| ronny | Posted: 6 May 2026, 12:06 PM |
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 Member Posts: 3 Joined: 6-May 26 |
Hi, Does anyone here knows how much it will cost in total to send a Mk IV to Belgium? So including custom fees, VAT, ... Last time when I ordered something from the UK these costs were more than the price of the item itselves. Thanks for responding! Regards, Ronny ------------- |
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| mit | Posted: 6 May 2026, 12:42 PM |
 yeah whatever Admin Posts: 679 Joined: 4-May 16 |
I don't know for certain, and it's surprisingly hard to find this sort of thing out in advance. In most of the EU it is the local VAT rate (I guess 21%) plus some "handling" fee usually about €12. It was so much better when the UK was part of the single market... sigh... ------------- |
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| ronny | Posted: 7 May 2026, 03:32 PM |
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Member Posts: 3 Joined: 6-May 26 |
Thanks for the quick reply, mit! It is stupid indeed to have so much unknown factor when sending something less than 50 km away. Some time ago, I considered buying me a hexbeam from the UK but since the total costs were unpredictable, I ordered it in Poland. I am sure many companies in the UK suffer the same problems, but it is what it is. I searched for all costs, including VAT (which is indeed 21%), but custom clearance, import taxes and whatever more cannot be found anywere. I will try to find someone who can tell me the total amount of extra costs. Maybe you already sent some to Europe and have the knowledge I am looking for? Regards and 73s, Ronny ------------- |
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| ronny | Posted: 9 May 2026, 09:03 AM |
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Member Posts: 3 Joined: 6-May 26 |
In the meantime I started a topic on a forum for ham operators. Unfortunately I only got negative responses for packages from the UK to Europe... Some replies: 'I ordered a small part for an amplifier from Linear Amp UK. The part cost 25 GBP, plus 40 GBP in shipping costs, and shortly afterwards a UPS invoice for 25 Euros. We won't be doing that again.' or: 'I recently ordered a CAT cable from https://shop.technofix.uk/, costing €52.49, and had to pay bpost €29.93 to receive the package. The cable was faulty, so I returned it: cost €42.35. I had to pay a small contribution of €6.82 for shipping a new cable. And it's not over yet; I am now waiting to receive the new cable. How much will it cost this time?' or (about an item for a saw machine): 'That means that your saw machine webshop was able to collect and settle the Belgian VAT: Belgian VAT already collected in the UK, so no hassle with customs clearance. The clock webshop gives no indication whatsoever that they are capable of doing so. And with that, my story about double VAT for the clock webshop stands.' So I am very sorry, but due to the complete lack of knowledge about the extra costs, I will have to let go the thought of having such a great clock in my shack :( It is surely worth the price you are asking but I cannot take the risk of having to pay a few 100 euros extra to get it here. A possible solution, however, is maybe the following reaction: 'Unless the seller is exempt from VAT for sales outside the UK, the sale is subject to UK VAT. If the package arrives in Belgium, full Belgian VAT is added. The fact that VAT has been paid in the UK does not exempt you from having to pay full VAT in Belgium. In Belgium, you pay VAT on the value of the product, plus shipping costs. The company handling customs clearance charges administrative fees. This depends on the carrier. Larger companies can offer services such as shipping without local VAT, but what you really want is DDP. In that case, the Belgian VAT has already been collected by the seller, who transfers this amount directly to the Belgian tax authorities, and who also avoids the need for payments during customs clearance. That is what AliExpress, eBay, and Digikey do, for example. It appears that your "clock company" is not familiar with these provisions. What you have to pay in that case is stated above. As you have likely read, the EU will also start levying "import tax" towards the end of the year. I have not yet been able to find out whether that payment will be without admin fees.' Maybe something to consider? Regards, Ronny A last thought: Is it possible to come to you and to collect it myself? I maybe could make a trip to the UK and combine it ;) Last edit by ronny at 9 May 2026, 09:07 AM ------------- |
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| mit | Posted: 9 May 2026, 10:21 PM |
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yeah whatever Admin Posts: 679 Joined: 4-May 16 |
I'm quite happy to make arrangements if you're in the UK at some point. QUOTE
It appears that your "clock company" is not familiar with these provisions Please do not conflate my inability to offer DDP shipping to Europe with my lack of trying. I have spent hundreds of hours trying to set it up, endless headaches and little progress. I am so sick of the bureaucracy that I have pretty much given up on it. I nearly put up a message saying I will not ship to Europe at all, but I figured so long as people are aware and willing to pay the charge it's probably fine. There is definitely no pressure to buy it though! Part of the problem is that I am not a company, I'm just one person. Companies like eBay and AliExpress have a completely separate process, that involves them doing a tax return in every country that they sell to. VAT is a sales tax, you should never be charged it twice. The VAT threshold is different in each European country, but even if you are exempt from domestic VAT it is still charged for international sales (i.e. the threshold is zero for exports). The only country I can send DDP to is the USA, due to the unique situation with tariffs, but at least there the calculation is trivial (10% plus only 50p handling fee). I guess it's such a big economy and such a nightmare situation that the couriers fast-tracked the process of offering DDP services to laypeople. The customs process is also different for values of over £270, though it's not clear to me how that affects things. I have a feeling DDP to Europe would not be available for the fully assembled clock, or at least there's further hoops to jump through. Even if I can send it DDP to Belgium, that still doesn't avoid the tax, that just means that I collect and pay the tax for you. It possibly is subject to a lower handling fee but that's not guaranteed. So the only reason to send it DDP is to pay it all up front, and possibly speed up the customs process. QUOTE
The cable was faulty, so I returned it There is a specific category for "repair and return", if the paperwork is filled out correctly then people shouldn't be charged twice. However I'm not trying to excuse the system, I hate all of this as much as everyone else, probably more. My "sigh" earlier probably didn't convey quite how bitter I am. This was meant to be a fun little side business, and even at the price I'm charging for the clock, it still doesn't seem worth it... ------------- |
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| marzipan | Posted: 10 May 2026, 09:50 PM |
 Member Posts: 10 Joined: 21-May 25 |
In case it's useful - I knew where to look quickly: It looks like if you received it via the post you'd pay. These three added together: VAT: 21% of the goods value Customs: another % depending on what CN (or HS) code the goods are declared as on the export documents and the country (probably 0% though) Customs formalities/processing: 40€ https://www.bpost.be/en/faq/how-are-import-costs-calculated https://fin.belgium.be/en/private-individuals/international/online-purchases-abroad/problems/additional-costs https://eservices.minfin.fgov.be/extTariffBrowser/Measure?cnCode=8541900000&country=29427&date=20260510&lang=EN&page=1&trade=0 Last edit by marzipan at 10 May 2026, 09:52 PM ------------- |
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