Duty Tax

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I've never had to pay any duty, but be sure to specify that they DO NOT send it either DHL or FedEx. Or, be sure to specify that they will be responsible for any duty at their expense.

I think it's a little unreasonable to expect the company you are buying from to be responsible for paying any duties or customs fees for your importing their product into your country. You are the one purchasing the item, and it is your country of residence that has any applicable duties that may be charged. There is a reason why the shipper bills the recipient of the package, not the sender.

You are the one buying the item, so you should expect to have to pay any applicable costs in getting that item to you.

As you can imagine I import things all the time from the UK to the US, largely for the Scottish Tartans Museum, but for myself personally, as well. Never have I expected the company or person I have been buying from to cover my own customs fees. That's the cost I take on when I choose to buy from another country.

[thescot]

I think it's a little unreasonable to expect the company you are buying from to be responsible for paying any duties or customs fees for your importing their product into your country. You are the one purchasing the item, and it is your country of residence that has any applicable duties that may be charged. . . .

Matt is correct as far as it goes. But my point is that duty is not necessarily required, and, therefore, if the shipper insists on shipping via one of the routes which will almost certainly cost unnecessarily high additional charges, fine as long as he pays the charges.

If he wants my business, I'll have more than a little say in what I'll pay. Insistence upon DHL or FedEx is arbitrary and, almost certainly, a matter of convenience for which I am not willing to pay a premium. Royal mail works fine and costs nothing extra. At least, that seems to be the experience of more than a few here. I like nothing.

[Wompet]

If, on a seemingly regular basis, the local Post Masters (agents of the federal government) do not see fit to collect duty fees...

Small note of correction: The U.S. Postal Service does not collect duty. U.S. Customs collects duty after determining the correct tariff and rate for the item in question.
All shipments coming into the U.S. go through a screening process. Shipments in the mail make entry at one of the international mail facilities, where they are reviewed by U.S. Customs officers for potential duty, narcotics, currency, disease agents, midget smuggling, and other contraband. If it's determined that duty should be collected, it's Customs that holds the package and sends you the notice. You may have to pay, and you may not - general experience here is that you won't.
With commercial carriers, all of the shipments are still reviewed, but they may pre-emptively charge you duty - just in case. So Customs may decide that you don't have to pay, but the carrier says you do. And the carriers have been known to use the incorrect tariffs (intentionally or not) to collect a higher rate of duty.

Now, to go back to the original question:

Anyone give me an idea of what I am facing for a duty tax for a kilt coming into the US?

I've ordered two kilts from Lochcarron, two more from eBay UK, and even yardage from Marton Mills, and I have never been charged duty. All of these were shipped Royal Mail.

The closest tariff I can find is 6104.19.5000, "Women's ... skirts ... of wool or fine animal hair" (there isn't a tariff for kilts, so this is the next closest garment) - duty is 13.6%, if collected.

But:

... also request that they list it on the customs label as "Ethnic Clothing" which is supposed to go through without (much if any) duty.

These items are supposed to be duty free (I'm not finding the exact tariff at the moment ).

[tyger]

These items are supposed to be duty free (I'm not finding the exact tariff at the moment ).

Thank you very much Wompet. I am interested in what you find in the way of an exact tarrif, when you finally locate it.

I take it that kilts, kilt hose, kilt jackets, et cetera are all ethnic garments and, as such, are duty free. Please correct me if I am mistaken.

[Chas]

There is another consideration if goods are shipped by Royal Mail from the UK.

The shipment is graded, by weight and value. Over a certain weight (I think 2 kg) it is no longer a letter and is classed as a package. The same goes for value. £37 or greater means it is a package. There would also be a customs declaration certificate as to contents and value. So if the shipper wants to insure the kilt for £400, he can't declare it as £36.99.

The postal clerk has the final say. If they say it is worth more than £37, they can charge the higher tariff or the shipper can choose to not ship. Some manufacturers might not agree to either lie about the value of the contents or ship them uninsured.

Regards

Chas

[WClarkB]

I think it's a little unreasonable to expect the company you are buying from to be responsible for paying any duties or customs fees for your importing their product into your country. You are the one purchasing the item, and it is your country of residence that has any applicable duties that may be charged. There is a reason why the shipper bills the recipient of the package, not the sender.

You are the one buying the item, so you should expect to have to pay any applicable costs in getting that item to you.

As you can imagine I import things all the time from the UK to the US, largely for the Scottish Tartans Museum, but for myself personally, as well. Never have I expected the company or person I have been buying from to cover my own customs fees. That's the cost I take on when I choose to buy from another country.

I agree that the customs duty is ours to pay; our country --> our customs (in both senses) , our duty (in both senses) to pay.
However, I think that the exporter should work with you to ship the way you desire. I recently had to pay an additonal 30USD (on $130 purchase) because the company chose to ship DHL when they said they would be using Royal Mail