Customs issues with buyers fees

A few weeks ago I had a package from the UK into Europe stopped by customs.  It had already had Import VAT paid on it via IOSS within Delcampe, and full customs declarations were made including the IOSS marker on the package. Customs requested the buyer to send further information to customs including the invoice and receipt for the amount paid.  Weeks passed and the package was released, and then the buyer had to pay Import VAT on the full amount paid by them, including the buyer fees, and a hefty handling fee.

A couple of issues here first with IOSS limits within Delcampe.  The items were under the IOSS limit and Delcampe allowed this to pass as a IOSS transaction, but the buyer fees took it above the IOSS limit. This is likely why there was a charge. Delcampe may need to take into account the buyers fees in the IOSS calculation.

Second is that the buyer is likely to be paying VAT on the buyers fees via Delcampe, then an additional amount due to Import VAT. This is a classic double taxation issue.

I contacted Delcampe on Friday about this and sent a chaser yesterday.  I am yet to receive any reply on how they wish to handle this issue and how they can assist me as a seller in resolving it.

Thanks for the warning ! Can you identify the country concerned ? Understand if you would rather not.

I'm not going to call out the individual country as I think this could have happened anywhere.

All countries do random checks on packages and if the sums dont add up to what the buyer paid, or are outside of an agreed limit (like IOSS) they quite rightly get upset.

Ah right fair dos

A quick update on this post. its been 12 days since I've submitted this information to Delcampe.

I have a customer who is waiting for his money back and to date I have received a holding reply from them stating it had been escalated to management (freceived a couple of hours after posting the first forum post - maybe a connection there). A second email was sent to warn me to await their investigation results before doing anything, including refunding the customer.

For an issue regarding buyer funds this length of time in responding to a ticket is not acceptable, and is frustrating to both my customer and myself as a seller.

Please can Delcampe allow me to refund my customer or let me know their findings immediately. There is no need for my customer to be inconvenienced further.

Hello Steve,

After verification, I can confirm that my colleague did not forget you. She will contact you by email as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience.

Kind regards,
Cecilia

I have not received any update today (day 13) and my patience and the buyers is at an end (please see my delcampe messages and ticket for more details).

Can you not decouple the customer service issue from the technical issue?

This is beyond unaccaptable for a marketplace to drag out a customer facing issue for so long.

Hello Steve,

My colleague answered by email today.
I invite you to reply by email if you need any further information.

Have a nice day.

Kind regards,
Cecilia

Many thanks Cecilia. I've now refunded my customer an will continue the dispute with yourselves via email.

Delcampe have said that I should not be including the buyer fees on the CN22, I think I should, and so does the HMRC (UK Customs) webchat.

That's how I see it too. The secondary service (e.g. shipping costs) follows the main service (value of goods) and must therefore be specified in CN22. Since the purchase fees are listed on YOUR payment request, they are also part of the secondary service. They must therefore be specified.

I am not surprised by the HMRC answer. I always understood that the total declared value had to be the total cost to the buyer (everything on the buyers invoice).

Nor was I, I asked the question as backup to my dispute with delcampe.

Its a hole a mile wide for under representation of value on customs forms if you don't have to.

As you say, you always declare what the customer actually paid regardless of how the invoice is broken down.

Les informations ne sont plus disponibles car le compte de cet utilisateur est supprimé (Règlement RGPD)

Les informations ne sont plus disponibles car le compte de cet utilisateur est supprimé (Règlement RGPD)

Les informations ne sont plus disponibles car le compte de cet utilisateur est supprimé (Règlement RGPD)

A quick update on this issue as I've been in email correspondence with Delcampe, HMRC and the Department of Business and Trade.

After my last post here Delcampe also contacted HMRC and recieved the opposite advice. I then tried to escalate this within HMRC and got passed to the Department of Business and Trade (who then referred back to HMRC) and came back with "The value declared on the CN22 should be the price paid by the buyer for the goods. This should include any marketplace fees whether they are paid directly by the buyer or included in the price where they are paid by the seller.". As I am bound by UK law I will be sticking to this advice.

Delcampe are sticking to their guns, and stating that their calculation complies with EU law.

I believe that both are probably true, but it leaves me in a difficult situation that my most valuble customers who give large orders just under the IOSS threshold can easily be billed twice for import fees when using IOSS.

Delcampe are able to refund the IOSS fees on receipt of a customs invoice paid at the border at no cost to themselves but are refusing to do so (see Lien (https) .

I've also tried to update my T&C's for the buyer to pass these queries on to Delcampe directly only for this to be summarily deleted by Delcampe. A request to add similar wording to avoid using IOSS in large orders to invoices has been unanswered.

As I am unable to give the seamless service I desire to my customers I've had to block all shipments to the EU until something changes on Delcampes side.