank/postal holiday, so no updates, but it seems that my package ought to be moving by now. But again, according to tracking, it's either inbound to Customs or Processed by ISC.

Should I be expecting a bill before I expect my parcel?

**tundramanq** · 17th February 15, 07:01 AM

There were no customs duties on my leather R-kilt a couple years ago? Is a new game afoot?

**Mikilt** · 17th February 15, 07:03 AM

Originally Posted by tundramanq

There were no customs duties on my leather R-kilt a couple years ago? Is a new game afoot?

I've never been charged anything either, it's the delay that is making me think it's hung up in customs.

**auld argonian** · 17th February 15, 07:26 AM

Hey….whatever happened to NAFTA?

Best,

AA

**sailortats** · 17th February 15, 07:40 AM

When I ordered my last kilt from Canada it sat in customs somewhere for all of 2 weeks before being delivered. All I kept seeing on the tracking was that it had arrived at Customs. It should get to you eventually and there is no charge from the Customs office.

**Norbo** · 17th February 15, 08:03 AM

when ordering out of your country you need to ask the sender to put a $15 value on the box and it will not be stoped or held back or enen looked at . I just had a massive box with 6 cranks come in from the us value on box £15 and it came to my dour . last week I had a small parcel with a bracket in no bigger then your hand $30 value on the box and I got $12 tax and a standard $20 handling fee. They absolutely must put a value below your country's customs charge what ever that is .

I sent some kilts to the US recently and I put a $5 value on box boxes to be on the safe side .

**tundramanq** · 17th February 15, 08:15 AM

Norbo, One point If it gets lost or damaged, the insurance may only reimburse you for the declared value.

**Mikilt** · 17th February 15, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by Norbo

when ordering out of your country you need to ask the sender to put a $15 value on the box and it will not be stoped or held back or enen looked at . I just had a massive box with 6 cranks come in from the us value on box £15 and it came to my dour . last week I had a small parcel with a bracket in no bigger then your hand $30 value on the box and I got $12 tax and a standard $20 handling fee. They absolutely must put a value below your country's customs charge what ever that is .

I sent some kilts to the US recently and I put a $5 value on box boxes to be on the safe side .

I am more of a by-the-book kind of fellow. Honest dealing is one of my core criteria for choosing with whom I will do business. If I get charged, so be it.

**sailortats** · 17th February 15, 08:39 AM

Mikilt; do not worry, you will not be charged. I have ordered 2 kilts and some other articles from Canada over the years and have never been charged. All items entering the country via mail end up in the hands of the Customs Dept who seem to delight in holding onto them for awhille. NAFTA is alive and well it would seem.

**artificer** · 17th February 15, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by Norbo

when ordering out of your country you need to ask the sender to put a $15 value on the box and it will not be stoped or held back or enen looked at . I just had a massive box with 6 cranks come in from the us value on box £15 and it came to my dour . last week I had a small parcel with a bracket in no bigger then your hand $30 value on the box and I got $12 tax and a standard $20 handling fee. They absolutely must put a value below your country's customs charge what ever that is .

I sent some kilts to the US recently and I put a $5 value on box boxes to be on the safe side .

It's one thing to do that as an individual, but I think you'll find most businesses reluctant to misstate the value of a package, both, as @tundramanq pointed out, because the insurance may not cover losses above the declared value,
but also because it is massively illegal.

People ask about it quite casually, but what they need to realize is that they are asking me to FALSIFY government documents.
This is a Federal crime in the US (and I'm willing to bet in most other countries as well).
When you sign off on Customs forms you are doing so right below the statement "by signing this I certify that all of the information above is accurate etc, etc, etc".

A business could get hit with massive fine, lose import/export licenses, and more.

Duties/taxes/VAT are part of the cost of buying internationally and should be planned for accordingly.

I've had packets zip through without any duty applied, but I always try to advise people that they, in all likelihood, WILL get the VAT/duty/Provincial Sales Tax bill.

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