Duty on imported kilts

[Wompet]

Hmm ... as an U.S. Customs inspector, I should probably just walk away from this thread, but:

• it depends on the inspector's training (some are better than others; I'll admit to that) (And yes, some of them are complete idjits. As a trainer, I've tried to pound the proper methods into these rockheads, but )
• it depends on how the inspector classifies the item in question (different tariffs=different duty rates)
• the worst of the duties are usually set by the private carriers, who are their own customs brokers. Do a search here on FedEx, for example. We don't just recommend the governmental postal services just for lower delivery rates.

I have had processed food confiscated, on the basis of not bringing any agricultural items into the country. . . go figure. That is why I generally buy from local (US in my case) suppliers. Let them worry about the hassle of imported stuff.

This is my actual area of expertise, so if I may:
Depending on what your processed food was, how it was processed, and its country of origin, the processing may not have been enough to eliminate the plant pest or animal disease risk. So the Agriculture officer was (hopefully) correct in taking it from you (see my first point above).

- Gary
keeping America safe from mad cows


PS - for the Canadians: just kidding about the mad cows. Your bovines are considered safe now.
We're keeping an eye on your sheep and goats, though.

[Howard Clark]

Wow, customs inspector. The breadth of experience amongst kilties is amazing.

[Bugbear]

I just want to make clear that I would have no problem at all figuring in a duty charge into the price of something when I am budgeting for it. If I am not charged the duty because of something on the duty inspectors end fine. I just feel like I need to know before I buy something and have it shipped what that charg is likely to be.

If it's my part to figure that out, then fine. It still leaves me feeling that I should look in country first.

[Highlander31]

I feel thankful that I haven't experienced any of the problems outlined in this thread. I always try to go through a U.S. based business before going overseas. When I have had to go offshore, the duties were reasonable.

[ChattanCat]

Fabric is a lot less on import duties, if at all. So I would recommend finding a kilt maker in North America.

[McMurdo]

PS - for the Canadians: just kidding about the mad cows. Your bovines are considered safe now.
We're keeping an eye on your sheep and goats, though.

So does Grant

[bowser]

I dont know about the US but here it normaly depends on the carrier.
Courier companies are required to collect the duty on behalf of the customs, so if somthing arrives DHL etc, they will always collect the duty and if they dont then they have to pay it.
However the post office and I believe the USPS have whats called common carrier status which means that they are not actualy responsible for what they carry and you often dont get charged the duty, you are supposed to pay it yourself it they dont charge you though ???
However even they are charging more than they used to.
In UK you pay duty on the cost of the item and the shipping and then VAT on cost of item + shipping + import duty.
However rates of duty vary a lot between diferent items. Some things are 0 rated and some highly rated.
If dealing with an individual I normrmaly get them to put a low value on the customs form and or somthing like "warenty replacement" or "parts" or trade sample, with a value of 0 and that normaly works but its wont if buying from a large supplier.

[RockyR]

Since Gary gave us the "US Customs" side of the discussion (which was very insightful), I thought I'd give you the "Company" view.

As someone who gets shipments from Scotland and the UK every other day, you REALLY don't want to know what we pay in customs duties. Imagine bringing in a few hundred pairs of hose, 20 sporrans and other tid bits...

We've found customs to be sporratic, 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.

People often ask why things "cost so much". Having to get everything imoported from the UK, pay shipping charges, low US Dollar, company size (health benefits for workers?), etc all play a roll.

This is just food for thought and something that end customers here in the US usually DON'T know we do "behind the scenes". We cover all these costs and deal with the "situations" ourselves so our customers don't have to.

[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.