TAXED!

I just got word from Fedex the running gear for winter conditions that I ordered from REI (USA) has arrived. That was the good news.

The bad news is I have to pay import duty and sales tax on all of the items. The clearance agent has classified them under things like T-shirt and pants which attracts a 20% import duty and 10% sales tax. Strictly speaking they are those things but there is another set of classification that do not attract any or have reduced import duties and sales tax.

You could take a shot and try to classify them under the Sports classification especially for items which are subject to intepretation and discretion by customs. You may have to prove that the high tech Coolmax running vest you bought will be worn when you run 20 or 30 km every Sunday morning. Perhaps this is where the finisher certificates for example, the KL International or Singapore Marathon that you sweated through may be put to good use.

As for me, I will be contributing RM 478.02 to the goverment tomorrow. It was too late for me to try to reclassify the items under sports item.