international custom fees for online orders
As others have stated, it is entirely the responsibility of the buyer to ensure that relevent import VAT, custom duties and excise duties are paid – unless you specifically state as part of the transaction that you will pay the duties+VAT in advance (it is possible for sellers to be pre-registered for such purposes). It is even the buyer’s responsibility to ensure that the declared value (cost to the importer+shipping) that you put on the item is correct, as an incorrect declaration can get the importer fined or even prosecuted – themel’s link is one I was going to post. Note, the UK customs site doesn’t work that well with browsers other than internet explorer. The customs duty threshold for the value of the shipment from outside the EU to the UK (i.e. from the US) has recently gone up, from £18 to £105, as of 1st december 2008, i.e. a shipment including delivery priced under £105 will not attract duty.
