Henna . . . importing, problems with customs ?

[Tail Feathers]

Hello, everyone...
I write from Italy... it is increasingly impossible to order anything and manage to have it arrive here....
I have had at least six packages blocked and am about to give up entirely on buying anything
that is not made here.
I feel this is very sad....

My latest package, blocked by "Sanità" (healthcare and legal section of italian customs)
is a small package from Mehandi.
I had ordered one package of henna, some indigo and a package of amla.
(all powders)
and also three (absolutely cruelty-free; horn harvested after the animal's natural death)
horn hair forks, and two shampoo bars...

does anyone else in Europe know if it is actually illegal (as they were trying to tell me on
the phone today) to import these items ?

I bought them from a shop (Mehandi) online in the USA

(they ---Italian Customs--- have blocked clothing, jewelry, a perfume...
they block everything; it seems it is impossible to buy anything from overseas
if you live in Italy now)

Does anyone know if it is illegal to import tested and packaged henna ??
Thank you, everyone, for any help. I am beginning to feel like a prisoner here.

They never block things that are made here or bought here.
I have not been able for years now to receive any package from my mom
who lives overseas and whom I have not seen for years.

Whatever I send, always arrives, no problems with customs from other countries.
So Many problems to receive, though . . .

even better is that they do not even send most of these packages back to the
point of origin. you just lose them and whatever cash you spent to purchase.
and, it is completely Impossible to know what they will block
(it seems like Absolutely Everything to me)

[slyviolet]

I'm so sorry to hear about this! I'm in the US, so I don't have any useful advice for you, but I did a little looking around. I found this website which is a company specializing in Indian weddings in Italy. They offer mehndi body henna designs, maybe you could get in touch with them and find out whether they can give you some information about how they purchase their henna?

http://www.italyweddingplanner-iwp.com/wedding-planner-italy/henna.php#

Otherwise, I'm finding a lot of similar reports as yours -- people are saying that it is very difficult to import henna products into Italy! :(

[Tail Feathers]

goodness !
Thank you !!
and I will...

they have me at wit's end...

if i ship first from the shop to my mom, and have her repackage and
send to me, saying it is a "gift" on the customs form,
usually it Might arrive

if i import in an honest fashion,
directly from the usa shop mehandi,
it gets devoured by the italian customs

crazy
if i lie, it makes it
if i am honest, it does not

[Tail Feathers]

it is a beautiful site, the one you sent
thank you very much !
so kind of you

[slyviolet]

You're very welcome, it was no trouble. :)
I hope that they can give you some useful information! I would be so sad if I couldn't get henna, so I really wanted to try to help you out!

[morrigan*]

Maybe it's not henna, but it's horn hair stick. You can try order from hennaboy.co.uk, it's in EU so there shouldn't be any customs on that. Next time i would call to customs, i'm sure they have phone for answering questions, and ask about anything you want to order, maybe it's restricted there ?

[Tail Feathers]

no, not the horn comb....
they just seem not to allow to purchase from a non-EU shop !

it is the henna... in fact, apparently, they blocked the package because of that !

but,
i have called customs four times, trying to at least get them to send this package back to the shop
(so i can forward it to my mom and ask her to re-package and send it !... that way, it will arrive.
crazy... but their controls are just limited to whatever is honestly stated (value, contents)...
and not a serious and precise control of all imported items...)

thank you sooo much for the henna site inside EU
i will try from there

the henna sold on this island where i am is very poor quality
(in the past, it turned my hair green ! full of bad chemicals...)

sorry i went on and on...
but,
i spoke to customs four times
it is impossible to get any clear information from them

this is the sixth package of mine that they "steal"
they do not return to sender, even

and
it is impossible to understand the logic...

they have taken all sorts of things...and none of them on the interminable list of "illegal items"
or "restricted items"
so
i just give up now
and
will import by sending first to my mom and telling her to label vaguely and to state a low value

they always arrive just fine if i import in that way

absolutely crazy !

[Tail Feathers]

thanks so much for the henna site and your replies...
i Really wish i could understand the customs here...
they are making me crazy !

[morrigan*]

Wow that really sucks, is there any other way you could get henna ? It's may be more expensive, but you could try to search if there is any italian based website that sells it, like with bio products and such ? Or lush ?

[Tail Feathers]

i think i will give the henna boy site a try.....

sorry i went on and on.... it is just that i don't earn much,
and it becomes so frustrating... to spend and they do not even
send the package back so you can be reimbursed. . .

i think i will try a small amount from the henna-boy

maybe the fact that it is inside the EU just Might help !

worth a try, anyway !

thanks so much for all your replies !

[morrigan*]

Well glad i could help, yes testing with small amount is better, so you don't throw away so much money, if you can't get it

[Tail Feathers]

Well glad i could help, yes testing with small amount is better, so you don't throw away so much money, if you can't get it


no kidding!
thank you again.

[Isilme]

Well, there have to be laws regulating what you can import and not. Read the laws carefully and if they block your packages the could be ultimately fined. Maybe even accused of breaking laws by the EU.
Be aware of the laws and don't be afraid to tell them you know the inns and outs of every tiny little law and loophole.
Knowledge is power.

[Flor]

Tail Feathers, anything you will buy from within EU your Italian customs cannot hold and charge you taxes on. Because it's one economic zone. Packages from UK (for example) simply won't be routed to customs, they'll be handled by your local post service immediately. So yes, one way to go is to order from within EU.

[Tail Feathers]

Well, there have to be laws regulating what you can import and not. Read the laws carefully and if they block your packages the could be ultimately fined. Maybe even accused of breaking laws by the EU.
Be aware of the laws and don't be afraid to tell them you know the inns and outs of every tiny little law and loophole.
Knowledge is power.

oh... i wish ! i have read many times the laws regarding . . .
even when i tried to bring in an item that does not
even figure on the list,
it disappeared. . .

so either i have friends re-package and label "vaguely" and
declare a low value
(wrapped in this way, the packages Always arrive, no problem...
they make problems and things "get lost" or "blocked"
only when the true value is stated and the contents labelled)

so sad. . .

[Tail Feathers]

Tail Feathers, anything you will buy from within EU your Italian customs cannot hold and charge you taxes on. Because it's one economic zone. Packages from UK (for example) simply won't be routed to customs, they'll be handled by your local post service immediately. So yes, one way to go is to order from within EU.

yes,
i am going to give this a try ...

thank you to all who replied . ..
i was pretty upset -- it was the sixth or seventh package that
had been unjustly blocked
(and they do not even return them to the shops they come from,
that i might at least be reimbursed. . ... at least now, my mom
(who lives far away) and i have learned that if we label vaguely
and declare a low value, she can send a package to me
and it will arrive...i felt very cut off from her while we were honest
on the customs forms because they took everything, every time. always)

[Tail Feathers]

Well, there have to be laws regulating what you can import and not. Read the laws carefully and if they block your packages the could be ultimately fined. Maybe even accused of breaking laws by the EU.
Be aware of the laws and don't be afraid to tell them you know the inns and outs of every tiny little law and loophole.
Knowledge is power.

however,
this time, i also had the package registered. if they do not unblock this last one,
i might well make troubles for them,
the only way is with paid legal assistance, though-
because i cannot in any way contact the officials responsible for
blocking the packet
there is a Crazy labyrinthal heirarchy....

[Flor]

The issues I usually get with Portuguese customs is not with them forbidding some goods for importing, but with them taking months to process packages and wanting to charge taxes on everything. Sometimes gift-marked packages skip through, other times they hold them and request purchase papers. They really don't care if it's been falsely marked, as long as they get their money in the end ;) They only have office in Lisbon to attend customers in person, so the rest of the country has to deal with them through letters and that takes AGES. Maybe that changed recently though, it's been a few years since I had to contact them.

Tail Feathers, I could send you some henna (pure, Indian origins) if you can't work out a solution quick enough! My mom sent me a rather generous quantity a while back. I've been using it in the last few months and it works really well on my hair (unlike the boxed henna dyes I bought locally)!

Btw, unrelated, but I just checked Mehandi site and the quantities they say are required to color different length are completely ridiculous! I only need 100gr to do my APL+ hair! Half of that if I mix some yogurt in (and I get same color intensity that way). And they say 300gr for shoulder length! What????

[Tail Feathers]

You are so kind !
Thank you . . . I will keep it in mind if I have no luck also this go round.
Also here, the boxed henna available locally is best left as is: in a box.
Horrible stuff !

Yes, I found the mehandi quantities a bit too much myself.
I use about 2/3 the amount they recommended to me.
But, I found their henna to be Excellent quality...

Also, sometimes also here things get lost in a
"time zone"; most of the time, they just disappear...

Thank you so much for your kind offer...
If I don't work this out, I just might
contact you again !

[niky45]

... perhaps you can try buying directly from ebay, from india?

I have seen some sellers who sell cheap and pure henna..... (I can give you a link if you want ;) )

It's much cheaper and I think they do the "gift" trick, also, so you shouldn't have problems.... (oh, ebay sellers.... always wanting to help. :D I love them).

You can always ask for tracked shipping, just so you know where the parcel is (but keep in mind that it may cost a bit....)

I myself am from Spain. here customs will not block anything below $300 (marked....). otherwise, they will call me and ask to pay taxes, but otherwise, I have never had any problem with customs.... though, the more expensive parcels were always tracked.

[Flor]

I myself am from Spain. here customs will not block anything below $300 (marked....). otherwise, they will call me and ask to pay taxes, but otherwise, I have never had any problem with customs.... though, the more expensive parcels were always tracked.

Here in Portugal it's anything above €10 (shipping included). So basically... EVERYTHING!! :D They often don't bother with smaller discrete-looking packages (and those that look like they're from friends and family), so I've been able to sneak in quite a few goodies without paying taxes. They never look at the value or gift-stuff on custom forms. It's the name of the shop, description of goods and size of the parcel that triggers them. If they suspect it's of high value (so they can slap a nice tax on it), they open the parcel to look for receipt. And if it's not there, then they send a letter requesting it from the buyer.

[Tail Feathers]

... perhaps you can try buying directly from ebay, from india?

I have seen some sellers who sell cheap and pure henna..... (I can give you a link if you want ;) )

It's much cheaper and I think they do the "gift" trick, also, so you shouldn't have problems.... (oh, ebay sellers.... always wanting to help. :D I love them).

You can always ask for tracked shipping, just so you know where the parcel is (but keep in mind that it may cost a bit....)

I myself am from Spain. here customs will not block anything below $300 (marked....). otherwise, they will call me and ask to pay taxes, but otherwise, I have never had any problem with customs.... though, the more expensive parcels were always tracked.

thank you for the tip about ebay !
(btw, i lived in spain for a few years and loved it ! never had package problems there...not once !)

[Tail Feathers]

Here in Portugal it's anything above €10 (shipping included). So basically... EVERYTHING!! :D They often don't bother with smaller discrete-looking packages (and those that look like they're from friends and family), so I've been able to sneak in quite a few goodies without paying taxes. They never look at the value or gift-stuff on custom forms. It's the name of the shop, description of goods and size of the parcel that triggers them. If they suspect it's of high value (so they can slap a nice tax on it), they open the parcel to look for receipt. And if it's not there, then they send a letter requesting it from the buyer.

sounds Very similar to here, then . .. with the added benefit that (at least in my experience) here,
they are not content with applying a heavy tax. they like to make the package just disappear . . .