Quote:
Originally Posted by hleo12
Maybe "block" is too strong a word...
So here's, like, the set up here...
All legit international orders from international companies, like Amazon, play-asia, and the likes, are being redirected to a specific branch of the government, they call it "customs". I think all international packages go through them.
They sort of police anything that goes into the country and they also handle illegal trades (meaning they have the right to hold off any illegal stuff that comes into the country).
So, anyway, they also have a rule that you have to pay a "tax" for anything legally bought internationally (doesn't matter if it's via online or not). And it also doesn't matter that you've already paid tax when you placed the order.
Just recently, my friend bought some decal for her phone, and the customs made her pay a fee to claim the stickers.
Also, if you're coming back from travel abroad, when you come into the country with, let's say, a brand new laptop still inside the box, they won't let it out of the airport unless you pay a "tax".
And that really sucks. So the only work around is, if you don't want to pay the tax, is have someone buy it personally for you, then have it sent.
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That's the same thing in France for goods bought outside the European Union. Sometimes the parcel will arrive without any custom tax. The customs make you pay the local VAT (in addition to the one already in the seller country). What I don't understand is having to pay VAT for the shipping since it's seen as a service. So one day having bought five CDs in Asia, I ended up paying pretty much the same amount for the taxes than for the products.