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<p>[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 8171097, member: 110350"]After successfully bidding on four lots in the recent Roma Numismatics auction, for a total price exceeding £2,000, I paid Roma the stated DHL Express shipping charge of £63.50 (about $87.00) for purchases in excess of that benchmark. I received the following email from DHL several days ago:</p><p><br /></p><p>"IMPORT DUTY PAYMENT IS REQUIRED</p><p><br /></p><p>Hello DONNA</p><p>DHL Express has paid the duty for your parcel with waybill number XXXXXXX from ROMA NUMISMATICS LTD.</p><p><br /></p><p>The amount you need to pay is USD 44.75 and you can easily pay online here.</p><p><br /></p><p>If the duty is not paid within 5 days, the parcel will be returned to the shipper."</p><p><br /></p><p>In other words, demanding an "import duty" payment effectively increasing Roma's shipping charge by 50%. The reason for my surprise was that, as many of you are aware, the USA, through Customs, does <u>not</u> charge any import duty on ancient coins or any other coins made "prior to the 14th century." See Section 9705.00.0001 of the current Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, available online. And DHL's own invoice actually admits that the duty percentage and amount are both 0.00, describing the charge instead as:</p><p><br /></p><p>MERCHANDISE PROCESSING 27.75</p><p>DUTY TAX RECEIVER 17.00</p><p><br /></p><p>Please Pay This Amount in USD 44.75</p><p><br /></p><p>So not really import duty at all, but some kind of processing charge!</p><p><br /></p><p>When I complained to Roma about this undisclosed charge -- which I equated to extortion by DHL -- I was told the following:</p><p><br /></p><p>"I understand your concern and frustration at this additional charge, however, this is not something over which we have any control and is a new charge that both FedEx, DHL and other couriers have instated as of 2022. We were not informed of the implementation of the charge and it is not particular to shipments going to the US, but is also being charged on shipments to other destination countries. As you have identified on the invoice DHL provided, this charge is not duty (despite how they confusingly categorised it initially) which, as you say, is not payable on ancient coins in the US, but rather it is their processing fee for dealing with customs clearance. Whilst we did not mention this specific charge, as these charges are constantly being updated, we do state on all invoice emails that 'any other costs or charges such as customs or import duties, customs clearance and handling may also apply during the shipment of your lot and will be charged to you [the client] by the relevant courier or postal service at a later stage if applicable.'</p><p><br /></p><p>Unfortunately, in the current global climate it is becoming increasingly expensive the ship items securely; the shipping fee that we charge only just covers our freight and insurance costs. If you would prefer for your future purchases to be sent via registered mail, who do not charge processing fees (as far as I know) I can make a note of this on your account, however, this shipping method tends to be less reliable." . . . .</p><p><br /></p><p>I apologise again for this situation."</p><p><br /></p><p>And, subsequently, when I wrote back that the basis for the charge (a fixed fee or a percentage of value or simply 50% of the former delivery charge) is completely unclear, I was told:</p><p><br /></p><p>"I agree, the charges are very opaque and have been raised to us by other clients. I am trying to determine on what basis they are charged i.e. value of package contents or fixed fee, but this has not yet been clarified by DHL."</p><p><br /></p><p>Whatever the basis, I'm quite annoyed that DHL (and also Fedex, apparently) have imposed this new processing charge, misrepresented by DHL as import duty. Of course, it will be even more onerous for those who live in countries that do already impose an actual import duty on ancient coins, and will have to pay this new charge on top of that import duty.</p><p><br /></p><p>Has anyone else encountered this apparently new policy?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 8171097, member: 110350"]After successfully bidding on four lots in the recent Roma Numismatics auction, for a total price exceeding £2,000, I paid Roma the stated DHL Express shipping charge of £63.50 (about $87.00) for purchases in excess of that benchmark. I received the following email from DHL several days ago: "IMPORT DUTY PAYMENT IS REQUIRED Hello DONNA DHL Express has paid the duty for your parcel with waybill number XXXXXXX from ROMA NUMISMATICS LTD. The amount you need to pay is USD 44.75 and you can easily pay online here. If the duty is not paid within 5 days, the parcel will be returned to the shipper." In other words, demanding an "import duty" payment effectively increasing Roma's shipping charge by 50%. The reason for my surprise was that, as many of you are aware, the USA, through Customs, does [U]not[/U] charge any import duty on ancient coins or any other coins made "prior to the 14th century." See Section 9705.00.0001 of the current Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, available online. And DHL's own invoice actually admits that the duty percentage and amount are both 0.00, describing the charge instead as: MERCHANDISE PROCESSING 27.75 DUTY TAX RECEIVER 17.00 Please Pay This Amount in USD 44.75 So not really import duty at all, but some kind of processing charge! When I complained to Roma about this undisclosed charge -- which I equated to extortion by DHL -- I was told the following: "I understand your concern and frustration at this additional charge, however, this is not something over which we have any control and is a new charge that both FedEx, DHL and other couriers have instated as of 2022. We were not informed of the implementation of the charge and it is not particular to shipments going to the US, but is also being charged on shipments to other destination countries. As you have identified on the invoice DHL provided, this charge is not duty (despite how they confusingly categorised it initially) which, as you say, is not payable on ancient coins in the US, but rather it is their processing fee for dealing with customs clearance. Whilst we did not mention this specific charge, as these charges are constantly being updated, we do state on all invoice emails that 'any other costs or charges such as customs or import duties, customs clearance and handling may also apply during the shipment of your lot and will be charged to you [the client] by the relevant courier or postal service at a later stage if applicable.' Unfortunately, in the current global climate it is becoming increasingly expensive the ship items securely; the shipping fee that we charge only just covers our freight and insurance costs. If you would prefer for your future purchases to be sent via registered mail, who do not charge processing fees (as far as I know) I can make a note of this on your account, however, this shipping method tends to be less reliable." . . . . I apologise again for this situation." And, subsequently, when I wrote back that the basis for the charge (a fixed fee or a percentage of value or simply 50% of the former delivery charge) is completely unclear, I was told: "I agree, the charges are very opaque and have been raised to us by other clients. I am trying to determine on what basis they are charged i.e. value of package contents or fixed fee, but this has not yet been clarified by DHL." Whatever the basis, I'm quite annoyed that DHL (and also Fedex, apparently) have imposed this new processing charge, misrepresented by DHL as import duty. Of course, it will be even more onerous for those who live in countries that do already impose an actual import duty on ancient coins, and will have to pay this new charge on top of that import duty. Has anyone else encountered this apparently new policy?[/QUOTE]
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