I have been sent a package from the states, which includes some climbing gear among other things, and the lady at customs is telling me that I must pay taxes in order to receive my package. I speak Mandarin and understood what the lady said, and she told me that everyone must pay taxes.
I don't believe I should be paying taxes on personal items. Has anyone else had to deal with this? How can I get around it? Is there something I am missing about Kunming/Chinese law?
Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated.
yup,,I had to pay tax on some household items I sent when I moved from HK to the mainland, I told them as it was post 97 they shouldnt charge import tax,,so they didn't but good luck getting out of tax on stuff sent from the US,, its standard for the post office to ask for import duty on household items unless you get your company to make the import for you.
The best thing you can do is say its old cheap stuff that is low low low in value.
Not just KMG/China law. It would be the same in Europe.
Unless it is a gift, and value less than about 500 rmb, you pay tax. But the gift declaration has to be made by the sender. In the UK they may even ask for proof of birthday etc. as a gift can only be for Xmas/festivals/Bday. But the UK has been very anal about tax since they merged HM Customs and the Inland Revenue.
It is only considered personal if you bring it into China in your suitcase, and even then they may ask for tax on new computers etc. Or if you have a valid reason for shipping household effects, usually using a relocation company. Post does not count.
The other thing to consider is to get suppliers to charge you the export (tax/VAT free) price. That way you are not paying tax twice.
@nattyg: If the stuff is NEW with tags - you'll get tagged for taxes. For future reference - remove any tags, scuff it up a little, and make sure the sender notes the stuff is USED and or OLD and for personal use only.
My folks sent over my old laptop - no taxes at the PO (yay).
BTW this only works for one-sy two-sy volumes - if you receive something akin to a retail store in volume - (like a case of wine glasses) - you should expect to get pinched.
I got seriously nailed by customs first time I moved household to China...(¥5万) even though everything was ancient...I just had too many desktop and laptop computers.
Hey, i bought stuff online and Marks and Spencer sent them from the UK. It was heavy with clothes, body wash, hand cream etc etc....... No tax! nothing!!! All of the items had labels on them... No prob though. A friend did some online shopping and stuff were sent from UK too. Didn' pay any tax too...
Ok...as usual, looks like the tax is randomly enforced. Maybe they just hate americans...
They don't hate Americans, they just hate nattyg
Customs does random spot checks. Nattyg just had bad luck and happened to be the box that they checked. In general customs loves to check cardboard boxes, especially if it does not have store logo's on it as those have the highest chances of holding contraband.
How much does the post office charge for import taxes?
The PO doesn't charge anything.
But Customs do. It depends on the item and its tax rate, there is also a fee handling charge (flat rate) on top.
