This is not strictly speaking online shopping, but it is worth a punt. Someone on EG might know. I am sending my brother a package of goodies to Uganda and have just found out that that country has a 55% import tax rate on the value of good sent. I am sending him a monitor, camera, Xbox, untold games and an external HDD. I don't even want to think about how much 55% of that is worth. Any idea how to avoid this or reduce this?
Import tax
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Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years ago -
FWB 39,097 posts
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Registered 11 years agoIs this for an African prince? -
Oceanstar 57 posts
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Registered 1 year agoFirst you have to declare a very low value for the package you are sending and make sure to label it as a gift. Sending to a home address helps, so don't use his work address.
I'd check as well with the Ugandan embassy as the 55% tax might only apply for commercial goods. Just mention that you are sending your brother a birthday gift and you would like to know if there are any taxes that might apply.
He can also call his local post office and ask what taxes, if any, would be applicable if e receives a gift from the UK.
Edited by Oceanstar at 11:15:55 04-02-2012 -
PazJohnMitch 5,680 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 6 years agoI did warn you that custom officials were all thieves.
If you send it all in one package without paying any import tax I suspect none of it will make it.
I would probably split into into small chunks and take the hit on the larger items. (Monitor + 360) but risk it with the games and camera.
Although it does depend on just how corrupt they are. They may for instance steal the things which have the tax paid and not bother about the others.
I would go for a bet edging approach. -
PazJohnMitch 5,680 posts
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Registered 6 years agoOceanstars suggestion looks like a good starting point. -
neilka 12,004 posts
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Registered 8 years agoPay a Ugandan to smuggle them into the country up their arse.if you have nothing intresting to say then you might as well just throw your bags on the truck and drive away
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PazJohnMitch 5,680 posts
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Registered 6 years agoOr alternatively hire this woman:
http://jalopnik.com/5784098/this-woman-crashed-a-car-with-54-bags-of-heroin-in-her-vagina -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
Seen 5 hours ago
Registered 6 years agoThanks for the suggestions, guys. The way it is looking, I think I'll just fly down to Uganda and deliver the stuff myself. Return flight via Bahrain for March = £410. And I get a luggage allowance of 40kg.
Conversely, sending via post will be between £150 - £200, depending on the courier. And then a HUGE tax bill on the goods as well. At those prices, anything other than flying down there myself just seems stupid.
And @Paz, yes, you did say that they are all fucking crooks. I didn't want to believe it, but yes. You are right. -
El_MUERkO 16,141 posts
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Registered 10 years agoThey may stop you at the airport and ask why you brought a monitor on holiday. -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years agoIf I tell them the truth, that this is a gift, that's not going to cost me more, is it? -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years agoOceanstar wrote:
My brother called me this morning, in shock, after having left the Ugandan Post Office. He asked what you might have to pay to receive a gift, was told 55% and left the office. After he was out in the Ugandan sun, he thought he must have misheard and went back in to ask one more time. According to the lady behind the counter in Kampala, as of about 10am local time, goods attract a 55% surcharge. I will call the Ugandan embassy, because I have to hear this for myself.
He can also call his local post office and ask what taxes, if any, would be applicable if e receives a gift from the UK. -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years agoFuck this. I am flying to Uganda instead. Considerably cheaper. Bastards. -
Plus if you sent them with a lower value, that'd be your insurance value....so if it went missing then it'd be a big loss as well.
Might be worth checking if there is some kind of limit on goods you can bring into Uganda even flying in - unless you are going to get the stuff out the packaging etc ? Britain has a £400 ish level I think, I'm just thinking that customs in every other country other than the UK seem somewhat more interested in what people are doing..... -
Lexx87 20,833 posts
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Registered 7 years agoThis way you get to actually see your brother and help it set everything up and stuff, so it's quite good in that way!Speak the truth hussy!
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mrharvest 5,048 posts
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Registered 10 years agoI also recommend that you deliver the stuff in person. I'm in Tanzania and half the packages go missing in the post or gets inexplicably replaced somehow. Instead of a bottle of perfume a colleague received some chilli sauce.
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Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years agoYeah, I'm flying down to Uganda. 8-21/3. Will be good to see the family. FLying to Uganda via Bahrain.
@MrHarvest. You ever go Kampala? How bizarre would it be to have a Eurogamer meet in East Africa? -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years agoDisneyJon wrote:
All the stuff is out of its packaging. Saving on weight and space.
Plus if you sent them with a lower value, that'd be your insurance value....so if it went missing then it'd be a big loss as well.
Might be worth checking if there is some kind of limit on goods you can bring into Uganda even flying in - unless you are going to get the stuff out the packaging etc ? Britain has a £400 ish level I think, I'm just thinking that customs in every other country other than the UK seem somewhat more interested in what people are doing..... -
mrharvest 5,048 posts
Seen 31 minutes ago
Registered 10 years agoVice.Destroyer wrote:
No, I haven't been to Uganda yet. Everyone who's been says the gorillas are awesome. Flying is a bit expensive for me but the coach takes ages. I'll have a think about it.
Yeah, I'm flying down to Uganda. 8-21/3. Will be good to see the family. FLying to Uganda via Bahrain.
@MrHarvest. You ever go Kampala? How bizarre would it be to have a Eurogamer meet in East Africa? -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
Seen 5 hours ago
Registered 6 years agoWell, I don't want to put you out of pocket, because once I touch down in Uganda, I will be penniless myself. I just paid for my sisters wedding and this package, as well as the plane ticket has killed me. I'm going to be a broke man for a little while. Find me on Facebook. My name is Victor Anfu. I think there are only two on there. One is my dad, the other is me. I think that you should be able to tell the diff between the both of us. Maybe me and my brother will be able to take a coach trip to somewhere in the middle.gif)
This is all very much up in the air, of course. But if you are east african, then you understand the african way of planning stuff. Plans aren't laid in stone. They are more like..., suggestions -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years agoI have been grumbling about this 55% import tax to anyone that will listen. Finally my aunt snapped.
"Listen. Stop four moaning. England is getting the best years of your life. How much tax have you paid here? Africa just wants its fair share. Don't begrudge them that."
I'll remember these words of wisdom, next time she goes to Ghana. -
THFourteen 29,052 posts
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Registered 8 years agoAre you from Ghana?
http://teachghanatrust.org.uk/
Give us some money
Or if you prefer, get a team together and attend our fundraising quiz on Saturday 25th February, its £20 per head, but you get food included, and all the profits go to the charity
/shameless plug -
ZizouFC 4,925 posts
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Registered 4 years agoYou're a good bloke Vice. Paying for your sisters wedding and putting together an awesome gift for your brother. -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years agoTHFourteen wrote:
I am half-ghanaian, half-sierra leonian. But my mum married a ugandan, and that is why the family is over there. I'll keep that URL to one side and may donate some time in the future. For the time being, I am broker than a motherfucker. This trip is becoming exceedingly expensive. I have just paid for my Hepatitis A and Typhoid inoculations. Yellow Fever on monday. And I still have to buy my ticket from Glasgow to London.
Are you from Ghana?
http://teachghanatrust.org.uk/
Give us some money
Or if you prefer, get a team together and attend our fundraising quiz on Saturday 25th February, its £20 per head, but you get food included, and all the profits go to the charity
/shameless plug
And just bought some of these, to take down:
If I could give, I would give. But I'll keep them in mind. -
DaM 11,742 posts
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Registered 11 years agoYou've got a baby to think about! -
nickthegun 44,455 posts
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Registered 7 years agoHaving sold mobiles on ebay, I never would have believed someone would genuinely buy a mobile to send their brother in africa.---------------------------------------------------------
AGP.SRPT -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years ago@DaM Don't worry, once the baby is born, all my dosh will be going in only that direction.
@nickthegun Those scam artists have made it difficult for honest punters. -
Vice.Destroyer 5,622 posts
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Registered 6 years agoOh, and Nick, I am going to give my brother my current phone. He'll be the only Ugandan (I guess) with a Nokia Lumia 800.
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Carbon_Altered 672 posts
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Registered 6 years agoI have been to Uganda and Ghana through work and liked both countries immensely. I would, however, never fcuk with their customs officials!! -
I'll take my chances. I'll keep a few crips $20 bills in my pocket. That will smoothe a lot of things over.
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