Tariffs, Customs, Duty Etc.

[UnfinishedKit]

In other scrupulous rule following anomalies, whenever I return home from Japan I generally have at least 12 bottle of sake with me. I always prepare a detailed inventory with receipts stapled, prices outlined, currency conversions done (alcohol content not required because sake falls under the wine equalisation tax not the alcohol duty which is nuts but I’ll go with it). 
 

I declare my boxes, hand over my documentation at customs and I have never once been charged the tax I owe. 

[cteno4]

We had the state sales tax done at source a few years back about the same time as the Australian gst happened and for the same reasons. We just dont have any federal sales tax/duty on small imports in the past so all new and its looking like instead of just using the pay at the source with the same system the state sales tax is done, customs is going to do it in conjunction with the carriers. This means backlogs, questions on duty owed, and im sure good fees for the privilege…

 

We have just swung wildly to extremes on the issue here and thusly a lot of chaos is going to ensue.

 

While ive not tried to import anything that might send off bells and whistles i dont think ive ever had a package really delayed by us customs for inspections in the past and none have ever appeared to have been opened or inspection notices posted on the box on in it [i had a friend have a box opened for customs inspection and there was a note about it all put into the box and I think a big stamp on the outside. But the volume is very big here so I expect few get much of any look other than things that may look suspect from HTS category.

 

jeff

[brill27mcb]

I'm sitting on a small Hobby Search pre-order and waiting to see what happens. Compared to the price of the items, the shipping was already figuring to be high, and now it seems there will be all of this additional expense coming on top of that. This also will make me check out the offered shipping methods more carefully, although if I remember right, who handles the final stage of delivery in the U.S. is not always clearly stated. With some handlers adding fees, that makes this choice more important.

 

Rich K.

[cteno4]

Rich,

 

well it looks like the de minimis is not going away until may 4 and even then they are just saying china right now [but who knows]. So things shipping this month will be ok. 

 

jeff

[Section31]

This could be worth going to if travelling to japan. I will do it for sure. Buy an New Kato run it on there track.

 

 

 

[Kingmeow]

13 hours ago, UnfinishedKit said:

In other scrupulous rule following anomalies, whenever I return home from Japan I generally have at least 12 bottle of sake with me. I always prepare a detailed inventory with receipts stapled, prices outlined, currency conversions done (alcohol content not required because sake falls under the wine equalisation tax not the alcohol duty which is nuts but I’ll go with it). 
 

I declare my boxes, hand over my documentation at customs and I have never once been charged the tax I owe. 

 

I plan to do that in the Fall.  Substitute Sake with N-Scale trains.  😎

 

9 hours ago, brill27mcb said:

I'm sitting on a small Hobby Search pre-order and waiting to see what happens. Compared to the price of the items, the shipping was already figuring to be high, and now it seems there will be all of this additional expense coming on top of that. This also will make me check out the offered shipping methods more carefully, although if I remember right, who handles the final stage of delivery in the U.S. is not always clearly stated. With some handlers adding fees, that makes this choice more important.

 

Rich K.

 

Same here with PJ.  I got  shopping cart sitting in the wings.  I don't order from HS as they charge state tax for the state I live in.  I think their list has 13 US states listed.  With orders from Japan tending to be large, to maximize shipping costs, I avoid HS unless I really really have to.  So far I'm able to avoid even though HS has more variety than PJ, e.g., Hogarakadou containers.

[Section31]

15 hours ago, UnfinishedKit said:

We sort of went through this in Australia a few years back. Small imports were really hurting local businesses because they weren’t subject to GST (sales tax), basically anything under $1000 personal import was GST free. So the government changed the rules and made people selling into Australia collect the GST at source.
 

The principle that everyone selling to Australians should pay the same sales tax seems pretty uncontroversial but Amazon, who weren’t in Australia at the time, kicked up a big stink, threw their toys out of the pram and stopping selling into Australia for a while. This opened a big window for aliexpress and Temu who started setting up inshore warehouses and Amazon opened up here as well. 
 

how it works in practice is that if you buy from large retailers (Amazon, eBay, Aliexpress, Buyee, world shopping, Temu etc.) you’ll pay the GST at source and if you buy from a small shop that ships or use a package consolidator like blackship you won’t pay GST as it won’t be collected by the courtier or postal service. (Although in the latter case your paying Japanese sales tax which is also 10% so same same). 

 

Border enforcement of packages is inherently inconsistent, there’s no way everything gets checked. I’ve imported rice for home brewing sake a few times. This isn’t a GST or duty thing but a bio security thing. I’m a scrupulous rule follow so I diligently prepared my paperwork each time to make sure the rice was handled and inspected appropriately. Once it was incinerated, once it was inspected and I was charged for the inspection (what should happen) and once it sailed through untouched. YMMV. 

 

Basically what canada is like. Generally only sales tax plus processing fees. 
 

Food products are always tough, they need to inspect it. I used to do it for singapore lim chee guan pork jerky - HK to Canada. I had to use fake name and address as sender and send (in xmas)when the port is so busy it will likely pass through. Don’t call it pork jerky because it won’t get through food inspection 

[bill937ca]

"U.S. customs agents began collecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral 10-per-cent tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week."

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-trumps-10-tariff-kicks-in-taking-effect-at-us-seaports-airports-and/

 

Before you pay chances are you will be in line for just short of a century.  😯

[Section31]

1 minute ago, bill937ca said:

"U.S. customs agents began collecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral 10-per-cent tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week."

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-trumps-10-tariff-kicks-in-taking-effect-at-us-seaports-airports-and/

 

Before you pay chances are you will be in line for just short of a century.  😯

 

Places like reynauld’s will be effected hard i feel. There prices were already high before Tariffs.

[Section31]

Somebody will figure away around it. Just how grey area will you go into.

[cteno4]

Ok, lets stop on here on going into work around on paying taxes, past were we want to go.

 

thanks

 

jeff

[cteno4]

It’s not looking like the duty on small packages will be happening for at least a month here until the customs systems for tracking al this are up and going. Last executive order said de minimis would end may 4th but that only mentioned china, so not clear year if that will also be the start of collecting duty on other countries as well with de minimus elimination. 

 

Most of the press talk on tariffs has been on big commercial import stuff which customs has a system in place for doing duty collection when needed. They didnt have one for de minimus packages and why the chaos there.

 

Im surprised to hear Plaza is not big enough to have tripped the sales tax system limits yet. They were such a big seller on ebay.

 

Jeff

[Kingmeow]

3 hours ago, bill937ca said:

"U.S. customs agents began collecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral 10-per-cent tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week."

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-trumps-10-tariff-kicks-in-taking-effect-at-us-seaports-airports-and/

 

Before you pay chances are you will be in line for just short of a century.  😯

 

Article only available for subcribers.

 

2 hours ago, cteno4 said:

Im surprised to hear Plaza is not big enough to have tripped the sales tax system limits yet. They were such a big seller on ebay.

 

Jeff

 

Me too!  But I've heard they no longer sell on eBay.

[cteno4]

14 minutes ago, Kingmeow said:

Me too!  But I've heard they no longer sell on eBay.

Yes they closed the ebay store when they opened their international website. I just meant if that volume from ebay went over to their website i would guess they were big enough to have to trip the maximum limit for the exception to collecting us state sales tax from their website. But i think HS is the only shop currently collecting US state sales taxes.

 

Not sure how those international sales tax collection rules and processes are regulated when it all in another country! 

 

Jeff

[RS18U]

Will be interesting to see how this shakes out world-wide.  We are headed to England for a almost a month next week and I was going to place a relatively (for me anyway) big order with PJ for the track I need for the portable layout when I get back.  For us in Canada there will be no direct issue re extra tariffs coming from Japan, just the usual GST/PST/Canada Post handling fee, but the impacts to exchange rates and shipping costs, who knows.  The Yen - CDN $ has already climbed 2 cents since March 29.

[bill937ca]

6 hours ago, RS18U said:

Will be interesting to see how this shakes out world-wide.  We are headed to England for a almost a month next week and I was going to place a relatively (for me anyway) big order with PJ for the track I need for the portable layout when I get back.  For us in Canada there will be no direct issue re extra tariffs coming from Japan, just the usual GST/PST/Canada Post handling fee, but the impacts to exchange rates and shipping costs, who knows.  The Yen - CDN $ has already climbed 2 cents since March 29.

Just as long as your parcel doesn't go DHL through Cincinnati.

Edited April 6 by bill937ca

[disturbman]

He should be fine. Afaik, Trump didn't revive transit tariffs.

[mr bachmann]

6 hours ago, RS18U said:

Will be interesting to see how this shakes out world-wide.  We are headed to England for a almost a month next week and I was going to place a relatively (for me anyway) big order with PJ for the track I need for the portable layout when I get back.  For us in Canada there will be no direct issue re extra tariffs coming from Japan, just the usual GST/PST/Canada Post handling fee, but the impacts to exchange rates and shipping costs, who knows.  The Yen - CDN $ has already climbed 2 cents since March 29.

had conformation from plaza my order had shipped (Greenmax tamper)  that was 17 days ago , 230 plus UK pounds , normal for me is around 120 UK pound plaza sort VAT and arrives about 10 days , just saying with more money spent it might incur customs charge , will let you know on arrival .

[Kingmeow]

2 hours ago, mr bachmann said:

had conformation from plaza my order had shipped (Greenmax tamper)  that was 17 days ago , 230 plus UK pounds , normal for me is around 120 UK pound plaza sort VAT and arrives about 10 days , just saying with more money spent it might incur customs charge , will let you know on arrival .

 

Please do!  I have a $200USD ready to go with Plaza just to test the waters (not my first order with them).

 

In my usual looking around to fill this order I've noticed that some items have sky rocketed.  But the amount is ridiculous thinking that maybe it's a mistake?

 

https://www.plazajapan.com/4949727690964/

and

https://www.plazajapan.com/4949727057699/

 

Both of these have the same MSRP yet one is much cheaper.  One is about 25% more than the other.  Ring a bell?  🙃

 

https://www.plazajapan.com/4949727688091/

https://www.plazajapan.com/4949727697307/

 

Anyone else noticed?  Tariffs "built in"?

[disturbman]

Could we maybe keep the subject on topic? If anyone wants to discuss PJ pricing policies (or abnormalities), please do it where it belongs 🙂 Either in the PJ thread, the ridiculous price thread (for that overpriced tanker set) or a new thread.

 

54 minutes ago, Kingmeow said:

Please do!  I have a $200USD ready to go with Plaza just to test the waters (not my first order with them).

You do realize that mr Bachmann lives in the UK and that his experience won't be relevant for you vis-à-vis Trump's tariffs? 🙂

Edited April 6 by disturbman

[mr bachmann]

5 hours ago, disturbman said:

 

You do realize that mr Bachmann lives in the UK and that his experience won't be relevant for you vis-à-vis Trump's tariffs? 🙂

 
apologies, was just with Kingmeow to vist to UK and spending more than his usual , just to let him know what to expect on orders over the normal £125 UK pound . 
 

[disturbman]

My apologies. I must have missed that part. I only saw RS18U mention that they would be visiting the UK and were considering getting a delivery there instead of in Canada. Not Meow 😅

[RS18U]

On 4/5/2025 at 1:06 PM, cteno4 said:

Last executive order said de minimis would end may 4th but that only mentioned china, so not clear year if that will also be the start of collecting duty on other countries as well with de minimus elimination.

Seems Canadian companies are worried it will indeed be extended past China: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/future-uncertain-for-london-merchant-as-u-s-looks-to-close-little-known-trade-loophole-1.7502412

 

Another of the wait and see what happens.

[RS18U]

28 minutes ago, disturbman said:

My apologies. I must have missed that part. I only saw RS18U mention that they would be visiting the UK and were considering getting a delivery there instead of in Canada. Not Meow 😅

Sorry for causing confusion.  What I meant to say was that when we get back from the UK, I was planning on placing an order with Plaza Japan.  Not making an order while we were in the UK or getting a delivery to the UK.  And since we will be gone about a month I was speculating on what changes the tariffs would have for that order, such as exchange rates and possibly shipping fees.

[cteno4]

Yes lots of chaos and unknowns here sadly. I am a bit worried there will not be much love for worrying about all the fees that will need to be added to pay for the collection of tariffs as mostly this i think will be part of the well its just another roadblock for imports in addition to the tariffs. Also a lot of our consumer protection is getting dismantled now as well so the gov wont be looking out for the consumer here and for USPS it will be the gov charging the fees for duty processing. If the exemption is completely dropped it will effect many countries that use it.

 

Again the logical thing would seem to be using prepayment via the gst/sales tax system now in place in a lot of the world for these small shipments. That would take the whole paperwork side out of having to deal with it with the package in hand. It could be much simpler and more responsive to tariff changes as well. But sadly logic is not what is driving all this.

 

There has not been a lot of discussion on what tariffs will do for a japanese product that is made in china and then sold thru japan [ie many tomix products]. Do you pay the china or japan tariff rates when importing to the us from japan?

 

jeff