Duty on imported kilts

[macneighill]

hmmm . . my import duties were only $43.44 + $5 duty advance fee for a grand total of $48.44. I ordered my kilt and sporran from scottishkilts.net. From all of the "horror stories" I've heard about ordering from overseas, I was a little nervous. But, after talking with John Paul (McDougall) and James McNeill from TartanWeb/ScottishKilts, I felt allot better about the shipping and import duties. Once I received my kilt, that was it. Then about a week later, I received a "Customer Duty Invoice" from DHL Express. I have to admit, I didn't want to open it at first. Well, I opened it and, saw the total due was $48. So, I was shocked that it wasn't $100+. But I agree, it does create a good argument that, buying from American vendors (for those living in America) might be the better route.

[Phil]

Customs duties seem to be a real nightmare. From what Wompet says they are applied in a particularly arbitrary way and there is no form of guidance you can try to price things beforehand. There is also possibly an element of protectionism to discourage imports but when there doesn't seem to be any significant indigenous manufacture of tartan to protect it is hard to justify. The fact remains, however, that it is bound to discriminate against Scottish goods and it makes perfect sense for people to buy local as a result. Whether it is right or not is another matter altogether.

[Wompet]

Jack Daw, the customs charge is built into the price of the kilt. Celtic Craft paid the duty on the initial shipment from the parent company to the American subsidiary. If you could see what the cost of your kilt was on their customs invoice, and then compare it to what they billed you, there would be a difference.

From what Wompet says they are applied in a particularly arbitrary way and there is no form of guidance you can try to price things beforehand. There is also possibly an element of protectionism to discourage imports but when there doesn't seem to be any significant indigenous manufacture of tartan to protect it is hard to justify. The fact remains, however, that it is bound to discriminate against Scottish goods and it makes perfect sense for people to buy local as a result.

Actually, items from the UK, including fabrics, tend to have lower tariff rates than the same items from other trading partners. And there is guidance - the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Some of the problems arise in classifying things according the schedule. Certain of the express carriers take the tariffs that may apply, and use the one that allows them to charge their customer the highest rate of duty. Some of the problems arise with the customs inspectors. Previously, all of them were trained in the calculating and collection of duty. Unfortunately, with the merger of Customs, INS, and portions of USDA (me and my lot) into Cusomts and Border Protection, that training is no longer stressed. So if your package ends up in front of an inspector with, say less than six years experience, you're likely to have some problems.

...We've found customs to be sporatic, especially in the last 8 months to year. When the item is shipped Royal Mail or Parcel force, the package has a better chance of not getting stopped at ALL. HOWEVER, if it IS stopped, it could be held for 2 weeks until they find out what a 'sporran' is and 'process' the order and release it. That REALLY hurts when we're waiting for an item for a wedding. The fees can get a bit high as well. Hiring your own "Customs Broker" (an independant company who contacts customs to give them info to release your package) will set you back about $125 PER SHIPMENT, PLUS the customs fees, which are usually 15% to 25% of the items being imported. If I paid $2000 for the items, my bill will be about ($2000 X 15% = $300 + $125) $425. If I paid $500 for the item, my bill will be about ($500 X 15% = $75 + $125) $200.

When we are shipped items via DHL or FedEx or UPS, they use their own customs broker ($25 for broker + customs fees), but it gets hit with fees every package. The UPSIDE is that it gets released much quicker.

This is another aspect of the express carriers. Every package on one of their planes or trucks has to be manifested and properly classified by their broker. Customs can "inspect" the cargo before it arrives. Mail, on the other hand, is still sorted by hand - customs declarations read, quick decision made, and released or held - for hundreds of packages at a time. The time factor does allow more items to get through without duty being charged, but if the inspector sees an item description he doesn't know, he's more likely to grab and hold it to check later, than to let it go.

Oh, and Rocky, I know a US Fish and Wildlife Inspector who had a seized sporran that he didn't know what it was. He only knew that it had sealskin on it.
(To his credit - he didn't seize it himself. It was part of that office's training/public awareness collection.)

[Jack Daw]

Jack Daw, the customs charge is built into the price of the kilt. Celtic Craft paid the duty on the initial shipment from the parent company to the American subsidiary. If you could see what the cost of your kilt was on their customs invoice, and then compare it to what they billed you, there would be a difference.
Actually, items from the UK, including fabrics, tend to have lower tariff rates than the same items from other trading partners. And there is guidance - the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Some of the problems arise in classifying things according the schedule. Certain of the express carriers take the tariffs that may apply, and use the one that allows them to charge their customer the highest rate of duty. Some of the problems arise with the customs inspectors. Previously, all of them were trained in the calculating and collection of duty. Unfortunately, with the merger of Customs, INS, and portions of USDA (me and my lot) into Cusomts and Border Protection, that training is no longer stressed. So if your package ends up in front of an inspector with, say less than six years experience, you're likely to have some problems.

This is another aspect of the express carriers. Every package on one of their planes or trucks has to be manifested and properly classified by their broker. Customs can "inspect" the cargo before it arrives. Mail, on the other hand, is still sorted by hand - customs declarations read, quick decision made, and released or held - for hundreds of packages at a time. The time factor does allow more items to get through without duty being charged, but if the inspector sees an item description he doesn't know, he's more likely to grab and hold it to check later, than to let it go.

Oh, and Rocky, I know a US Fish and Wildlife Inspector who had a seized sporran that he didn't know what it was. He only knew that it had sealskin on it.
(To his credit - he didn't seize it himself. It was part of that office's training/public awareness collection.)

The prices I've paid have been comparable to what I've gotten charged by American kiltmakers.

[Smayniac]

I'm confused, McMurdo says he was charged duty on products from Matt Newsome, where does this fall in regard to NAFTA, which was mentioned briefly, but not followed up? What is the deal on materials or goods shipped between the U.S. and Canada (or Mexico for that matter)?

Bob