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DHL customs duty add-on charges

krogerfoot
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Dan S Dan S
If you fill out the watch worksheet yourself there is no uncertainty in the customs duty you pay. You describe the watch accurately and put values on the different components, and the harmonized tariff schedule is used to calculate the duty. It's not a crap shoot, it just seems that way if you don't understand how it works.

You may have had good luck with DHL getting through customs based on your small sample, but based on my small sample, I have had better experiences with FedEx.
Do you fill out the worksheet and provide it to the seller? If so, I need to start doing that with watches outgoing from Japan. The post office here charges extra for acting as the export agent but that’s probably been unnecessary all along.
 
bananapeanut
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Digressing slightly, if you insure the watch for X amount, will duty charges be based on that amount or on the declared value of the watch on the customs form ?
Where I'm getting at is that carriers are known to have limitations when it comes to how much you can insure a watch, so do you align the value of the watch on the customs form with the insured value? Because here is the problem: let's say the watch is worth $10,000 and you can only insure it for up to $2,000. It would (1) be unfair to pay the "processing fees" you mentioned as a percentage of the $10,000 when they can't even insure the watch for the full amount in case of loss or theft. And (2), such a discrepancy between declared value and insurance value would certainly encourage theft in the first place, which is what I would be most afraid of.
Edited:
 
STANDY
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Had a watch come by post that had 10% duty which was about $400 duty and to do the duty paperwork myself was a $90 fee for customs lodgement

Similar by DHL is $42 to do duty paperwork.

So DHL and FedEx is actually cheaper in most circumstances.


(At work a lot of people importing yachts it’s a choice of pay a broker or do the paperwork yourself which is really the same amount of money in stuffing around sending emails and lodging paperwork to various agencies….The ones that do it themselves never want to do the stuffing around to save the money)
 
STANDY
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bananapeanut bananapeanut
Digressing slightly, if you insure the watch for X amount, will duty charges be based on that amount or on the declared value of the watch on the customs form ?
Where I'm getting at is that carriers are known to have limitations when it comes to how much you can insure a watch, so do you align the value of the watch on the customs form with the insured value? Because here is the problem: let's say the watch is worth $10,000 and you can only insure it for up to $2,000. It would (1) be unfair to pay the "processing fees" you mentioned as a percentage of the $10,000 when they can't even insure the watch for the full amount in case of loss or theft. And (2), such a discrepancy between declared value and insurance value would certainly encourage theft in the first place, which is what I would be most afraid of.

Duty is worked out on the price of the item and the price of the shipping…added together. If anything to do with insurance is in the shipping fee it is calculated as well. Third party insurance is not included…
 
STANDY
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Hey I paid a $5 fee a few times in the US because I was in a hotel. To me that’s guaranteed delivery because the desk accepts parcels…how’s that extra…😗
 
akshayluc420
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
I at least want to be asked before I get fυcked
Consent is certainly necessary! I read this in a 'pained voice' in my head, and I just can't stop laughing!
 
Larry S
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Dan S Dan S
I understand all this, and obviously I appreciate the people working for DHL. However, I don't think those extra fees went to them as a gratuity. And even if $50 doesn't mean much to you in the big scheme of things, I suspect that if someone asked you whether you wanted to ship via FedEx or DHL and told you that DHL was $50 more expensive, you'd choose FedEx.
I’d have to assume those fees go to pay Salaries not gratuities. I mostly use Fedex and their folks have been absolutely a joy to deal with. That said, I’ve also had shipments come in from DHL and while having to do the congested drive to the pickup center near the airport (20 minutes) is a bigger pain than my local Fedex center, I’ve found the DHL process and support to be quite excellent.
 
Dan S
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krogerfoot krogerfoot
Do you fill out the worksheet and provide it to the seller? If so, I need to start doing that with watches outgoing from Japan. The post office here charges extra for acting as the export agent but that’s probably been unnecessary all along.

I did provide the worksheet to the shipper in this case, but DHL still asked me to fill it out again. I have never had shipping go smoothly from Japan with DHL. But as Larry says, they are nice on the phone.
 
JwRosenthal
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akshayluc420 akshayluc420
Consent is certainly necessary! I read this in a 'pained voice' in my head, and I just can't stop laughing!
The “consent” topic (which has become a buzz word) has been one that obviously is long overdue when it comes to human interaction (and if you don’t get it, then you are part of the problem), but abstractly it raises other topics in our world about exploitation and willful abuse of employees, customers etc- basically any interaction/transaction.
If expectations and terms of ANY transaction/interaction are not clearly specified and agreed upon by both parties, then it opens up the opportunity for violation- it doesn’t get more simple than that.
 
krogerfoot
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bananapeanut bananapeanut
Digressing slightly, if you insure the watch for X amount, will duty charges be based on that amount or on the declared value of the watch on the customs form ?
Where I'm getting at is that carriers are known to have limitations when it comes to how much you can insure a watch, so do you align the value of the watch on the customs form with the insured value? Because here is the problem: let's say the watch is worth $10,000 and you can only insure it for up to $2,000. It would (1) be unfair to pay the "processing fees" you mentioned as a percentage of the $10,000 when they can't even insure the watch for the full amount in case of loss or theft. And (2), such a discrepancy between declared value and insurance value would certainly encourage theft in the first place, which is what I would be most afraid of.
I’m not sure how sound my logic is here, but I can’t believe the various customs agencies around the world pay any attention to what the senders claim about the value of their packages. They must have their own schedules by which to assess the merchandise that passes through.

Some of my thinking is informed by a friend’s story of going to the UK to play in a band. He arrived at the airport with his bass guitar and a suitcase and replied “nothing” to the immigration officer who asked what he planned to do in Britain. The officer took his bass out of the case, called over another officer and said “Write this down if you would, please—we have a circa 1964 pre-CBS Fender Precision model bass guitar, looks to have a rosewood fingerboard, replacement bridge, and Seymour Duncan active pickups, belonging to an individual who wishes to be admitted into the United Kingdom to do nothing.”
 
Larry S
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bananapeanut bananapeanut
Digressing slightly, if you insure the watch for X amount, will duty charges be based on that amount or on the declared value of the watch on the customs form ?
Where I'm getting at is that carriers are known to have limitations when it comes to how much you can insure a watch, so do you align the value of the watch on the customs form with the insured value? Because here is the problem: let's say the watch is worth $10,000 and you can only insure it for up to $2,000. It would (1) be unfair to pay the "processing fees" you mentioned as a percentage of the $10,000 when they can't even insure the watch for the full amount in case of loss or theft. And (2), such a discrepancy between declared value and insurance value would certainly encourage theft in the first place, which is what I would be most afraid of.
What you do if value exceeds carrier threshold: Insure the shipment through a third party like Parcel Pro or send via a courier. The declared value = Insured value unless you want the transaction to end in tears.
 
Tony C.
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Larry S Larry S
The declared value = Insured value unless you want the transaction to end in tears.

This is not necessarily true. While I have never needed to make a claim, my understanding is that Parcel Pro doesn't care what value customers place (for Customs purposes) on the parcel, and they will cover the insured amount whether or not there is a disparity.

As to the primary issue being discussed, I suspect that companies like DHL made a conscious decision to add dubious fees, rather than pushing the advertised price of shipping even further skyward.

FWIW, while I have lived in Europe for a number of years now, I imported many watches into the U.S., and found FedEx to be far superior to the other courier companies with specific regard to their Customs 'program', and any help needed during the process. Sadly, I believe that their service, at least in Europe, has been degrading for some time, and I should also add that in Portugal they now tack on a €45 charge for their (incoming) Customs processing service.
 
Larry S
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Tony C. Tony C.
This is not necessarily true. While I have never needed to make a claim, my understanding is that Parcel Pro doesn't care what value customers place (for Customs purposes) on the parcel, and they will cover the insured amount whether or not there is a disparity.

As to the primary issue being discussed, I suspect that companies like DHL made a conscious decision to add dubious fees, rather than pushing the advertised price of shipping even further skyward.

FWIW, while I have lived in Europe for a number of years now, I imported many watches into the U.S., and found FedEx to be far superior to the other courier companies with specific regard to their Customs 'program', and any help needed during the process. Sadly, I believe that their service, at least in Europe, has been degrading for some time, and I should also add that in Portugal they now tack on a €45 charge for their (incoming) Customs processing service.
Well, I’d not want to test that.
 
Tony C.
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Larry S Larry S
Well, I’d not want to test that.

Let me try to clarify it for you. A company like Parcel Pro is in no sense obligated to advise their clients on Customs declarations. It is true that they would likely not honor a claim if a parcel were to be seized by Customs for underreporting, and not returned, but the vast majority of claims are almost certainly unrelated to such a scenario.

Like any insurer, PP essentially trusts its clients to place a valuation – within reason – on the contents of a parcel, and such valuations can, for various reasons, be higher than a superficially "correct" Customs value. Let me provide an example: If one were to purchase a Certina DS online for the equivalent of $400, and ship it to a country where Customs would calculate duties, it would obviously be the correct Customs valuation. But what if this hypothetical DS was an Amagnetic version, which would have a significantly higher "true" value? Well, Parcel Pro would accept a higher valuation, and, in a sense, everyone would be doing the correct thing, despite the disparity in stated/claimed values.
Edited:
 
Scarecrow Boat
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I unfortunately cannot find the discussion, but I know @Archer has specifically talked about the declared vs insured values. I'm going to continue to try to find the thread(s) it was discussed in.

**Edit
Archer Archer
Insurance value doesn't have to equal customs value - they are two different things, for exactly this scenario.

Details will be different depending on the countries and what their policies are, but any watch shipped for servicing should have a customs value of zero, and the insurance should be the market value of the watch. Some countries will require the watchmaker to prepare a declaration on the incoming shipment that it is only being imported temporarily, and will be sent back. Some countries will insist you pay the duties and taxes up front, just in case you don't send it back. But when you do, you should be able to claim the money back by providing proof that the watch was indeed shipped back to the owner, so your watchmaker should have been able to claim that back from their government.

When the watch is shipped back to the owner, the insured value is again the market value of the watch, and the customs value is the value added while it was out of the country, so the value of the repairs performed.

I apologize if I am putting this in the wrong context.
Edited:
 
Tony C.
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Scarecrow Boat Scarecrow Boat
I apologize if I am putting this in the wrong context.

No, digging that up was useful, as it is another illustration of why the two values do not necessarily need to match.
 
Archer
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Scarecrow Boat Scarecrow Boat
I unfortunately cannot find the discussion, but I know @Archer has specifically talked about the declared vs insured values. I'm going to continue to try to find the thread(s) it was discussed in.

**Edit


I apologize if I am putting this in the wrong context.

Not only that scenario, but if you buy a watch from someone and then return it for some reason (defective, not as described or whatever) the watch should be fully insured going back, but again the customs value should be zero.
 
Archer
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Regarding the charges that couriers have for clearing customs, you can either use a cheaper courier, choose to use your own customs broker (in my experience that will be far more than $50), or if you want to you can self-clear the shipment. The time and hassle in doing the self-clearing is well worth $50 to me, but it may not be to others.

So there are options...
 
Larry S
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Scarecrow Boat Scarecrow Boat
I unfortunately cannot find the discussion, but I know @Archer has specifically talked about the declared vs insured values. I'm going to continue to try to find the thread(s) it was discussed in.

**Edit


I apologize if I am putting this in the wrong con
Archer Archer
Not only that scenario, but if you buy a watch from someone and then return it for some reason (defective, not as described or whatever) the watch should be fully insured going back, but again the customs value should be zero.
But how does one explain that to an inquisitive customs clerk? Notation on the form?
 
Archer
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Larry S Larry S
But how does one explain that to an inquisitive customs clerk? Notation on the form?

In the case of an item being repaired, it would be classed as "repair and return" on the form.

For an item being returned to the seller, it would say "returned goods"
 
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