Iherb Food Items - VAT charges + €10 DHL charge over orders €22+

Heatmachine1 · 22-08-2014 10:26pm

Is everyone still getting hit by customs charges on iherb orders.

Transform · 22-08-2014 10:30pm

Yup me this week

siochain · 23-08-2014 8:11pm

DHL delivered yesterday no charges

€90 worth of stuff

The Guvnor · 24-08-2014 11:13am

There is such a volume of mail be it DHL or otherwise coming in so getting hit or not is IMO just down to luck.

The would not have the resources to stop and check every single item so I would imagine they have a set percentage they are aiming for.

Ekels · 25-08-2014 1:46pm

robocode wrote: »

I normally get multi-vitamins and fish oil from them. Is the general consensus that I'll get hit with customs now?

Got 23% VAT on my latest order of both of these items.

StickyIcky · 25-08-2014 4:46pm

I ordered Chia Seeds and got hit with the Vat and handling charge.

Isn't it only on sports supplements these fees are supposed to be charged? If so, how can everyones who's being charged incorrectly get it resolved? Sounds like it could be a pain in the butt process though...

littlecbear · 29-08-2014 3:15pm

Hi all

Like many posters here I ordered goods which were mainly zero vat. Dhl sent me a text prior to delivery asking for 22 charges on my 50 Euro order. I was waiting on the items so I paid assuming the error could easily be corrected.

I am now no longer getting a reply from dhl about the overcharging. I shouldn't have paid anything as the vat payable was under 6 Euro.

Anyway for anyone else who is trying to resolve their overcharges you can try emailing the following addresses:
ie.imports@dhl.com
ie.invenq@dhl.ie

The imports manager is Tim Handley.

I think this overcharging by dhl is outrageous!

Hope this helps someone

runawaybishop · 29-08-2014 3:30pm

littlecbear wrote: »

Hi all

Like many posters here I ordered goods which were mainly zero vat. Dhl sent me a text prior to delivery asking for 22 charges on my 50 Euro order. I was waiting on the items so I paid assuming the error could easily be corrected.

I am now no longer getting a reply from dhl about the overcharging. I shouldn't have paid anything as the vat payable was under 6 Euro.

Anyway for anyone else who is trying to resolve their overcharges you can try emailing the following addresses:
ie.imports@dhl.com
ie.invenq@dhl.ie

The imports manager is Tim Handley.

I think this overcharging by dhl is outrageous!

Hope this helps someone

DHL aren't overcharging anyone, this is all down to customs and iHerb. You need to contact them to get your money back.

The Guvnor · 03-09-2014 2:47pm

Unfortunately it is far easier for the government or DHL to just apply vat to all items rather than to analyse every package to see which items are and which are not vatable.

runawaybishop · 04-09-2014 3:38pm

The Guvnor wrote: »

Unfortunately it is far easier for the government or DHL to just apply vat to all items rather than to analyse every package to see which items are and which are not vatable.

I'd say iherb shoudl be the ones taking blame - they need to label the shipments properly.

Heatmachine1 · 04-09-2014 6:01pm

I placed an order yesterday as I could not find the products I use elsewhefe.
My invoice came electrinically so hoping this will help out if package stopped and there is no detailed inventory in it.
Fingers crossed

Adventure Pout · 10-09-2014 1:27pm

Damned!!!
Got my iherb parcel today but had to pay €37!!! including €10 for DHL admin fee..
Never had issues before.
My order was: vitamins D3 and lipoic acid and Raw honey..
My parcel was labelled as: Health and Supplements products.

According to this thread, anything with food and vitamins should not be taxed.
Can anybody clarify or send link of the revenue ( i cannot find much details)?

I contacted iHerb and complained about the labelling but not sure if that makes any difference.
I asked the DHL guy and he said that lots of people complained about the extra costs,especially when parcels coming from iHerb but he didnt know much about revenue.
I bet it's since they wanted to taxed whey proteins that they clamp down on anything coming from iHerb :mad: :mad: :mad:

Transform · 10-09-2014 2:54pm

Adventure Pout wrote: »

Damned!!!
Got my iherb parcel today but had to pay €37!!! including €10 for DHL admin fee..
Never had issues before.
My order was: vitamins D3 and lipoic acid and Raw honey..
My parcel was labelled as: Health and Supplements products.

According to this thread, anything with food and vitamins should not be taxed.
Can anybody clarify or send link of the revenue ( i cannot find much details)?

I contacted iHerb and complained about the labelling but not sure if that makes any difference.
I asked the DHL guy and he said that lots of people complained about the extra costs,especially when parcels coming from iHerb but he didnt know much about revenue.
I bet it's since they wanted to taxed whey proteins that they clamp down on anything coming from iHerb :mad: :mad: :mad:

its a fecking lottery - ive had the same experience.

revenue are just trying to get away with what ever they can and are basically taxing everything from iherb right now regardless of the items.

would love a face to face conversation with them on this as its very difficult to find out what is or is not taxed.

I just want to know that i can order certain items e.g. vitamins without any tax being lumped on

Adventure Pout · 10-09-2014 10:19pm

Was onto iHerb today who responded quite fast.
After a few emails back and forth, they gave me $15 as compensation but told them that it does not solve the issue as I dont know if my next order will be taxed.
Told them that Irish people will stop buying from them if we get taxed on everything coming from them.
So really need to know What products can be purchased on iHerb without having to pay crazy vat on arrival!
Who can we contact at revenue/customs?
Coz it wont be any more savings if we get Vat every time..
Very annoying annoying...

The Guvnor · 15-09-2014 9:21am

If you need to know what is or what is not vatable the simplest way is to go onto a large Irish website be it a pharmacy website with vitamins for sale etc or a health food shop etc.

If they are kind enough to list the vat on the items they sell which I am sure some must do then this will give you an answer - assuming they sell what it is you want to order.

Mofty · 19-09-2014 2:19pm

I have ordered five packages over the last six weeks from Iherb, each one has arrived by An Post and I have yet to be charged any customs. The price of the contents has ranged from 25 to 55 euro.

StickyIcky · 20-09-2014 4:11pm

I ordered something that was on special for €1 ... shipping was €4

It arrived in a box via An Post and I wasn't charged anything...

The Guvnor · 30-09-2014 1:16pm

It really is just a lottery - some will and some won't.
I would suggest the best chance of avoiding fees is using slower post rather than a courier but just one of those things you'll never know til you get the notice!

jtthom · 30-09-2014 1:49pm

Ordered on 16/09 and it arrived today via An Post. Total cost of order including shipping was $34.

Adventure Pout · 01-10-2014 9:47pm

So I got in the post from DHL the breakdown of my Vat..and when I saw it, I was like :mad::mad::mad::mad:
Of course, I then emailed them..no answer from them as usual..
so I hassled them till I got an answer which I did today.
My parcel was a total of US$52 and the DHL paper calculed an estimated of €117.41!!!
My email to them:
"DHL,

I got today a Duty/Vat invoice from a parcel I got from iHerb last week, which I had to pay €37!!!!
Looking at your details, everything is so wrong!
Where does that statistical value of €117.41 come from??
My order including shipping was US$ 52!! This equal to €40 as of today!
Why are you overcharging customers? I dont think iherb will send wrong information when they are shipping their goods.
And as part of revenue, food and vitamins are 0% vat, which were the items I bought.
Please provide clarification and refund,"

After a few weeks passed by, here is their answer:
"Hi,

Apologies for the delay, I have logged a query for a recalculation of your taxes, ID xxxxxxxxx,

I have been informed that all IHerb shipments are VAT payable,

Regards
Tim Norman
IE Query Handling"

So to my understanding, DHL does not care whats in the packaging..they will just charge you vat straight away...
I bet, they just in bed with the revenue!!

The Guvnor · 01-10-2014 10:15pm

What items are and are not vat'able is not a straightforward process.

I know it should be clear cut but some items or cases do lend themselves to interpretation.

In a marginal or grey area and especially in an import from outside EU it will always be charge the vat.

The ruling appears to be - iherb - blanket vat.

Are iherb better value for vitamins than other alternatives within the EU or is it they have a much better selection etc? For me Vitamin C or CLA or Omega 3 is what it is nothing fancy and without looking you'd think a similar deal could be had from the bulk suppliers?

jtthom · 03-11-2014 5:07pm

For those who use the regular old An Post option, how long do you normally have to wait? Last time it took exactly two weeks to deliver, might current order still hasn't arrived yet and it's been just over three weeks.

Mofty · 03-11-2014 8:41pm

Usually between 2 and 3 weeks for me, but one order did take close to a month.

mjth2004 · 05-11-2014 6:37pm

UPS - Today...

€71 order including shipment - UPS looking for €63.odd! Made up of €14.odd handling fee and as shipment of $33.91 was not included on the invoice they calculated ship meet as €136.

Seanachai · 06-11-2014 2:22pm

Got stung with a €77 Vat charge on an iherb package today. Sent DHL an email asking for a breakdown of charges. It could be revenue that are deciding it though. It wipes out the savings made on the cheaper supplements. Some products seem to have gone from 0-23% Vat, they've even targeted peppermint tea for ffs!.

robocode · 06-11-2014 2:39pm

Seanachai wrote: »

Got stung with a €77 Vat charge

:eek:

Seanachai · 06-11-2014 2:51pm

robocode wrote: »

:eek:

The order was for over €200, duty amount €22.25 , other ( DHL charge ) €10 & €45.09 Duty VAT amount. If I used a parcel service and had the package sent to Northern Ireland could I avoid the charges in future?. It's a vindictive charge on herbal products because they're competing with the lousy medical service and their crap medicines.

Frigga_92 · 06-11-2014 2:54pm

Feckin hell.
Been browsing iherb a bit lately but think I'll be avoiding them. It's a pity because they have such a huge range of products.

Seanachai · 06-11-2014 3:30pm

26sdrawkcab wrote: »

Feckin hell.
Been browsing iherb a bit lately but think I'll be avoiding them. It's a pity because they have such a huge range of products.

I doubt they're just targeting iherb, they've probably changed their approach to all supplement websites. I've contacted iherb to see if they can advise if the charge is caused by ordering certain supplements or just a ridiculous blanket charge.

Seanachai · 06-11-2014 4:12pm

Email response from DHL,

"Thank you for your e-mail.

In June of this year we were advised by Customs that VAT@23% is to be applied to these products.

The breakdown of the charges are as follows ;
€
Value of goods 173.79
Duty @ 12.8% 22.25
196.03

Vat @23% 45.09 (calculated on 196.03euros)

Total Taxes 67.34
DHL Admin 10.00

Total Due €77.34

I hop this clarifies the taxes. If you have any further queries you can contact our Imports Department on 01 8448220."

I'm going to email Revenue to see what constitutes 'these products' and if they're supposed to be just blanket charging on packages just because they contain supplements.

Iherb Food Items - VAT charges + €10 DHL charge over orders €22+

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