Nabbed by Customs in Ireland
 

Hi,

Was waiting on a parcel from the USA, bits for my bike, an IMS 6.6 gallon tank and other vital bits for my KLR...........Well instead ov receiving my box full ov goodies:D......................I got a bill ov €140 from Irish customs:(

Then because I only ride a bike and my missus was gone for the day in the car, I collected it from the post office in my dads tractor:eek3: got some funny looks...............but I will have the last laugh when im riding my bike in far off lands:palm:

So it's you who's buying the paint that the queen thinks the world smells of.
Are tractors new to Ireland?
I've been robbed myself bringing bargains in from the land of the free, but didn't have the satisfaction of turning up on a tractor.
Happy travels.

king and queen
 

Not here since 1922. Tractors no but where I drove mine I got a few looks from the local biddies:nono:

Must have been CGI then that I was watching over the summer when QE2 visited the Republic, still, everyone seemed to enjoy it. Ride safe.

doh, I thought you were saying something about the queen still receiving Irish tax payers money, thats why I got all defensive............... yeh and I think it was great that she visited.............. peace and love baby, peace and love:cool4:

I know the feeling - it seems to depend on the day of the week, which courier, if it's raining and other factors that make no sense that define if they sting for a duty and/or vat fee. It's a pain!

At least you had a backup plan, if the tank does'nt fit, you could always head round the world on the tractor! it's been done!

When are you heading off? I'm hoping to be rolling in January...

Sorry:blushing:, it was just a dig at taxes in general and the gob smacking cost of bringing stuff in from the states in particular.....

It is not just Ireland, I got stung here in the UK when I bought the DVD of Robert Fulton's RTW trip Twice upon a caravan, it cost me a total of £30 with post and the import tax which was nearly as much as the bloody thing in the first place. :thumbdown:

Duty bound
 

Hi,

Mervifwdc, im planning to be leaving Ireland in November, flying into Bogota in Colombia and spend three months riding south flying back out of Rio de janerio, my trip depends on me freeing up assets, to date that is not going that well:(
This hopefully is only a temporary setback, but it is pushing my departure date, further away......

oothef Sorry, it was just a dig at taxes in general and the gob smacking cost of bringing stuff in from the states in particular.....

No worries man, were all friends here:thumbup1:

Don't laugh but I got a £15 bill from custom which after complaining reduced to £14 and they sent me a refund cheque fo £1. And this was when I took out the 'gold HU member' option, Wordpress put the value of the 'mug' I requested at something like $75, this was a few years ago and the mug is still in its unopened box that arrived from the States,then sent to customs in Coventry and will never be opened as any drink put in it will 'taste sour'.
All customs officers are 'Born again MF's'

when i got my long range tank and bash plate from the states the combined postage and customs charges were more than the damn purchase price :mad:

I think the inconsistencies in charges come from the customs form on the parcel being filled out differently by the seller. If you're really lucky they will mark it as a gift and you wont have to pay anything ;)

Inexplicable variation in import duties may be due to the application of the wrong tax rates.
Import duties for goods purchased outside the EU and imported are defined by TARIC codes.

TARIC Consultation

I'm expecting a bill for import duty on an exhaust pipe. When it arrives I'll be checking that they have applied the correct rate - which is a surprisingly modest 3% rate! (VAT and handling charge also applies though)

For anyone who feels he\she was overcharged it might be worth checking the above link. Be warned it does involve a bit of trawling to find the category that applies.