notcrack
Well-Known Member
I've been having some really issues with customs lately (not on anything from Don, that sails through), so I thought I'd write a little thread to help out anyone else who might come up against these sods.
For anyone who is unaware in the UK we have the HMRC. They are a pretty fair and straight forward bunch of people to deal with and I've personally never had any real problems with them. I know some might come here and say they are as bad as UKBA, but in my opinion they aren't.
Anyway then we have the UKBA who are a branch of the home office. They are staffed by people who have very little grasp of importation law. These are the people that brand cross channel shoppers as smugglers for bringing in a few more boxes of cigarettes than they should. The limits of which are only a suggestion by the UKBA and not British law. They have stolen cars off of families and put countless people through court proceedings for breaking no law. They are the lowest of the low. I won't carry this rant on, but I think you get my point.
Today I had a little call off of parcelforce (the Royal mail's international delivery branch) saying that they had a package of mine that had been charged by customs. I asked how much, thinking it would be around £100 and I was told that is was £2,700. A little taken aback I asked why and I was told that's what the UKBA had charged it.
I then told the parcelforce girl (I actually lost my temper with her unfairly) that I was not paying such a fine and that I would talk to HMRC. I then had a 30 minute conversation with them and they told me that trying to import 10kg of processed tobacco was fool hardy and I was lucky I wasn't being brought up on smuggling charges. I told the woman that I would never import processed tobacco as it is fool hardy and that I would only import whole leaf unprocessed tobacco. I then had to go through the usual questions regarding what and why would I want whole leaf tobacco etc.
The woman then asked me to hold and contacted the UKBA. She came back to me and explained that I would have to get the correct commodity codes myself and send everything off to the UKBA.
So here is how you get all the information you need to import a large amount of whole leaf tobacco into the UK.
You are asked to call the Tariff Classification Helpline (01702 366077) - once you're through to them you need to tell them what is in the package. Here are the codes
2401 10 35 10 - Light air cured Burley - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 35 20 - Light air cured Maryland - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 60 00 - Sun cured oriental - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 70 10 - Dark air-cured varieties - Not stemmed or stripped (this one is a little vague)
2401 10 85 10 - Flue-cured Virginia - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 85 90 - Flue-cured other - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 95 11 - Kentucky/Fire-cured varieties - - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 95 91 - All others - Not stemmed or stripped
Once you go through these codes with the classification people they will happily allow you to put there names against the letter you are going to send the UKBA.
Then you need to print off the invoice and send it along with a letter containing the relevant codes, tariff classification officer's name and the tracking number for the parcel.
I had to send my letter to -
UKBA
Coventry International Hub
Siskin Parkway West
Coventry
CV3 4HX
But you may need to send it elsewhere depending on what company has your package.
Anyway I hope this helps someone out as it's been a bit of a bugger getting hold of this info.
Kind Regards
Joe
For anyone who is unaware in the UK we have the HMRC. They are a pretty fair and straight forward bunch of people to deal with and I've personally never had any real problems with them. I know some might come here and say they are as bad as UKBA, but in my opinion they aren't.
Anyway then we have the UKBA who are a branch of the home office. They are staffed by people who have very little grasp of importation law. These are the people that brand cross channel shoppers as smugglers for bringing in a few more boxes of cigarettes than they should. The limits of which are only a suggestion by the UKBA and not British law. They have stolen cars off of families and put countless people through court proceedings for breaking no law. They are the lowest of the low. I won't carry this rant on, but I think you get my point.
Today I had a little call off of parcelforce (the Royal mail's international delivery branch) saying that they had a package of mine that had been charged by customs. I asked how much, thinking it would be around £100 and I was told that is was £2,700. A little taken aback I asked why and I was told that's what the UKBA had charged it.
I then told the parcelforce girl (I actually lost my temper with her unfairly) that I was not paying such a fine and that I would talk to HMRC. I then had a 30 minute conversation with them and they told me that trying to import 10kg of processed tobacco was fool hardy and I was lucky I wasn't being brought up on smuggling charges. I told the woman that I would never import processed tobacco as it is fool hardy and that I would only import whole leaf unprocessed tobacco. I then had to go through the usual questions regarding what and why would I want whole leaf tobacco etc.
The woman then asked me to hold and contacted the UKBA. She came back to me and explained that I would have to get the correct commodity codes myself and send everything off to the UKBA.
So here is how you get all the information you need to import a large amount of whole leaf tobacco into the UK.
You are asked to call the Tariff Classification Helpline (01702 366077) - once you're through to them you need to tell them what is in the package. Here are the codes
2401 10 35 10 - Light air cured Burley - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 35 20 - Light air cured Maryland - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 60 00 - Sun cured oriental - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 70 10 - Dark air-cured varieties - Not stemmed or stripped (this one is a little vague)
2401 10 85 10 - Flue-cured Virginia - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 85 90 - Flue-cured other - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 95 11 - Kentucky/Fire-cured varieties - - Not stemmed or stripped
2401 10 95 91 - All others - Not stemmed or stripped
Once you go through these codes with the classification people they will happily allow you to put there names against the letter you are going to send the UKBA.
Then you need to print off the invoice and send it along with a letter containing the relevant codes, tariff classification officer's name and the tracking number for the parcel.
I had to send my letter to -
UKBA
Coventry International Hub
Siskin Parkway West
Coventry
CV3 4HX
But you may need to send it elsewhere depending on what company has your package.
Anyway I hope this helps someone out as it's been a bit of a bugger getting hold of this info.
Kind Regards
Joe