Effing import duties!

[THE DIV]

clothing is 45% duties and vat 14% - this is standard. the other costs must be checked if you if you have paid for courier fees/insurance.

sometime if you are lucky small shipment can go through without clothing duties just vat...... hit and miss.

 

now you know why clothing in s.a. costs a bit more than elsewere.............goverment is creaming the system, lovely business model for them.

[DieVlieg]

The high duties on textiles are there to protect the SA textiles industry that the unions F'ed up a few years ago. But it seems like local brands are riding this and overcharging. I now rely on good Samaritans to buy while overseas. The changing season in Europe from Summer to Winter has good in store bargains not available on the web.

 

It is bad enough we have to pay a child's education fund for a bicycle but it seams every aspect of cycling equipment you buy afterwards is designed to bankrupt you. It is as unfair as doping.

[rock]

45% people, 45%.......but unless you're vat registered work on a 67% overall hit on your kit.

[ians H2Sport]

45% people, 45%.......but unless you're vat registered work on a 67% overall hit on your kit.

pic of your 650B single?

[rock]

to throw a curveball, european manufactured garments pay only 20% import duty - but try convincing your local post office. (suppliers invoice has to be suitably endorsed)

[Martin PJ]

I buy a lot of stuff on line, basically do not buy shoes or clothes. It is pretty much 100 % import duty (give or take). With other things it is about 16 % for bike stuff. Somehow most of the stuff I buy from China does not attract a duty, except if it is pricey, like wheels or carbon frame.

[Barry Stuart]

Yoh, thats rough... I once put gloves in my a R3000 parts order and had to pay 40% on the whole shipment

 

That doesn't sound right. Did you contest it with them? I had the opposite recently. I ordered a pair of shoes in with my bike parts and landed the set of 5.10s for R1000.

[roskii]

45% duties on clothing. Always work on a total of around 67% of total commercial value (as VAT is never just 14%... Need to factor in other charges).

 

The clearing / disbursement fee most likely bumped the total charge up. What was the initial shipping charge? A few courier companies will advertise a lower shipping charge but will nail you when the goods have landed / cleared.

[jimmycool]

Seeing as the OP stated that it came via the post office I don't think there are any disbursement/ clearing fees other than the usual R25 or R35 that the post office usually charges. Therefore, there must be some sort of error in this case if the fees are anything over the 67odd% that has been mentioned by others.

[Surv0MTB]

We have our clothing shipped to relatives in the states who box it up as second hand clothing...

 

no invoices and no import duties..