[Lollyflashpants]

Hi,

In order to save money I found a dress when I was over in the USA in April. I did not buy it off the rack - it was ordered according to my measurements. Anyway, my mother (who lives there in Atlanta, GA) paid for it and the plan was that when it came in she would post it to me buy UPS mail. I assumed as I did not pay for it and as it was not being sent from a company that it would just qualify as a gift and therefore i wouldn't be taxed on it.

well i am now being told that this is not the case. i rang the revenue here in ireland to ask about the situation and they said i would be liable for both CUSTOMS TAX and VAT!!! even on a gift. they said any gift that is worth over 45 euro will be taxed in this way.

so basically if we want to insure the package for the amount the dress is worth then i will be screwed. if we declare that the dress is worth 3,000 euro and we therefore insure it for 3,000 euro and then the shipping costs 350 euro the revenue said that they will total all 3 of these figures to 6,350 euro and will charge me 13% of this for customs duty so 825 euro! so they even tax on the value you insure it for - effectively double taxing!!

then they add the 825 euro to the 6,350 euro and they will then also tax me at 21% VAT!!!! so another 1,506 euro!!

so in total they would charge me 2,331 EURO in TAX on a dress that is a GIFT from SOMEONE ELSE and a dress that has already had tax paid on it in the USA.

that would mean that excluding the tax paid in the USA and the rush order fee i paid, they are actually charging me the entire cost of the dress AGAIN in TAX!!!

i asked if my Mother just wanted to send me her old wedding dress to wear and they said the same rules apply!!

Can anyone please help me with this as i am in complete and utter shock?i think this is a complete con and should really be illegal. they are double, triple, even quadruple taxing in this way and the same would apply if anyone mailed us a wedding gift over the value of 45 euro!! so we'd have to pay tax on a wedding gift!

How can I get around this? It is actually cheaper for me and my fiance to both get on a plane and go fly to the USA for a weekend to pick the dress up and bring it back in person!!! what a joke. Is there a way around this? i have heard that some people have managed to get things posted here in big boxes without paying tax but i don't know how? the box my dress is currently packaged in is about 27 inches x 18 inches and is 9 inches high.

please help as my dress is ready right now and i need to get it here but i don't know how!!

thank you so much,

sue x

[hol]

Normally the insurance and value are seperate on the item, and being an ebay fanatic, when I buy goods from america, I get them to insure it for the full value, and value it for alot less. It's the value they seem to charge on. Havn't done this for a little over a year but this is how I got away with it many times. I was told by a friend of mine, that if you also get them to say on the parcel that it is be sent for repair that this may get it through also.

[Kirstin]

Will your mother be visiting you soon or will you be back to the US? The airlines will allow you to carry a wedding dress as a carry-on and I'm 99% sure you aren't taxed on it that way.

[bella]

Hi All BTB,S
It was only a matter of time b4 this happened ,
Bridal shops have been complaining about this for a long time ,
They have to pay the Taxes and custom fee,s also , as well as their rent,s rates and bills,
And your gowns would still be cheaper than paying tax,s
There are still some shops out there that dont rip you off .
you just have to seach them out , and if other btb,s gave out details of the shops they visit , you wont have to torment yourself like this ,
What a lot of stress over a dress ,
good luck i hope it all works out for you,

[neasa]

hi there,
did you get your dress through customs?

[sonia]

hi,i dont know if you got your dress but 2 months ago i ordered my wedding dress online from china!!it was custom made 4 me n within 3 weeks it was delivered to me..i asked lady to say it was a gift 4 me.i think the reason yours is costin you so much is because of the packaging.mine was sent to me in a padded envolope,not in a box.all i need to do is get it pressed in a dry cleaners..hope everythin works out