Deliveries from China

I have PCBs made in China (well Hong Kong).

This is all my many small PCB projects (not FireBrick). I would rather use UK suppliers but I am sorry, even for just 5 PCBs, populated or unpopulated, even with carrier charges, China is way cheaper, I mean a *LOT* cheaper, and generally even faster. I'd love UK companies to up their game, and cope, and I have spoken to some, but they cannot get close. If they could get close, I'd got for it. It is a shame.

Duty and VAT

So, I have had to learn how it works. Before Brexit there was some stuff that worked well from EU. But in the last few years things have changed (not just because of Brexit), and now there are some things that are, honestly, better.

If you have ever ordered something as an individual from overseas, and it is over the small "gift" or "minimum" level where they don't care, you will have been hit with a surcharge by the courier. Often on the doorstep as a surprise.

This has three parts potentially.

1. Duty - some levy on some types of goods. The government have a moderately sane web site for this (https://trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/find_commodity) which helps you work it out. The system itself seems insane, and a minefield, but the web site helps. My experience is "duty" never applies to any of the bits we order, thankfully.
2. VAT - this applies always
3. Courier admin fee

The last part if the big problem, in my view. Handling customs, duty, and VAT, is an inherent part of the process of being an international courier. It is no more an unexpected cost than paying for petrol for their delivery vans. Yet, somehow, they decide they will charge the recipient for this admin work and not make it simply part of the cost of shipping.

This is simple for them, as they can legally expect the recipient to pay Duty and VAT so they add their bit. Refuse to pay and they won't deliver. It is a basic lien / or blackmail. In my view it should not be allowed. Royal Mail actually have legislation to allow it (!) which shows that it should not normally be allowed (i.e. if it can just apply normally then Royal Mail would not need special legislation for it).

The recipient has no contract with the courier. They have not agreed a price for service the courier has chosen to provide. Even if they accept they provide the service that is logically the start of negotiation on a fair price. As a consumer even an implied contract like this would be unfair and so not enforceable. But they have you over a barrel.

Postponed VAT accounting

If you are receiving goods as a company, well, as anyone VAT registered, things are better, finally.

It used to be you paid the courier, and their admin fee. You then battled to get a formal VAT invoice from them (not easy if payment collected on the doorstep). Then you included that VAT (not their admin fee) in your next VAT return to reclaim it - up to 3 months later.

End result - not paying VAT. But impacting cash flow, and you paid an admin fee.

Postponed VAT accounting changed that - you account for the fact you should have paid VAT on imports, and that you are claiming it back, in the totals on the next VAT return (surprisingly not separate fields for that). But you don't pay VAT on import. Obviously they get the tax when you finally sell with VAT at the final (higher) price.

This gives the courier no excuse to charge an admin fee - yay!

DHL, FedEx, UPS

The three main couriers used by JLC seem to be DHL, FedEx, and UPS. They have different prices and delivery speeds. FedEx is arguably the cheapest, and works (though hassle with them insisting on a signature). UPS are next. DHL cost more, but probably fastest. Until recently I was using DHL. I made the mistake of trying the others.

• DHL are quick, text/email progress, text/email on the day with time window, even live tracking the van, cope with leaving on doorstep if I ask, and handle Postponed VAT Accounting no problem.
• FedEx are OK, not the same progress messages, struggle to "leave on doorstep", but do handle Postponed VAT accounting
• UPS are idiots. Slow. No updates. And it seems have no clue on Postponed VAT accounting, so insist on charging on delivery, and their admin fee is expensive (more than difference in courier costs).

So, obvious lesson, do not use UPS, as they cost more in admin fee than it is paying DHL to send in the first place.

Don't use UPS, simple as that!

In practice the few orders using UPS in the pipeline are literally going to be returned to China, at UPSs cost, if they cannot work it out, and then I'll pay for delivery by DHL. This is slightly more than UPS admin fee, but it is the principle - I want UPS to suffer the cost of returning to China for their stupidity, and I've learned to never, ever, use them again, and tell you the same.

Just to add, we now have several supposed "delivery attempts" which I can prove with extensive CCTV were not, in fact, attempted, by UPS, over the last few days. Why do that?!?

Pre-pay

Another option is have JLC send via a courier but with pre-paid duty. Same set of couriers.

This is bad for several reasons - for a start the extra they charge up front is not the normal 20% VAT. It seems a random and larger amount. I have no clue why! But also it is not a VAT invoice, so you can't easily reclaim the VAT! To be fair getting a VAT invoice from couriers paid on receipt is not easy either.

It may work for an individual who cannot reclaim VAT, as may be cheaper done this way than VAT and admin fee on receipt. So worth considering in such cases.

Duty

I mentioned duty. This is not the same as VAT (which a business can reclaim). You have to pay it.

Duty applies on some specific classes of goods, from specific countries, and it really is very specific! It is basically politics.

Thankfully JLC are not totally daft - I can say the category for the goods, ensure it is right, and not have duty charged. I only got that wrong once, and had a couple of pounds duty (plus a courier admin fee)!

If you have to pay duty, tough, it may be that with enough imports an "account" somehow with chosen courier can avoid admin feeds for these. Not 100% sure. Thankfully we don't do stuff that needs duty.

It is nice that JLC offer a clear choice of couriers.

What is really nice is when sender will work with you to ensure clear and accurate marking of the goods. For a recent order from China (not PCBs this time) I searched on that duty checking page and identified the exact description and "category code" and the sender agreed to clearly use that wording and code on the parcel to avoid issues. I hope it works (will find out in 30 to 60 days).