Ali Express and Customs

[tutor4u]

Ordered items on AliExpress, in the past they have been sent to local post office.

NOW there appears to be a NEW game, 1st you go to ARAS KARGO in Lefkosia and pay them 10tl for a piece of paper per item.

THEN to to customs in Lefkosia and go to 4 different departments , the last being, you've guessed it! CASH OFFICE and pay import duty, total payed was 98TL or approx 30% tax in total.

[iv_cyprus]

When you order multiple items with higher value, this is usually the case. If you had ordered a small item in the range up to 60-80 tl, it would have been delivered to the local post office without the need of paying any extra fees.

[tutor4u]

We picked some post from our local post office and were informed that now ALL parcels are subject to duty. For example ,
Order ID: 8126440417704471 View Detail

Order time: 04:07 Feb. 22 2021

Store name: Anpro Chiang Rai Lamp Store

View Store | Contact Seller

Order amount:

￡ 5.90 + 10TL to ARAS KARGO and import duty of 26TL

[iv_cyprus]

That's strange as last time i ordered 3 weeks ago, the fee was already applied with the order for my item. I am still waiting for it. It's currently in Turkey so soon I will know what the case it. Hopefully won't have to go the same way in order to collect it :/

[benjaminbutton]

Could you let me know , when is a package, not a package. Would a small padded brown envelope be a package? BTW, the envelope/package will be of no intrinsic value at all.

[tutor4u]

small padded brown envelope be a package = yes

[benjaminbutton]

How do I pay duty on something that is worth nothing at all.

[tutor4u]

How do I pay duty on something that is worth nothing at all.

Good Luck with that one

[gungadin-cy]

This appears to be the new norm and once again proves that they really don't want you to come and live here or take a holiday here. Also re the south., almost all post is being subject to customs charges and VAT due to the UK BREXIT decision. However, if you order stuff from any EU country to go to an address in the RoC then you won't be charged.
The TRNC and to a lesser extent the RoC is beginning to look a bit like Spain in that UK citizens are getting out whilst they can. Been here too long for that but I am damned if I will put any more into the coffers of what is beginning to resemble a pirate state. I will buy what I need to survive and boycott anything that puts money into the economy here.
The TRNC produces nothing of note and most items are imported. That in turn means that the country survives on the efforts of others, Turkey included which is a country that has shown amazing tolerance to what goes on here.
One item that is produced in the TRNC is a product called Sertex which is used to kill parasites, sadly that appears to have lost its effectiveness as well!

[iv_cyprus]

Sertex still works for me Maybe cause the spray I bought is from last year. Very effective to be honest. Prefer it to RAID and other imported ones lol

[Mowgli597]

Again an effect of that word which dare not speak its name but begins with B and ends with rexit.

We now order items from Amazon Germany for delivery to Ireland. The customs costs and export duties on anything from the U.K. are now making it cheaper to order from any other EU country.

[TAC]

please try harder ordering from AliExpress is in China not Europe

I ordered 2 pool lights cost was ￡ 81.30 which included the vat tax of £13.55 so maybe better to pay the tax at source

[Chriswright03]

Copied from an article asking is Ali Express Legit and Trustworthy by 'Make Use of'.

EU and UK Automatic Taxation; USA Up to $800

In the past, sellers have tended to declare goods as a generic “gift” with a low item value, which meant the package was exempt from further taxes. The taxman has now caught onto this loophole, it would seem, at least in Europe.

From July 2021, shoppers from EU countries will find that orders under €150 will automatically have VAT added on by AliExpress at the checkout. This cost is not reflected on the sales page, which is already the case for UK customers since January 2021. The tax is automatically added once you click the checkout button, so factor in an additional 20% when looking at the product page.

Packages over €150/£135 value will not have VAT added automatically; this will be handled by the shipping company instead, and you'll also be liable for the additional handling charge, as well as possibly import duty.

For orders to the USA, you're in the clear as long as your order value doesn't exceed $800. Beyond that, you'll be liable for 25% import tax.