Import taxes for various items

[ZMC888]

A few I know of:

Luxury cars 100%
Motorcycles 30% (But likely nearer 70% in the end, and new bikes only)
Bicycles and bicycle parts 20%
Most things 10%

Can I ask a few questions or try to pool some more knowledge on this? Are paying import taxes on things a lottery? I've had maybe 25 cartons delivered, 10 commercial and 15 from friends and family. However I've only ever paid import tax on a bicycle frame that was sent in commercially at 20% tax. This came in via EMS earlier this month. Now I've got a friend being hit for tax on a games console this time coming in via DHL. Should tax be paid on everything new? Are they just pulling random cartons that look commercial and letting the rest slide? Is this going to be a continuing more regular problem?

[euphonius]

There's definitely some kind of new systematization going on. I don't order much stuff from overseas precisely because of the unpredictable nature of the import duties I might face. Last couple of imports, the DHL or Fedex guy shows up with a customs invoice and a little point of sale wireless device that allows him to take my "duty" on the spot and print out a receipt.

This strikes me as truly diabolical, especially in view of the seemingly unchecked ability of party brass to raid the public weal at will and without consequence.

[ChinaV]

After my daughter was born my family sent some items that were hand knitted. 2 hats, a blanket, 2 booties, 2 mittens. Maybe a total of $10.00 USD worth of yarn was used as material, it's rather impossible to calculate the labor of love that goes into hand knitting. The items were declared and the value was claimed as $25.00. Customs decided they liked these things and wanted them for their own child. They assessed a fee of 35% on top of the "perceived value" of $185.00 USD. They must have been hoping we would be willing to forfeit the items. On top of this, they always charge 15-35% tax on the freight charges (depends on mood). So if it cost $25 at FedEx to ship something to China, they assess a random 15-35% tax. So I was looking at $76.00 USD in bullshit charges and lost my shit. After 3 weeks of arguing, I finally relented and paid.

A month or so later my customer sent a piece of test equipment over with a value of roughly $3500. No tax or duty charged at all.

There is no system, it's simply a lottery.

I no longer have anything shipped to China. Instead, I ship it to the country next door called Hong Kong. You know... the one that has the rule of law established by the British. I then carry the items as personal effects along with the non melamine tainted baby formula I buy for 25% less than in China.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[ZMC888]

There's definitely some kind of new systematization going on. I don't order much stuff from overseas precisely because of the unpredictable nature of the import duties I might face. Last couple of imports, the DHL or Fedex guy shows up with a customs invoice and a little point of sale wireless device that allows him to take my "duty" on the spot and print out a receipt.

This strikes me as truly diabolical, especially in view of the seemingly unchecked ability of party brass to raid the public weal at will and without consequence.

Our system is different we get given a note to collect our items from a local customs office. In my case 'local' was 100kms each way ride to the provincial capital and queue with people who can't queue for hours. Massively inconvenient.

That a country that makes all its money from exporting doesn't allow imports without some huge hike. Seems petty and greedy to me. They want their cake and eat it, and get away with it telling other countries that they are 'slowly liberalizing' their system, but I know there will be a 'policy change' long before there is a level playing field.

There is no system, it's simply a lottery.

As I suspected!

[Lao Jia Hou]

After 3 weeks of arguing, I finally relented and paid. ... There is no system, it's simply a lottery.

I no longer have anything shipped to China. Instead, I ship it to the country next door ...

I feel your pain.

You're lucky that Customs didn't assess the clothing as "used" (a forbidden item) and just seize it. Happened to me with a jacket I bought off eBay from a private vendor. It was a new jacket, but without tags. Nightmare.

Many years ago, while living back home in Canada, I bought some computer memory online from a shop in the USA. The memory chip was about $20. Duties & taxes were about $5, if I remember correctly, but the UPS charges were $18 for "international shipping" (going from Seattle to Vancouver), and a whopping flat-rate minimum of $49 for "brokerage fees." Learned my lesson and rented a postal box in Blaine, WA (on the border, and only a 30 minute drive from my house).

Last time I was in HK, I inquired about getting a shipping address at something like a Mailbox Etc. but was told there are no longer any such services. I'd love to learn of some way to get a shipping address in HK.

[TB-Racing]

You're lucky that Customs didn't assess the clothing as "used" (a forbidden item) and just seize it. Happened to me with a jacket I bought off eBay from a private vendor. It was a new jacket, but without tags.

Good Morning from Sanya Bay, great weather down here, just to let you know.....

Had just the opposite with clothing as a mate is relocating from Germany to China and asked him to stick some new bike riding gear and Levis Jeans into his shipping container and the movers told him to remove all tags and plastic wrappers as new clothing will be heavily taxed and usually is banned from import.

On my behalf he ask the moving company about motorbike tyres and all alarm bells were ringing as tyres are banned from private import. Oh well, off to HK again as usual.....

I'd love to learn of some way to get a shipping address in HK.

Shipping quite a bit of gear to a mate based in HK and as I am frequently down there just packing the gear into a regular suitcase / nylon bag and carry across the border to Shenzhen or airport check-in luggage without problems or hassles. Have someone living in HK set up a shipping address or PO box in HK might work.

SEASONS GREETINGS

[ChinaV]

Last time I was in HK, I inquired about getting a shipping address at something like a Mailbox Etc. but was told there are no longer any such services. I'd love to learn of some way to get a shipping address in HK.

I've had good luck with a couple of MCM members that live in Hong Kong, but I felt a bit awkward asking more than a few times. I finally struck up a deal with my corporate accountant and he lets me drop to his office as a favour.

You can get a PO box in HK, but you need a HK ID card. I'll do some asking to see if anyone local knows how to get a shipping address there.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[euphonius]

Maybe I'm missing something, but if I'm in Shanghai or Beijing, how does having a Hong Kong PO Box or shipping address help? Hong Kong is also external to mainland customs, so presumably anything you ship from Hong Kong is subject to the same import banditry, no?

thanks

[TB-Racing]

Maybe I'm missing something, but if I'm in Shanghai or Beijing, how does having a Hong Kong PO Box or shipping address help?

....of course a Hong Kong po-box only helps if frequent trips to HK are made to pick gear, parts, magazines, books, merchandise, booze, etc. up....

[Graham]

You're lucky that Customs didn't assess the clothing as "used" (a forbidden item) and just seize it. Happened to me with a jacket I bought off eBay from a private vendor. It was a new jacket, but without tags. .

.
Yeah, I can just see people stripping out of their clothes at Beijing airport,,,,,,,,,

Gra.