Double VAT?
Hi. About a month ago I ordered the signed print and The Effigy Mound, and it seemed Norway had a special deal with Digital River or something, which resulted in my having to pay the VAT and taxes on the product when purchasing the product online. So today I finally got a note in my mail saying I could pick up the package at my nearby postal office, but I had to pay about 28 dollars for VAT and what not to get it. Does this mean that the VAT paid online isn't really a Norwegian tax, but an American tax that Norwegians have to pay, because it seems strange to have to pay VAT twice. The second VAT seems to have been calculated off the total sum of price, shipping and the VAT I paid on here, so I'm a bit confused. 
Is it supposed to be this way?
Is it supposed to be this way? This discussion has been closed.
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She said "Also, we've been told that the price on the customs form will be $10 (and customers have confirmed this in test orders), so those worried about import taxes should be okay.."
When I got the package I was asked to pay 27.8 USD to get the package. That's not all, when I got the package the sticker said the contest of the package was worth 43.67 USD (the stuff I ordered is only worth 24,98 USD) which means I was over-taxed, because DR didn't just tax me, they over-taxed me by filling the sticker out wrong. I ended up paying for it, because I really wanted this stuff, but if I had known it would get this expensive I never would have ordered it. Now I feel cheated.
Also, when I look at the paper I got with the package from Digital River, it says that I paid 8.74 USD in taxes when I ordered it. Apparently I have paid tax two times, not to mention even more than that because I had to pay more taxes because of the wrongly filled out form. Last, this package was not checked, else I would have been asked to pay less, and the package didn't contain a sticker saying that it was checked(which it would have if it was checked). Thus, only Digital River is to blame here. * points finger *
By the way, I'm also from Norway.
Another Norwegian customer wrote in this morning with the same problem. I am waiting to hear back from that person if they are being charged additional taxes (i.e. if the taxes they already paid were not enough) or if they are being taxed on the total value *including* the taxes they already paid. If that's what's happening, it's obviously a mistake and it's something I'm trying to get straightened out with Digital River and the fulfillment house.
Anyone who can provide information about exactly what you were taxed on or photos of your customs forms, please email them to me at emily -at- telltalegames.com.
If you do pay the customs charges, I can't promise we'll be able to get you your money back. If you think the charges are wrong and can't get customs to change them by showing them an invoice, your best bet is to refuse the package and get a full refund from us. Anyone who needs an invoice to show customs, let me know and I will email it to you.
I expected as much. I realized that I could just not pick it up, and it would be returned. I probably would have a fair chance of getting my money back, and not having to pay anything more. But in case I ended up getting taxed, I had ordered some other things as well, so all in all it was worth it still. Also, I knew I probably would have to wait at least 2 months before I could see the goods if I returned it(considering it had already taken 1 month to get it, and you probably would have to get it in return before you could refund the money, and then I would have to reorder... meh... too much work). It just felt like a slap in the face to have to pay that extra tax, because I didn't expect it.
That's exactly what seems to have happened to me. I don't mind paying the taxes, but it seems strange to have to pay them twice.
I'll send a mail with pictures, but I didn't get a receipt after paying the taxes and picking up the package, so I guess there's not much to do. :rolleyes:
Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be out of the office for about a week, but will post an update when I return.
Some guys from DR are going to be here tomorrow and I'll be bringing it up with them in person.
We are also looking into adding VAT to the store for physical merchandise, to avoid this issue in the future.
Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, if you somehow can mark the packages with a label saying VAT has already been paid.
I too got a refund. Thanks a lot! You've been very helpful.