Page 1 of Customs question

So I ordered Life On Mars series one and two from Play UK for delivery to Austria. I have just received the first delivery and had to pay 12EUR (abour 8quid) customs charges (the dvd itself was only 28EUR). I was under the impression that I shouldn`t have to pay but until I can contact the Customs office on Monday I don`t know. Anyone got any ideas in the mean-time?
cheers
Riggs

There are many factors here.
But, basically, Austria is part of the EC.
So provided the DVD`s have had all EC taxes paid on them by Play UK already (classed as `free circulation`), or they are of EC manufacture in the first place, then you should not have to pay any customs taxes.
However, the fact you order them from Play UK may not mean they came from the UK, or UK taxes have been paid on them.
If the discs went straight to Austria from a `third country` ( Japan/USA/China), then you will have to pay taxes on them, as they will be classed as a `first time` import into the EC.
There is also the possibilty that Play UK have a bonded warehouse, where they don`t pay taxes on import, and the tax liability is transferred to you on sale.
This helps their cashflow.
For example, they can then sell DVD`s to non-EC countries without ever paying duty/VAT.
Clear? ;)

This item was edited on Friday, 7th December 2007, 16:21

Just a guess, but might it be because this was shipped from Guernsey/Jersey and therefore no EU VAT has been paid. The Channel Islands enjoy a special fiscal relationship with mainland UK, but does the rest of the EU consider them to be non-EU for tax and revenue purposes?

The channel islands are funny, I wasn`t aware Play UK work out of there.
Classed as part of the customs territory of the EC, but not part of the Single European market for VAT purposes.
Without seeing the actual Austrian customs tariff, I wouldn`t be able to say how they treat them with 100% certainty.

This item was edited on Friday, 7th December 2007, 16:52

Thanks for the replies guys. Basically I am a little confused as there is nothing on their website and I`ve never been `caught` before. I thought as they were shipping from Jersey I was okay. Am I right in thinking in any case under 18 quid and I`m okay? The only problem is that play have started charging in euros which means the price is slightly inflated, so the set was only 17.99 but when converted comes out at slightly more.

I`m going to give them a call on Monday anyway but as they all speak German I may not get very far LOL.

As an aside I`ve checked on the web and imports are duty free when within the EU.

From Plays website:-

Quote:
If your delivery address is outside of Jersey, you may be subject to import duties and taxes, which are levied once a shipment reaches your country. Any such additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by you. You should note that customs policies vary widely from country to country; Play.com advises each customer to contact their local customs office for further information.

Thanks Badboybez, but it still doesn`t explain why I got stung. As far as I know Jersey is considered part of the EU for shipments, and therefore I shouldn`t have to pay. If it`s not considered part of the EU then surely UK customers will end up paying as well.

Play I believe have an agreement with the respective Customs/postal organisations in Channel Islands and UK to prepay VAT at the time of purchase for their UK customers.

It may not be an agreement that extends to other EC countries, however.

Play do not have any reciprocal arrangement with French Customs so anything over €22 could be hit for taxes when entering France.

I suspect that the same applies for Austria and most other EU countries.