I recently bought online sa alibaba, shipped via EMS and as usual na tax na naman ako ng bongga.
small box 1.2kg, declared value including shipping is USD30. ang binayaran kong tax is 1545 sa custom
imagine mas malaki pa binayaran kong tax sa value ng item ko.
sis, what's the item? most likely, hindi 30usd ang rate na ni-compute nila ang tax mo. if they think na masyadong mababa yung value declared, which is almost always the case, ginagamit nila yung book nila and dun cnocompare yung real value nung item and yun ang rate na gagamitin nila sa computation.
if mas mataas pa sa value ng item yung tax mo and you have the proof to show them na based on their computations, mali nga, pwede mo naman sabihin sa kanila na i-recompute nila.
few months ago, nagpunta ako dun to claim my package. there's this one man na nagclaim ng class A chanel na watch, pero maganda, mukhang orig talaga. so hindi naniwala yung assessor na class A, ang tax nya is around 2.8k. he said na class A lang talaga yun and was purchased around 700php lang, may invoice ata sya dala and tama yung declared value, ni-recompute nila yun tax nya.
first time ko din sa customs, i purchased an adapter for my laptop, kala nila battery sabi ko charger ng laptop lang talaga and $15 lang declared value, un ginamit nilang rate so i was taxed 700 pesos. may mga fixed amount kasi:
Customs Documentary Stamp: PHP 265
Import Processing Fee: PHP 250
source:
http://customs.gov.ph/references/tax-calculator/kaya automatic may babayaran ka na agad na 515 + tax talaga ng item mo.
so tax ko nun is around 200+ lang, may mga fee and stamps lang kaya naging 700.
somehow, it's not possible na mas mataas ang tax sa value ng item since percentage lang naman kinukuha nila sa value nung item. may maliit na additional tax (excise tax) lang sa iba, pero not enough parn para yung tax eh more than the real value ng item unless ibang value ginamit nila dahil hindi sila naniwala na tama yung declared value. wala naman tax rate na more than 100%.

if the tax is higher than the real value of the item, give them proof para recompute nila.