Custom duties on baby gift?

I HAVE two problems with the Post Office because of the strikes last year:

1. A letter posted in Fredericksburg, West Virginia in March last year, has not been delivered yet. There is an important document worth nearly R2 000 in it. I am not sure if it was insured. My inquiry to the Post Office via maildeliver@postoffice. co.za has not been answered yet.

2. A parcel with gifts for my new grandson was posted by the same person in the first week in October. I did get the American tracking number, given by the USPS, who sent it to me with the dates for the parcel’s processing at OR Tambo on December 19, when my son was apparently informed. He wasn’t informed.

To make things worse, there is custom duty of R1 897 to be paid – on a gift, not an import! I don’t know how much import duty is. If I suppose 10%, that makes the contents (mainly baby reported technical glitch prior to engaging the customer.

“In this particular case, our customer had initially allowed for the repair of the device which was provided for under the device warranty. Following the return of the repaired device the customer had returned the device stating that the fault had reoccurred.

“However, due to a 3-month workmanship guarantee on the previous repair, Telkom is obligated to establish whether or not this was a repeat fault or indeed a technical fault. For this reason our agent would have advised our customer that clothes) worth R18 979! (My friend is not Donald Trump.)

By now my grandson has grown out of them. We do not have that kind of money. Maybe you could help to move the Post Office to get its act together.

Mark van Rensburg of the SA Post Office’s Mail Operations division responds: “The item that Mrs Hough enquired about is at the Heidelberg Post Office and a first notification to collect the item was issued on December 15, 2016.

Mrs Hough enquired why the item went to the Heidelberg Post Office and not Heidelberg Postnet. Customs duties were levied on the parcel by Sars, and as the SA Post Office acts as collection agent of import duties on parcels for Sars, the item needed to be collected from a Post Office branch.

“The customs duties are calculated based on what was declared on the parcel; however, the Post Office teller in Heidelberg explained to the device would need to be assessed to establish the cause of the fault – this would be the departure point for us to engage our customer on the way forward.

“While we are fully compliant with the CPA, as a business, we must establish the exact cause of the fault with device technicians and manufacturers prior to the replacement of a device. To this end, incidents of intentional neglect are not grounds for the replacement of a device. In this particular case, the fault has only been reported but a technical assessment has not yet taken place Mrs Hough she could submit a letter requesting Sars to re-assess the parcel for customs duties.

The parcel is still on hand at the Heidelberg branch and Mrs Hough has been notified. Mrs Hough has also been notified that the SA Post Office will be in a position to return the item to Sars for re-assessment on her behalf if she submits us a letter in this regard.

In terms of the Sars regulations, two bona fide unsolicited gifts per person per calendar year can be received without import duty, provided the value per parcel does not exceed R1 400.

It is very important that the sender write clearly on the item that it is an unsolicited gift and what the value is.

Mrs Hough has undertaken to contact the sender for a tracking number. Unfortunately, it is not possible to trace items without a tracking number – the international sorting day dispatches up to 2 000 mailbags per day.” to establish the exact cause of the fault.

“We are engaging our customer to allow us to assess the fault reported and thereafter we will agree with our customer on whether or not a replacement of the device will be appropriate.”

Fair enough: Goschen had opted for a repair, which comes with a three-month guarantee. Had he told Telkom at the outset (and indicated that clearly on the service document) that he didn’t want a repair and would rather have a new phone or a refund, he should have received different treatment.