steve_b_wales Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 If goods are imported from, say, America, and customs get their paws on them, what would be the duty added to the value? Is it our normal 15% VAT ? Thinking of buying one or two things from there, which are £150+ cheaper than our UK price, so it may still work out cheaper. I know that Royal Mail add £8.00 'handling fee' on top, if duty has been added. Thanks Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 (edited) As far as I'm aware, as long as it's written as a 'gift' you avoid import duty up to a certain amount. Edit: I have ordered countless goods from America and only twice have I had to pay import duty. Both items were over £200 and I think I paid something around the 10-15% mark Edited October 18, 2009 by harfordwmj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marley29 Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 As above however, if not marked as gift you will be charged the VAT. It also depends on what the item is. I have ordered DVD's from the US and not been charged at all. I also ordered a T shirt and got charged a fortune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted October 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 These will be NV scopes, at around £400 each. I think the 'gift' declaration is only up to $30 which includes pp costs. I had a run in with customs over DVD's I ordered. They added the postal charge, which put the value over their 'free' limit. On top of that Royal Mail added £8.00 'handling fee' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds chimp Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 i use to buy ALOT of watches from US when the dollar was weak so to speak against the £.... It can be hit and miss if you ge charged or not as they would need to look insside and the decide to charge unless they write gif and a certain value on the note on the parcel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 i thought it was illegal to export NV scopes from the US? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Elvis Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 Its 15% vat on ANY goods over £18 and any gifts over £36!!! and yes theres a ridiculous £8 handling fee on top of that!!! Youre total outlay will be £180.50 on a £150 item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeinVA Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 (edited) Its 15% vat on ANY goods over £18 and any gifts over £36!!! and yes theres a ridiculous £8 handling fee on top of that!!! Youre total outlay will be £180.50 on a £150 item. So what you are saying is? Any item that ole Uncle Lee sends over as a 'gift' is still going to be hit with a tax? I sent to Scotland a custom rifle stock to a PW member, gixer1, and I do not know if he was nailed with extra tax He is a stand up fella though Top notch.. Edited October 19, 2009 by LeeinVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostWomble Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 What is depnds on is the 'declared' cost of goods in transit. If you send in a sausage with a value of £1500 then (whether it is a gift or not) there will be some duty to pay. If however a night-vision scope with a declared value of £10 was sent there would be no duty. Of course you cna then insure it for £100s. This is all just wild talk though as nobody would dream of defrauding HMG of any tax, ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 What is depnds on is the 'declared' cost of goods in transit. If you send in a sausage with a value of £1500 then (whether it is a gift or not) there will be some duty to pay. If however a night-vision scope with a declared value of £10 was sent there would be no duty. Of course you cna then insure it for £100s. This is all just wild talk though as nobody would dream of defrauding HMG of any tax, ever. I would hate to see the price of the Bacon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 Just picked up a MEC 9000 shotshell reloader from the states it sat in customs for 5 days i was tracking it and last Monday found it was in the local parcel force depot..So i went down to collect ( i had asked the person sending it to mark it as REPAIR AND RETURN ) which he did... I was charged £8 handling charge by parcel force and just over £36 VAT no import duty at all and it was still half the price i would have paid for it in the UK. :yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTom Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 keep it hush, my brother in kansas mails me goods in a plain wrapper, keep it under $200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted October 19, 2009 Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 (edited) These will be NV scopes, at around £400 each. I think the 'gift' declaration is only up to $30 which includes pp costs. I had a run in with customs over DVD's I ordered. They added the postal charge, which put the value over their 'free' limit. On top of that Royal Mail added £8.00 'handling fee' As what beardo said, it is very very very illegal to export night vision from the US without a licence. No one will do it for you and you run a serious risk of getting in trouble if you get caught. ...Unless you do it proper ninja style Edited October 19, 2009 by harfordwmj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 (edited) The Customs are well up to speed with tricks like marking goods as presents to avoid duty. You are still liable, gifts are not exempt. However in any day they get more parcels going through than they can deal with so lower value parcels get let through on the nod, it very much depends on what else is going through on the day. Do not be tempted to put a lower value on the declaration to try and fool them. You could get it confiscated. More likely they will raise a higher valuation themselves to punish you if they think you are taking the pee. Edited October 20, 2009 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nial Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 As what beardo said, it is very very very illegal to export night vision from the US without a licence. No one will do it for you and you run a serious risk of getting in trouble if you get caught....Unless you do it proper ninja style It can't be illegal for us to import them, can it? Is it not a case that the person sending it can be hit with their ITAR regulations? Nial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
covlocks Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 An item can not be a "Gift" if it is sent from a retailer in the US. Duty is charged on the item value + shipping costs, then VAT is charged on top. You may have to find an import agent to do the work for you if the HMRC decide to stop it and charge you as they will not deal with you direct. Duty and VAT is charged on their services. Duty can be charged at whatever the rate is for the type of goods, I used to import pet products and pay 6%, but it varies, thats how the import of certain goods is controlled. It is to protect UK manufacturers (so it is said). Quite rightfully US retailers very much abide by the law when exporting goods, they could not afford not to. So you won't find any breaking the law openly. So, find as friend who will post to you, or as I do, if I anticipate any problems, I get my stuff sent to Spain, then bring it to the UK myself when I drive across. I get books sent to me regularly via DHL or FedeX, and have never had a problem. So I guess it depends on who ships it and who the carrier is, as to whether you are going to get a surcharge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 It can't be illegal for us to import them, can it? Is it not a case that the person sending it can be hit with their ITAR regulations? Nial. No, it's not illegal to import night vision to the UK, but to export NV from the USA, you need an export licence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 The NV scopes are advertised on ebay by a reputable seller. I don't think there would be a problem sending the scopes over here. I know that you can get 'gun parts' (depending on what they are) because I have bought items to modify my 10/22 from the USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 http://www.atncorp.com/ATNExportInformation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 The NV scopes are advertised on ebay by a reputable seller. I don't think there would be a problem sending the scopes over here. I know that you can get 'gun parts' (depending on what they are) because I have bought items to modify my 10/22 from the USA. That's eBay though. Most sellers won't have a clue what the law is. Search google for "night vision USA export licence" and see what it says. There seem to be some pretty serious laws surrounding it. Secondly, I wouldn't touch NV off eBay with a bargepole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayward Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 (edited) As import many many goods then i can tell you from America there will be more than unwilling to mark as gift as its apparently a federal offense defrauding the postal system Now with any goods imported there's no set rate you need a commodity code this can be obtained from HMRC then with this code you can the find the duty rate and then there will be vat and this is also charged on the postal/ shipping details Normally this shipping company do all this for you and charge you , diff company charge diff fees sometimes a % some a fixed fee What seems a hot deal soon gets expensive even more so if the sender provides a poor description and then c&e find the most expensive rate for that class off item which they seem to do frequently ... Have you looked at other sources maybe in the EU Edited October 20, 2009 by jayward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 Cheers everyone. Not going to bother now. If I do gp ahead and buy one, I'll pay a bit more and get it from a UK supplier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
covlocks Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 There are numerous sites that will deal with you either from Eastern Europe or the Philipines. The Eastern Europe sites are better because they will ensure the item is posted within the EEC. Less hassle with customs as they tend not to give it a lot of attention as no VAT or Duty would be payable. Downside - are you sure you can trust them to send the goods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdubya Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 last "new item I bought from the states cost me £289 including postage yes I knew I may get stung but as the same item here cost £636 I thought its got to be worth it and it WAS got £8 odd duty £43odd vat and parcelthefts £8 mystery charge, so another £60 total £349 against £636 meant a saving £287 so go on as I paid all tax and duty why the difference of £287 from the thievings **** over here? if I had the chance I would buy everything mail order until the days of 100% mark up as in clothing are well and truly over. rip off britain is alive and well unfortunately KW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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