When online shoppers are outraged! |10 January 2020
Following an article published yesterday on the newly introduced processing fees for goods imported through the post office or courier, Seychelles NATION brings you the opinions of those who matter the most – the shoppers themselves!
E. P: It’s not fair. It is discouraging Seychellois to shop online. Sometimes one order on ASOS might come in different packages so we will now have to pay R100 on each of them, which is absurd. Most of the things I order are not even available on the local market and, if they are, they are really expensive. Plus-sized items are not even available in a large quantity here and when they are, they are of cheap quality. If there was a processing fee to be charged at all, then SRC/the Ministry of Finance should have settled at a lower price; either R25 or R50.
M. S: This was a levy that was implemented in a rush without a proper analysis. This is just basically a band aid for the fact that they could not lower the personal import allowance. This greatly hinders these couriers and their clients. We have an express service that is quite costly to ensure that our orders arrive on time, be it business or personal use. With this inadequate system in place this greatly delays that service. More studies should have been done on the matter before implementing. For example now if my family overseas sends me a birthday gift/parcel, I basically have to pay R100[…]But my biggest issue is business; when I order something for example printer ink for a large job, with DHL I know the exact date and time I am going to receive these items, but now with this new system I have to add a few extra unsure days because customs are either slow or have a backlog in issuing these slips. I have an urgent job for a client for which the product was ordered and was supposed to arrive on Saturday and get cleared on Monday. But it's now been four days, and I'm still waiting for customs to issue a slip to DHL for the parcel. I might understand the situation, but the client doesn’t; it's just bad for business.
C.E: I think it defeats the purpose of express couriers. Furthermore the inner islanders need to travel to Mahé to pick up their parcel and its costly. It’s a total scam.
Aaron Damoo: Just imagine if someone ordered a bracelet with engravings of their names or initials which cost R80 including the shipping fee but for them to collect from the post office they will need to pay another R100 for the processing fee for the ‘whatever fund’. A friend of mine said she has 13 pieces still waiting in the pipeline that she bought last year which have not arrived in the country. Will she have to pay a total of R1300 for each even though she bought from the same website, because it’s all different sellers? In my case, I am in the business of transferring visitors and locals around the island, my compressor failed to function as usual I am out of business until I can replace it. After my search to buy a compressor in Seychelles went in vain, I found an online seller who modified one for me and shipped using DHL. Two weeks out of business but my package finally arrived and was supposed to be delivered by the end of Monday, but yesterday DHL called saying either I come to Mahé, take the slip from DHL's office, pay the R100 at customs and collect my parcel or get someone from Mahé to do it for me. Luckily my cousin did it for me, I paid him to do all that process for me and paid another guy to bring it along on his flight to Praslin. It’s not fair on me.
E. H: SRC should not impose on couriers to collect R100 on their behalf, and the cheek of that lady to say that they did not need to discuss with anyone before implementing the fee. How can they implement something without seeking the approval of the couriers; are they above the law? Also, why not use SRC’s manpower to collect taxes from businesses that evade paying their taxes?
N.L: How come methadone is free but we have to pay R100 for small parcels?
Laura Pillay: I do not mind the introduction of processing fees for packages but more efforts should have gone into ensuring the system is properly set up even with courier operators considering they were not required to collect any payments from customers prior to the introduction of the regulation. Additionally, all stakeholder entities should have been onboard with the idea and already established a system, information clearly communicated to the Seychellois public, most of whom shop online for the cost-benefits, better value for money and at their own convenience from online stores (as compared to local shops) so as to avoid confusion and the unnecessary delays and commotion currently taking place at the airport.
A processing fee is acceptable only when all concerned entities are committed to providing an efficient and effective service.
Christophe Zialor: Shopping online is the only option in Seychelles since most stores stock either the same basic goods and products and are often overpriced as compared to better quality products which are available on online shopping platforms. As working professionals, we have no time to go around the badly-laid out town to shop for what we need and want. We do not have big malls, or a large number of shops to choose from.
Steffy Joseph: This does not make any sense to pay R100 for something that I bought for only R25. I do nails so where is my alternative if I don’t want to pay that R100 for my nail products since they do not sell it here.
As seen on social media:
“This new law about paying 100 rupees for small packages really makes my blood boil and makes me angry!!!! They didn’t even give a clear explanation as to why this is happening!! We already pay enough with the actual item and with shipment fees, now we have to pay an additional 100 rupees!!!”
“This is a way to curb the trend of Seychellois buying online and keep foreign exchange in the country.”
“Dan bidze ti dir sa allowance pou reste R3000 e processing fee pou ogmante sorti R50 pour R100...La fason ranmas sa processing fee ki kree problem....Mon sizere ki tou parsel ki’n ganny customs clearance, bann courier services i ranmas sa peyman lo lapar SRC...Bann lezot parsel ki ou bezwen fer Bill, ou ranmas manifest e fer prosedir kot department customs kot lapos, erport....sa i mon sizesyon.”
“Small packets pa devret annan okenn processing fee.. si ou order en air freshner R25 prezan ou bezwen pey R100 SRC be vedir R125 pour en air freshner.. anplis parler ou ganny en gift ek ou order, ou pou pey R100 pour sa gift, be plito pran pour zot.”
Compiled by Vidya Gappy and Elsie Pointe
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed above are those of the shoppers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Seychelles NATION newspaper.
