(UPS) Customs import form for Harmonised code 930599

[Sacarathe]

Please delete this if it is already in a thread here, but I don't see it.

UPS asked me to fill this out when I shopped at Evike, (https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff/commodities/9305990000). Supposedly Evike flagged items in my order with this code.

Update: Seems evike use this harm code even when they ship something which has nothing to do with airsoft. Lazy bastards.

Other codes:

https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff/chapters/93

Section (a) (Delete accordingly)

Are you importing this shipment as a:

 Private individual (PR) Yes / No If ‘Yes’ supply Date of Birth……………………………………….

 Non VAT registered organization Yes / No

 VAT registered organization Yes / No If ‘Yes’ supply VAT number………………………………………..

Section ( B) (Delete accordingly)

Type of Firearm you are importing:

 Lethal Firearm Yes / No If ‘Yes’ supply

Licence or Firearm Certificate Number ………………………………………………..

 Lethal Firearm parts only Yes / No If ‘Yes’ supply

Licence or Firearm Certificate Number …………………………………………………

 Ammunition for Lethal Firearms Yes / No If ‘Yes’ supply

Licence or Firearm Certificate Number …………………………………………..……

 Deactivated Firearm Yes / No If ‘Yes’ supply

Deactivation Certificate Number …………………………………………….…………….

 Antique Firearm (Over 100 years old) Yes / No If ‘Yes’ complete only section (e)

 Realistic/Imitation Firearm (inc Parts) Yes / No If ‘Yes’ complete section ©

 Paintball (inc Parts) Yes / No If ‘Yes’ complete section (d)

Section © (Delete accordingly)

Type of Realistic/Imitation Firearm:

 Realistic Imitation Firearm (RiFs) Yes / No If ‘Yes’ complete appropriate details

For theatrical performances or rehearsals Yes / No

For production of films or TV programmes Yes / No

For display at a museum or gallery Yes / No

For display at a commercial firearms event

(e.g. exhibition or arms fair) Yes / No

Please give full event details including date and venue

……………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………….……………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Realistic Air Soft Gun Yes / No If ‘Yes’ for PR/Non VAT registered organization complete

UKARA Registration Number ………………………………..

Name of recognized organization/club …………………………………………………………………………………

Velocity Declaration …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….

RiF’s Parts Yes/No If ‘Yes’ confirm the use of the RiF as above



 Unrealistic Imitation Firearm Yes / No If ‘Yes’ complete appropriate details

Imitation of a firearm over 100yrs old Yes / No

Smaller than 38mm in height and 70mm in length Yes / No

Transparent in colour or predominantly bright red,

orange, yellow, green, pink, purple or blue Yes / No

If ‘Yes’ state colour ……………………………………………….

RiF’s Parts Yes/No If ‘Yes’ confirm the type of the Unrealistic RiF as above

Section (d) (Delete accordingly)

 Paintball Marker Yes / No If ‘Yes’ complete Velocity Declaration

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…

Paintball Marker Parts Yes/No If ‘Yes’ complete Velocity Declaration

 If you have answered ‘No’ to the above questions please explain the reason for import

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…

……………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….

……………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………….

Section (e)

Declaration to be signed by all parties

Full Name (in upper case)………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………

Signature…………………………………….…………………………..……………….. Date…………………………………………

This document will be attached to the Import entry to aid the clearance of the shipment through UK Customs

Anyhoo, I don't have UKARA, nor was I importing a RIF, so after arguing on the phone with the UPS rep for 2 minutes (he basically said "I don't care, you fill in the form or we return to sender"), I took the form by email wrote NO in every relevant section and sent it back, it cleared customs no problem.

UPS charged me £11 to print out this form and hand it to a customs official - lost for words how horrible that is. On top of that, they ransom your package back to you with threats to return to sender - not that i've ever charged back but makes me glad I paid by credit card.

 

[Sacarathe]

Realistic Air Soft Gun Yes / No If ‘Yes’ for PR/Non VAT registered organization complete
UKARA Registration Number ………………………………..

Name of recognized organization/club …………………………………………………………………………………

Velocity Declaration …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….

I am loath to lie about anything, but if you don't know the velocity what do you do.

I doubt they would or even could test an airsoft gun, but if you put the wrong thing or lied and got cought...

Not to mention if you put "don't know".

I suppose you could put, "don't know, it's brand new but if its above 1 joule I know how to reduce it".

 

[Sitting Duck]

If buying a airsoft gun evike will want ukara or they may charge you for painting or just sit on it until you reply

Some places won't even ship mags from states for fear of airport security alarm bells.

Can't remember if it was clandestine or brill armoury I saw this on recently.

Evoke took nearly four days to contact me about ukara as I couldn't see a comment box when placing order. In the end it was dragging on n on running up to chrimbo still not shipped 10 daysvafter placing order I said forget it and got refund

Unless it is bespoke must have I think Europe n China is easier but maybe I was just unlucky with evoke

Often though customs/duty gets involved from stateside

Had more stuff stopped from USA than HongKong, bastids Royal Mail n customs

 

[Sacarathe]

I can now confirm evike truely are dicks, a second package I ordered containing no rifs, no rif parts, nor anything else remotely related to rifs - only clothing, was filed under this harm code - I've let UPS know I refuse to fill in this form, I will see what happens.

It is my understanding that UPS charge £11 to clear packages through imports - I believe this packages should not even be stopped, just charged VAT and moved on to delivery.

 

[Sacarathe]

Well, the tracking says it was delivered and that I paid no VAT or Duty.,Yet to confirm as I have not got it in hand, but if this is true then I should have refused to fill in the other form to and saved at least £15 (not ex VAT). I can only assume UPS filed it under safety equipment as I directed (complicated but exempt).

 

[proffrink]

Take this as a lesson to never order from Evike. They're a bunch of dicks and fairly universally despised by any semi-serious airsoft players in the US.

Hope you get your stuff alright.

 

[Sacarathe]

So, arguing with UPS worked, got my package with no duty, no VAT - i did not expect this, but i was aware prior to arguing that 'rated' safety equipment is VAT exempt.

 

[UIVenger]

Also had to complete said UPS from after I ordered an NPAS valve!!!!!!! Don't get me started on the airmiles that the parcel racked up according to UPSs tracking software! I will NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER buy from the US again. Order a pistol from TaiwanGun and UPS deliver it no problem at all in less than a week!

 

[Colonel Kurtz]

oh gawd i ordered a aeg part from evike couple days ago, at least i know the bureaucratic horror that awaits me lol.

 

[Tad]

I had to pay £20 import tax on a steel tube that i ordered from Airsoft Atlanta....

It weighed less then 200g...

From now on, all my orders are coming from the East...

 

[UIVenger]

Cost me an extra £18 to get that NPAS through customs! It was only $17!!!!

 

[Sacarathe]

TL;DR - I believe that no duty = no flat UPS brokerage charge of £11.

The UPS charge of £11 to clear an item through customs, if it is eligible for duty.

They charge £11 to take items through customs whether the duty is that or whether it's more and then you pay VAT, while the said they could always return to sender there MUST be a way to just pay the VAT+Duty and leave them with nothing, they were already paid on the other end - by you.

From what I was told, if the duty comes to more than £11 they will eat it, but if it doesn't you pay extra. That said, the £11 MAY just be for customs duty and not for VAT, its all rather unclear - not that I have put any effort into figuring it out.

http://www.ups.com/content/gb/en/shipping/cost/additional.html#Brokerage+Services

UPS Brokerage services are provided at no extra cost for routine customs clearance. Our aim is always to provide the one-step, seamless process and quick customs clearance that is crucial to on-time delivery. Clearance preparation begins while your shipment is still in transit because of the advance notice feature on the UPS network. Government regulations require specific documentation for international shipments, and UPS provides expert services for the preparation of complete and accurate export documentation. We offer optional customs services to help you prevent unpredicted delays to your shipment. Some of these services are subject to additional charges. Please see these charges in the Additional Charges table.

Additional charges that may apply for customs clearance procedures include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Clearance procedures involving a government agency other than customs
• Transit procedure
• Storage
• Customs inspection
• Border inspection post charges
• Shipments cleared by a third party

For full details, contact your UPS representative. All supplements and additional charges are exclusive of tax.

I would assume therefore that if you insist evike have filed the wrong code your package should go through and you only pay VAT. That worked for me, and I think UPS made an error allowing my package without VAT.

Plus, if enough people make this complaint evike could get in trouble with UPS.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

You’ll be charged at the VAT rate that applies to your goods. VAT is charged on the total value, including:

• the price paid for the goods
• postage, packaging and insurance
• any duty you owe

I insisted that I would not pay UPS the £11 or the VAT until they told me how much of the £11 was duty, of course I paid the code above so I could have looked it up, but they simply responded with, "was I refusing to accept delivery?"

 

[Colonel Kurtz]

Ordered a thread adapter from evike;

UPS called me and asked if it was airsoft parts. I asked why they asked and what the object had been flagged as by the sender, they emailed me the form from Evike where it'd been listed as a toy-part, then called back a couple hours later. So i asked if there was any requirement to declare toy-parts, they said no but kept asking if it was airsoft. I asked why they keep asking and they said Evike was a known airsoft retailer. I said it was a thread adapter from 12mm CCW to 14mm CCW and that i wasn't intending to use it for airsoft, i was going to use it in a boat engine (first bit of bullshit involving small pipes that came to my mind). They kept on asking if despite my intended purpose if it was infact an airsoft part. I tried to ermmm my way through it saying i'd just googled and bought it and hadn't paid much attention to the site, I didn't know and they should reference the description from the shipper (which said toy-part).

Phone conversation ended without conclusion, then i get an email from UPS with that fecking form.

So it seems it's less Evike being muppets and more UPS being money grabbing c*nts looking for any excuse to charge people for them handing over a form...

I am registered on UPS which means they are willing to send stuff to me and allow me to pay such fees up to about £50 at my own convenience. I am debating whether I can dispute the charges and stand a chance of complaining them into submission, as at the end of the day the reality is it is an airsoft part from an airsoft retailer...

 

[Sacarathe]

but kept asking if it was airsoft. I asked why they keep asking and they said Evike was a known airsoft retailer. I said it was a thread adapter from 12mm CCW to 14mm CCW and that i wasn't intending to use it for airsoft,

I'm sorry to hear of your problems, what exactly were you trying to achieve when you misinformed UPS?

I believe, even if the HARM code evike used could be argued to not apply, you'd still be due for duty on the item/postage (if it's over the threshold) on the 'correct' HARM Code. Which would still cost you the UPS customs clearing charge for paying VAT/DUTY regardless of what is actually in the package.

If evike used the correct harm code, I would expect you'll be very short on options.

How much postage did you pay on the other end? I curious about this because I got a box from them recently and more than 2 thirds of it was packing paper. It couldn't have cost them $60 to post it.

I'm starting to dislike UPS, if the DUTY is above £11 they cap it and you save money I think, but if it is below that they charge you and all they do is give that form to some official - I'm not saying its bad value for money, but it should be declared by the dispatcher.

Atm I am wondering what happens if UPS return to sender, and the recipient argues that they couldn't afford to pay the release fee because UPS inflated it by £9+ (and they would not have ordered were they informed of this). Refund/Chargeback?

 

[Colonel Kurtz]

I was trying to achieve not having to fill in a form and pay UPS for the privilege when just ordering a thread adapter

 

[Sacarathe]

I was trying to achieve not having to fill in a form and pay UPS for the privilege when just ordering a thread adapter

AFAIK it is not the form that commands the £11 fee but the duty requirement. Unless your package is due more than £11 in duty, or exempt from duty due to its value or contents, that fee is 100% to UPS.

When I spoke to them I was quite displeased that after I asked the guy for a breakdown of what I was paying he would not tell me how much duty I paid because I still had to pay £11 - the guy just did not understand the question. As it happens I had the % already. But the guy could have avoided arguing* with me for 2-3 mins just by saying "you were charged £" sir.

*Well, not really arguing, there was no back and forth, I just asked him "how much duty did I pay" until he hung up.

 

[Colonel Kurtz]

This thread had lead me to believe it was UPS that commanded the £11 fee, and used some of it to pay the duty requirement. The duty % of the value of the good i ordered including postage fee isn't £11. It was my hope that if I didn't have to fill in this form then I would only be charged for the duty/tax

 

[Sacarathe]

This thread had lead me to believe it was UPS that commanded the £11 fee, and used some of it to pay the duty requirement. The duty % of the value of the good i ordered including postage fee isn't £11. It was my hope that if I didn't have to fill in this form then I would only be charged for the duty/tax

Yes, the earlier posts appear that way, but I clarified it all in post #12.

They pay your duty, and then charge you VAT + £11 - your duty is lost somewhere in the £11, I did believe based on what I was told by UPS that the money was to fill the form in because they wouldn't tell me how much duty I was due.

I believe they were refusing on the logic that "if we tell him it was only £2 duty, we'll have to argue with him for 10 minutes explaining why he still has to pay £11" so they think it is easier to mislead.

I was certainly mislead. But I researched it and did clarify it.

We can't avoid paying duty, but absolutely do try to avoid paying the difference between your duty owed and the £11 UPS want.

My case was exacerbated by my site's reception telling them to stuff themselves each time (twice) they tried to deliver and ask for payment.

 

[Colonel Kurtz]

Phone chopped off last sentence sorry. My hope was to only pay a small duty at worst, and at best it being classified as a toy-part would mean it wasn't subject to any duty at all, although i didn't check this

 

[Sacarathe]

Phone chopped off last sentence sorry. My hope was to only pay a small duty at worst, and at best it being classified as a toy-part would mean it wasn't subject to any duty at all, although i didn't check this

I asked them if I could contact customs directly, they said they would charge me rent if the package was held for any amount of time - they were extremely vague, so please, do try this. They had already had two failed deliveries at that point, but neither were my fault, I told them in big capital letters to deliver it to the marked address and not to the site reception.

This may not make sense - but what happened was that I had completed the form, not understanding the system, so of course I couldn't clear it through customs, because they already had.