Buying kit from abroad

[Wintrup]

This came up in another thread and I though it should be given a run out.

My question is what are buyers experiences of buying abroad, the USA, etc, using ebay, other online stores or whatever.

Did you pay excise duty on your items and how much has that worked out at?

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

1. Bought a Jetboil stove from the USA on Ebay and only saved about a fiver by the time Customs had put duty on it.

2. Bought a good copy of a British Army 9x9 Command Post tent from Pakistan. Saved about £100.00 even after duty and shipping charges.

Some you win, some you lose!

 

[mick spain]

I buy abroad sometimes I think it works out if the item is worth more than £18 you pay tax can't remember what the amounts were but I bought a etching machine from USA the postage came to more than tha machine then tax was £28 and they wouldn't deliver till it was paid


www.msknives.net

 

[Wintrup]

Well I'm going to the USA in November, so I'll probably wait unitil then to get a Golite Hex inner and outer--if indeed they are available in NYC.

 

[Doc]

From the US:

Silva Type 54 compass, £33 including shipping. Had to pay 17.5% Vat plus £5 handling. Still cheaper than UK price.

Second hand Bear recurve hunting bow. £45 incl shipping. Did not get charged vat.

Amateur radio transceiver kit. £55 incl shipping. Had to pay vat and handling. Still cheaper than UK.

Torch at £25 incl shipping - did not get charged VAT.

Various items under £18 (krill light, pocket knives) - none were charged VAT.

Books are VAT exempt - never been charged for these.

From Canada

Grohmann knife kit £31 inc shipping. Did not get charged VAT.


So....it is a bit of a lottery. Under £18 you should be ok. As you go over £18 you increase your chances of VAT and beyond £50 I think it is likely. So far I have never paid duty - just VAT and handling. I think that theycan charge duty on the item AND the shipping, and the slap VAT on top - so you pay tax on the tax!!!!

Having said that, in every case I would still have saved by buying abroad even if I had to pay VAT. And in 53 ebay trades I have never had a bad deal or an item lost.

 

[Labrador]

If you travel outside the EU (USA, Canada etc) you are allowed up to £145 worth of other goods per person travelling. We always have more but declare it on our return (red channel/phone etc) & have never had to pay significant amount of money. There's lots of interesting kit at good prices on the other side of the pond, pack it well (we always use cheap Coleman coolers from Wal-Mart & lots of strapping tape), make a list of your purchases & if you're over the limit go into the Red Channel & speak to someone as a few quid in import duties is a lot better than potentially losing the lot in the Green Channel (yes, Customs can seize undeclared goods)!
This allowance does not apply to goods imported by post etc, only to travellers. Also, if you look at the charging card on your parcels often the Parcel Force handling charge is far higher than the taxes charged!

The link below explains it better than I......

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...ertyType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_CL_001734

 

[Tony]

Guys. Why are you using the forum to promote illegal activities?

Avoiding the customs duty is illegal and as such is not allowed on here. You put the site and me in jeopardy when you promote such activities and actively discuss ways getting away with an illegal activity.

We all know that the duty can seem harsh when importing stuff from abroad but here is definitely not the place to discuss it.

Don’t do it again.

PS. Even if you don't get charged the duty, VAT etc you're still supposed to pay it

 

[Zodiak]

If you travel outside the EU (USA, Canada etc) you are allowed up to £145 worth of other goods per person travelling. We always have more but declare it on our return

For normal kit yes, however you can travel with as much kit as you want but have to fill out and travel with a "Carnet" which is effectily a list of your kit including details of the purchase. For many countries you need to take the actual receipts, not copies and some won't accept hand written or till printed visa receipts and insist that they don't leave you sight, because with out it you are stuffed.

There is nothing you can do about it but wait and I thought the whole process was very well shown on "Long Way Round".

 

[Labrador]

Hi Zodiak,
anything you purchase abroad is counted as part of your allowance whether new or second-hand.
Tony is absolutely right about not promoting illegal activity, smuggling is illegal & as I mentioned earlier undeclared goods can be seized as forfeit etc!
PS before you ask I'm in the trade so to speak!

 

[Zodiak]

Tony is absolutely right about not promoting illegal activity, smuggling is illegal & as I mentioned earlier undeclared goods can be seized as forfeit etc!
PS before you ask I'm in the trade so to speak!

Not doubting that It sounds as if the ruling has changed in the past 20 years. So what constitutes "a gift" or "trade samples" now days?

 

[Labrador]

Hi Zodiak,
This up to you & the declaration you choose to make.
But you need to bear in mind that it is an offence to either fail to declare goods properly or to make a false declaration either knowingly or recklessly (this would include suppressing the value of any goods you are importing). Where goods are declared but a false valuation is suspected Customs can detain the goods pending valuation.
Failure to make a true declaration can result in the forfeiture of the goods & a financial penalty. You could also lose all of those other things that are "packed & found with" the improperly declared items which if travelling with a vehicle, may mean that as well!

 

[Doc]

Should maybe have added that all the things I ordered mentioned above had an accurate customs declaration made out by the sender. Do I really have a duty (sorry, dreadful pun) to contact customs about accurately described items they have already passed through without charge?