FF/PDs Get into the Christmas Spirit

national | consumer issues | other press Tuesday December 19, 2006 11:37 by Disgusted

CDs, DVDs and Computer Games Seized

While the government is busily celebrating the greed festival that are SSIAs, (the scheme by which the already well off are made even more well off by the much less well off) they are showing a much less generous attitude to the hapless folk who have gone online to order a few cheap CDs and DVDs from other countries – almost certainly Christmas presents in most cases.

In what must be one of the most miserable yuletide gestures of the year, the Revenue has collected hundreds of thousands of euro by forcing people to pay customs duty and value added tax, plus a 5 euro post office fee on items bought from companies outside the EU and posted to Ireland. Items are sent back if the tariff isn’t paid. Jesus really would have wept.

According to the Irish Examiner ‘hundreds of thousands of euro’ have been collected and the charges can often amount to 50% or more of the item’s original cost. The amount of effort that has gone into this miserliness is staggering. “In order to detect offenders” [Offenders!!!] says Connor Ryan of the Examiner “Revenue is using its legal right to open any parcels which do nt have an invoice attached to the otusdie of the package at mailing centres in Dublin, Cork, Athlone and Portlaoise”.

There has been an increasein the number of confiscations of packages containing CDs, DVDs and computer games arriving from as far afield as Jersey, Hong Kong, China and the US. Apparently 235 packages have been seized.

“Portlaoise parcel-post office has collected 1.375 million euro in duty and VAT on parcels this year to date” said a Revenue spokesman. Staff in the mailing centres mentioned above scan all post and parcels from third world countries as part of their ordinary work, according to the spokesman who also said that Revenue staff are working at their centres for the purpose. Products from Play.com in Jersey and CDWow.com in Hong Kong are likely to be affected by the clamp down as are all products bought from outside the EU zone.

Dermot Jewell of the Consumer’s Association is alleged to have said that the Revenue are ‘merely enforcing the law’.

Funny how FF/PD free market principles evaporate in exacting self-righteousness when the ordinary person in the street chooses to avail of them. Think of the millions of euro that are awarded annually in tax concessions and other leg-ups to big business. And contrast and compare the difficulty we have in charging high profile mega buck fraudsters of the political and commercial variety – despite the expenditure of millions of euro on the attempt – with the energy and enthusiasm thrown into this sad, penny pinching exercise.

Give us a break!