High Customs Fee

I have paid a customs fee on pottery shipped back from Italy. U.S. Customs collects the duty when you mail back something that is more than $200. The amount of duty depends on the type of item and its value. The amount that you have been requested to pay seems very high so I would ask the company for a breakdown of the charges and how they calculated them. On my purchase, I got an invoice from UPS with the amount to pay which showed how it was calculated. I paid $17 for somewhere between $200 and $300 worth of pottery, so $167 seems quite high.

Call US Customs and explain the situation to them. They'll know what the deal is. Given that 600 euros calculates out at $840 at 1.4 dollars per euro (which is a bit high), that would be a Customs fee of about 20%, which does seem high.

According to the Customs website, they are supposed to attach a form to the package if you owe duty stating how much you owe.

Check this site out for more info: http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/

I guessing you have a other fees beyond custom duties. I am sure "Air Worthy" is getting a nice cut for handling the transactions.

Thanks for suggesting the website...here's what I found out...Express Shipments Packages may be sent to the United States by private-sector courier or delivery service from anywhere in the world. The express company usually takes care of clearing your merchandise through customs and charges a fee for its service. Some travelers have found this fee to be higher than they expected..... I am afraid that is how my package was sent! So...buyer beware! I didn't realize they were shipping it any special way...DANG!

It's not just gifts...

Anything you bring back that is not considered to be a personal possession is liable for duty. I think you get around $800 free before they start charging duty, though some items incur duty no matter what.

For stuff mailed back to the US, the value has to be less than $100 I believe (it's very low) and must be declared on the outside of the package. Which is why it's better to bring stuff back in your luggage when possible because the free amount is much higher and the item is less likely to be inspected.

Kate

You only can bring gifts into US fee free up to $400 value.

It wasn't a gift...it was just too big, heavy and fragile to carry...so I had it shipped. I did call Air-Worthy to complain about the fee and was told that there is a 15% duty fee on Murano Glass!!! The duty was about $128 US. I wouldn't have bought it if I'd know that! Lesson learned...

Kate,
I don't believe that's true.I think you are allowed max $400 in gifts and purchases, it doesn't matter if it's personal possesion or not.
June, next time just tell them you paid less.
Bea

Greetings

The amount is $800 - I live abroad so have had to learn all the rules. However, they tend to give you a fair bit of leeway as it's often easier for them to give you the benefit of the doubt, rather than spend a lot of time deciding which duty category your item falls into. But something like the statue, they are likely to know the amount, so don't lie.

Personal items that you took on the trip - i.e your clothes, shoes, jewelry and anything else you brought with you (computer, MP3 player, tolietries,medications, camera, books etc.) are duty free. Duty is only charged on what you purchased abroad - which is why if you are bringing a lot of very expensive jewelry or camera/IT equipment abroad they recommend registering it with US customs so you can prove that you didn't buy it abroad.

By mail, you are allowed much less duty free, gift or not.

Kate

Kate

Bea,

Kate is correct. In general, the limit is $800 if you carry the purchase yourself(you may be remembering that it used to be $400 a few years ago). The limit is $100 if you send a gift to someone else and $200 if you send a purchase to yourself. There is no way that June could have told customs that her package was for a different amount. When you ship something from a shop, they provide the cost that you paid.

The customs website has the information.

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/publications/travel/knowbeforeyougo.ctt/knowbeforeyougo.pdf

The previous post is correct. Items that you physically carry in with you have a different dollar limit than items that are shipped to you. We order chocolate from a shop in Brugge around Christmas. For orders under $200 USD, we pay no customs fee. For orders over $200 USD, we pay a fee of around $50. The duty depends upon exactly what the merchandise is.

Thanks everyone...learned that I should check things like customs and duty before I travel!

10/25/08 AIR-WORTHY is very interesting. Ref Purchase of Murano Glass from the factory -
They originally told me my customs duty was $266.42 and that I had to have the money to them within 4 days or storage fees would apply. I sent the check to them and then I questioned such a large sum, they said the shipper had made a mistake and corrected the amount, and that customs was now charging $175.42. Of course they said they would send a refund. It is now 8weeks out, they have not sent the refund and AIRWORTHY will not reply to my emails.

I had a much more expensive piece of glass shipped from Marco Polo, customs charges were collected by UPS and cost was 1/4 the amount in comparison to the actual cost going through the Brokerage firm AIRWORTHY. I would love to know their connection to the Murano Glass Factory ???

june, i have a question for u....are you by any chance retired military......i can take the sales tax off in germany if you ask.....and u might be able to use the post office on a military instalation....find out and mail it to yourself it's cheaper.....been there don that

If you send something worth less than $100, just write "Unsolicited gift" on it and it shouldnt get a fee attached to it. Thing is, you cant send it to yourself at home. It would have to be addressed to someone else.

I cannot find the info now, but as has been implied, there are several things at work here that make up a total. Shipping fees may be included, there is usually a broker fee for handling the import transaction, "express" shipments incur an expedite fee, and then of course the actual Duty. Besides all of that, what I have been looking for is somewhere I did stumble on special duty fees attached to some Italian goods, and as I recall, some of the duties were terribly high (50-100%?). It is certainly possible that Murano glass is subject to a higher duty than normal. (I suppose to protect US glassblowers from cheap imports ;))

The only thing that hasn't been mentioned so far is when you travel as a couple or family your exempt amount can be combined. It's another reason to carry your stuff home.

The military option Inge mentioned is also a good choice if you can do it. It shouldn't affect duties but the post office on base will ship it for a parcel post rate as if it was shipped in the states (or used to, it's been a long time since I was stationed overseas). I was in Germany on 9/11 and had planned to mail some stuff home from a base. At the time they wouldn't mail anything that weighed more than a pound. I expect they have gotten past that now.

Hello all,

I'm a Customs broker, and we see this all the time. If you don't carry your purchases with you when you come back to the States, you are liable for duty. If the store you purchased at ships via an express courier (e.g. FedEx, UPS), your shipment SHOULD show up at your doorstep, with a bill from the courier for freight, duty and their fees. If the store ships via an airline or ocean carrier, they will probably use a freight intermediary (forwarder or consolidator), who will book the shipment and arrange for their agent in the US to clear it thru Customs and set up delivery. You can see charges for freight, agent fees, Customs broker fees, duties, US delivery, a Customs bond (required for many shipments valued over $200), etc. This adds up quickly. Customs brokers are professionals, licensed by the Treasury and overseen by Homeland Security, and need to be reimbursed for their expertise.

If you're able, it's generally easiest to bring your purchases back with you. Up to $800 in value, they're generally duty-free. The next $1000 in value is 3% duties. After that, you're charged the tariff rate. If you mail something home, make sure it's valued less than $200 and clearly marked to avoid duties. Don't even think about shipping textile or alcohol purchases separately -- at least, not before doing some homework.

Someone else may have mentioned this, but read Customs' publication "Know Before You Go", http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/publications/travel/knowbeforeyougo.ctt/knowbeforeyougo.pdf
for some really helpful information.

I am also in the middle of a dispute with Air-Worthy and especially Michael Ciofalo who works for them. They have pulled the same stunt on me, demanding $360 on a $1200 purchase, most of which was for handling fees. After I complained, the amount was reduced to $260, because apparently the Venice freight agent agreed to absorb the cost. Of course, my check for $360 was in the mail, to avoid the storage fees being tacked on to what I already "owed"....

Michael Ciofalo told me on the phone that he woudl refund the $100 once he received my check. Surprise... My box was delivered (with no signs of anything to do with Customs on the box...) and now he claims he is not authorized to refund any money to me, despite sending me an e-mail saying I now owed $260, not $360...

He told me to contact the Italian freight agent directly, but of course, he has refused to give me the name of contact info for that company. When I pointed THAT out to him he then told me I need to go back to the store I bought from, Ducale Vetreria in Murano, and talk to them. My attempts to talk to them have resulted in some very rude e-mails telling me I signed a contract, I owed the money, and to go away and get on with it.

At this point, Michael Ciofalo has stopped replying to my e-mails.

Surely this is not legal?! I have been told a refund would be forthcoming. Now the person who told me he would refund my money tells me he isn't authorized to do so! I asked for a copy of all paperwork pertaining to my file and that isn't even acknowledged at all. If I paid money to Customs, isn't there paperwork involved?! Do I not get to see where my money went??? Apparently my customs fees were $94 and the entry fees were $266, later reduced to $166. Surely there is a paper trail here and I am entitled to copies of that???

There is something very, very wrong with this and I would appreciate any advice on what to do next.

Melanie, it's unfortunate that you got caught in the same situation as the original poster, but you are responding to a TWO YEAR OLD post. Current advice (as of two years ago) is in this post. We haven't heard anything more about this since. The money is paid, and you're beating your head against a brick wall at this point. My advice would be to chalk it up to experience and let it go. You're not likely to get anywhere with this now, sorry to say.

Melanie,

Although this post is somewhat "dated", some clarification is a good idea in case someone else here encounters this situation in future.

In June's case and yours, the fees are not unusual. Welcome to the world of Customs Brokers! If you check the "breakdown" of fees on the Invoice, you'll probably find a hefty charge for "brokerage fees". As Evelyn said, the Brokers "need to be reimbursed for their expertise."

I've encountered this numerous times in having items shipped here, and I'm often not too happy with the fees that are charged. However, if the shipper only offers a choice of one carrier (UPS, FedEx or whatever), I don't have much choice and have to accept whatever fees they (or their Brokers) charge. If I have a choice in shipping methods, I generally choose the Postal system as it's much less expensive.

Good luck!

Some of the replies to this post are less than a year old and I think it was worth sharing my experience. There are three people who have been stung by Air Worthy on this board alone, it seems....

I wish I could look at my invoice and see the breakdown of charges... However, Air Worthy will not give me an invoice, a receipt, a copy of the customs duty paid or anything else proving on paper where my money went. I have made several requests for these and all have been ignored. I have absolutely no idea how the $360 was broken down, beyond being told $94 was for customs. My box finally arrived and there is nothing on it to do with customs at all. I have no proof ANYTHING was paid to customs, because Air Worthy will not provide it to me. As a licensed customs broker, I thought they had to furnish this to the customer???

Further more, I was promised a refund by the President of Air Worthy, and now the same person tells me he is not authorized to give such a refund and that I must go to the Italian shipper for such authorization, the name of which he will not give me....

This is nothing more than a rip off and a scam. Any professional would have happy to provide me with paperwork showing exactly where my money went, and if they promised to refund money would then do so, instead of fobbing me off to third parties.

I fail to see how any of this can be considered acceptable business practice, and I do think it is worth adding my story here in the hope that anyone thinking of doing business with this company might think twice.