Customs

I’m not writing this time about the kind of customs I usually enjoying sharing with you – the cultural traditions and stuff like that. This time I’m writing about those bastards at the Ukrainian “government department that collects taxes paid on goods coming into a country“. My new least favorite thing in Ukraine.

In my 2 1/2 years living in Ukraine, I have received a decent number of packages from abroad – some sent by family and friends, some sent by companies from whom I’ve made a purchase (like Amazon.com, Shutterfly, etc.). I’m used to the fact that delivery dates are completely unpredictable and inconsistent – sometimes it takes a couple weeks, sometimes more than a month (what on earth the Ukrainian post office does with those packages for weeks on end, I’ll never understand). But, as far as I know, I’ve received every package that’s been sent to me, eventually.

In early January this year, I found some great sales at my beloved Eddie Bauer’s online store, and I ordered 3 pairs of winter pants. Total price of order – about $100. I cringed a bit when another $42 was tacked on for shipping and handling to Ukraine, but I really needed winter pants, and since I know and trust and love Eddie Bauer, I made the order. Within a couple of days, EB notified me that my package was on the way. Their optimism that I could expect delivery “in two weeks” was just so darn cute. I figured a month, which would mean the heart of usually horrible February when those wool pants would be really handy.

January passed. Nothing. February passed. Nothing. March arrived, the weather improved and even though I knew I wouldn’t need the wool pants until next winter, I couldn’t help wondering if I’d ever actually receive them. I decided if I didn’t have any sign of them by the end of March (2 1/2 months from shipping date), I would write to EB and ask for a refund.

Lo and behold, March 25, a friendly UPS man arrived at the UN House with a package for me. The receptionist called me to the lobby to sign for it, and she mentioned something about paying 265 hrivna ($53). “Ничего себе!” I muttered (“Not bad!”). I met the delivery man with a smile, knowing that whatever bad news he had to deliver, he was, after all, only the messenger. He pulled out some documents, said that there was a fee of 265 hrivna, and showed me where to sign.

“I’ve been waiting for this package for over 2 months, and now I have to pay for the privilege of receiving it?” I asked. “I know it’s not your fault, but come on, this is ridiculous.”

To his credit, the UPS guy was very sympathetic and polite. He said that something has happened in the customs office since the start of the new year. They have packages there from December still, and they have been releasing only 2 or 3 a day. “It’s a total nightmare,” he said.

“And what’s with this 265 hrivna?” I asked. “I’ve received lots of packages in the past and never had to pay any fees to receive them. And excuse me, but 50% tax! The clothes are worth only $100, and I have to pay $53 more, on top of the U.S. taxes I already paid for them?!”

Again, the UPS guy was polite and patient. He reiterated that something has been funky with customs since January. He said he feels so sorry for the people he delivers to, he wishes he could help them, give them some phone number to call and make a complaint. He shrugged and stated the only thing one can say in Ukraine in these situations – “Ну, что делать?” (“Well, what can you do?”) Poor guy, his job must really suck.

I told him that there was no way I was going to pay $53 in taxes for $100 worth of clothes. He nodded understandingly, gave me some UPS phone numbers to call, and wrote “Delivery refused” on the bill.

Igor, bless his heart, does a lot of phone calling for me to various Ukrainian bureaucracies. He called the UPS office the next day and reported that the lady there said basically the same thing the delivery guy had – the customs office has been doing this since the start of the year, and they at UPS don’t understand themselves what has changed or why.

After checking the Eddie Bauer website for their refund policy (which states they don’t refund shipping and handling fees), I wrote to EB customer service and explained the situation. I asked if they could resend the package to my parents’ address in the US. Unfortunately, the reply was that they can’t redirect a package like that, but that if I placed a new order for the items, the would ship it for free to the US address. I was impressed, although still disappointed since the items I had ordered were all sale items and aren’t in their website catalog anymore.

So, I expected that thanks to the Ukrainian customs bastards, I was out $42 and had nothing to show for it except a not so good story. The happy ending to this story, though, is that Eddie Bauer gave me a full refund, even shipping costs. I heart Eddie Bauer! Pity I can’t support their awesome business from Ukraine.

Has anybody else encountered this kind of thing this year? Anybody know what the heck is going on at customs? Can anybody explain to me who thinks 50% custom taxes are a good thing and why?