Most of my friends, when they first discovered the joys of shopping online, whether on auction sites like eBay or international online retailers, panic when they realize that they have to pay taxes on some purchases.
I think that it is the Buyer's responsibility to check before h making a purchase, if an item is taxable or not, and if it is, by how many percent. Through experience dealing with Customs, although they have a chart of what to tax and what not to tax and by how much, ridiculously, tax on an international package includes shipping charges, they may not know everything and anything about the items that come in and they still have to refer to their book.
Also, sometimes you may encounter a really friendly Customs officer who may impose only the lightest tax on your item so sometimes, although there are guidelines, the duty imposed on your items could be really subjective.
Even so, it is the responsibility of the Buyer to settle all country taxes, duties and whatever miscellaneous fee and it would do him good to have a rough idea of how much this sum will be BEFORE placing an order. I know of friends who had to forego their purchases, losing money in the process, because they felt that it is no longer worth to pay the hefty taxes on top of their purchase price.
Saturday, 13 September 2008
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