Customs duties for imported kilts ?

[RockyR]

Ahhh yes.... the inevitible Customs Fees....

They're even MORE fun when you have a HUGE shipment and you're a business. That's when they REALLy stick it to ya'.

If you ask the kiltmaker to "fib a bit" and put down that the items are gifts and/or that they're "items altered and returned to owner" and declare their value as $0, they usually go through with no fees. WARNING: Some people / companies may feel funny doing this.

[Robin]

Argh!!! customs

Sometimes it seems I'm on their most wanted list

Ah well...it's fun to be a smuggler...learned some tricks by trial and error.

Kilts become skirts, sporrans are bags, kiltpins are just pins, books are manuals...anything but "interesting" names...funny names tend to wake them up.

Most hilarious encounter:

I build Radio Controled big scale tanks...so I sometimes order after market products, like metal tracks, recoil units, smoke generators, photo etched details...and aluminium gun barrels.

Picture what happens when a customs officer sees a package with "gun barrel" on it...

When I finally got it...the carboard tube package was plastered with stickers and forms from over a dozen security agencies

[Sylvain]

C'est 18 %. Lis: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=16108

Plus les taxes applicables, bien sûr.
De toute manière, Hector Russell, en tant qu'importateur, paie les mêmes droits que toi ou moi.

Dans mon cas, j'avais fait venir mon kilt par la poste. C'est moins cher qu'un service de messagerie privé.

[scoutniagara]

And don't forget on top of all that, the brokerage fees. They can be 33% - 50% of the price.

It's a good thing we have NAFTA (Mexico, USA, Canada) that provides duty-free trade between the three countries.

[Tattoo Bradley]

I've only purchased one kilt from Scotland. It arrived within five weeks from the day of order, via Fedex, without any "additional charges." I actually didn't even think about customs until I got on here and saw everyone's tales of woe about them. I guess I just got lucky?

[McClef]

It seems very pot luck.

I ordered the DVD set of The Winds of War from one US supplier and was charged over £10 in customs and checking fees. I ordered the sequel series War and Remembrance from another US supplier and was charged nothing.

It appears to depend upon how the sender declares what the item is and its value...

[Sylvain]

And don't forget on top of all that, the brokerage fees. They can be 33% - 50% of the price.

When I got my kilt from Scotland, I used the postal service, and there were no brokerage fees... Only customs and taxes.

[Joe Gondek]

I've ordered two kilts from Scotland
I had them both shipped Royal Air mail
shipping time was about 3-4 days and NO CUSTOMS Charges of any kind.
I guess that Fed-X is a customs agent and the U.S. Post Office Isn't.
Go figure?

[The Wizard of BC]

I deal with this issue every day.

As for shipments between the US and Canada here is the answer to your question.

About the NAFTA Certificate of Origin
The NAFTA Certificate of Origin is used by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, including Puerto Rico, to determine if goods imported into their countries receive reduced or eliminated duty as specified by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

For those forms that are completed online, this application is designed for goods whose origin is the U.S. or Puerto Rico only.

The NAFTA Certificate of Origin must be attached to an Invoice if the shipment is valued at greater than:
• $1,000 USD and is being sent to a Mexican destination from Canada or the U.S.
• $1,600 (Canadian dollars) and is being sent to a Canadian destination from Mexico or the U.S.
• $2,500 USD and is being sent to a U.S. destination from Canada or Mexico.


Shipments valued at less than the above amounts do not require a NAFTA Certificate of Origin. Instead, the customer should type the following statement on the shipment’s invoice:

"I hereby certify that the good covered by this shipment qualifies as an originating good for purposes of preferential tariff treatment under the NAFTA."

For purposes of obtaining preferential tariff treatment, this document must be completed legibly and in full by the exporter and be in the possession of the importer at the time the declaration is made. This document may also be completed voluntarily by the producer for use by the exporter. Please print or type.


As for shipments between North America and Europe including the UK - Using FedEx or UPS is possibly faster than the mail service but these companies have recieved the ability to act as their own import brokers and so make money on charging the maximum dutys and taxes.
I have found that the mail service is much cheaper in the long run.

I now include on all my shipping documentation the country of origin and fabric content information. This seems to suffice in most cases.

I do not advocate 'fudging' documentation(I include this legal statement for any and all customs agents which may be lurking here) although I have been known to declare the value of my shipments under the $200.00 personal exemption limit.