USA to UK Imports and Duty

[martcol]

Hi

I'm so envious of you Americans and the price of camera gear! What you pay in Dollars we pay in Pounds. I went and had a look at B&H which seems to be a popular site for folk using the forum. Whilst I was looking, I noticed they ship outside USA.

Anyway, can anyone tell me what happens if I order from an American company about tax/duty. Will some customs officer grab the parcel and charge me double or lock me up? I'm looking at EOS lenses.

I'm picking up my 10D (Heeee-Ha!) this afternoon. Still not decided on a lens yet so will prob. get something cheap n' cheerful until I decide. If buying from the States works out, might even be able to get an L lens sometime in 2006!

Martin

[chris maddock]

They won't lock you up (unless you don't pay), but they'll amost certainly bill you.

Firstly there is Import Duty on the value of the goods.(http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/dds/en/faqtar.htm isn't very clear but it seems to indicate the rate is 6.7%.

You will also be liable to pay VAT at 17.5% on both the contents (after Import Duty has been added) and the post/packaging cost.

You may well also get charged a "handling fee" by the carrier that makes delivery - most pay C&E the duty payable on your behalf (giving you no choice in the matter!) then charge you for the privelige :-(

Do bear in mind also that many (if not all) of the US prices that we see are quoted before taxes are added. AIUI this can include federal taxes, state taxes and, in some cases, city taxes.
Over here in the UK (and all of Europe I think?) prices have to be quoted inclusive of all taxes. In many cases, the difference isn't all that great, especially when you bear in mind the risk of warranty/faulty returns issues.

KRs
Chris

[Roger_Cavanagh]

This is a snip from an old post on the Rob G forums:

"Digital Still Cameras" are 0% rated for Import Duty (from all countries) and we just pay VAT @17.5% on entry.

If anyone (in the UK) needs this (may be handy for any problems) the UK Customs Commodity Code for Digital Still Cameras (all brands) is 8525401100

Don't no if that so-and-so Gordon Brown has changed this recently.

I think Chris is right that you will get billed automatically. I haven't bought any camera gear, but I have in the past had to pay duty before/on delivery for other stuff from the US.

Regards,

[UK_Terry]

I recently bought 512mb CF card...no duty or vat was charged.

the best way is to have a weekend away in NY and pick it up yourself.
benifits...nice short break (very reasonable fares are available) and use immediately.

[hurry]

Looking at some USA dealers, I saw, CFs are partially more expensive
then in Europe, but cams are sold for half the money :-|

In Europe buying a 256´mb CF saves 10 $
buying a Canon 10D wastes 800 $

Arrrrghhh.

[chris maddock]

Roger_Cavanagh wrote:
This is a snip from an old post on the Rob G forums:

"Digital Still Cameras" are 0% rated for Import Duty (from all countries) and we just pay VAT @17.5% on entry.

If anyone (in the UK) needs this (may be handy for any problems) the UK Customs Commodity Code for Digital Still Cameras (all brands) is 8525401100

Don't no if that so-and-so Gordon Brown has changed this recently.


It's perfectly possible that he hasn't. I did say that the website I found was not very clear - in fact, it seemed to be as clear as mud ;-)
I didn't see any reference to digital still cameras, which doesn't mean to say there wasn't one, just that I didn't find it ;-)

I think Chris is right that you will get billed automatically. I haven't bought any camera gear, but I have in the past had to pay duty before/on delivery for other stuff from the US.


I've had quite a lot of second-hand gear from abroad over the last couple of years - in every case that C&E decided there was duty to pay (they don't always), Parcel Farce or Royal Fail happily paid it and charged me something like £8 for the privilege - no option about paying it myself, they just did it, and demanded payment before handing over the goods.
I did order a cable (not for a camera) once, where FexEx did the delivery and billed me later. Mind you, in that case I refused to pay because they and C&E had managed to calculate the duty as more than the value of the goods! It turned out that because the sender hadn't put the cost of the post/packing on the Customs Declaration, C&E used a rates table to calculate it - that table starts at £18, so that's what they based the charge on.
I told FedEx that if they would like to charge me the correct amount (since they had unilaterally opted to pay C&E without giving me the opportunity to dispute the amount), then I would happily pay it - never heard another dickey bird from them ;-)

KRs
Chris

[kenthomson]

Re the 0% duty, it was still in effect when I imported my D60 a few months ago. UPS wrongly charged it, I queried the bill and didn't have to pay the VAT for 2 months until they completed their investigations!

I saved about £250 compared to a UK purchase.

[Andy_Burnton]

I recently purchased an item on eBay which came from the Island of Jersey and was hit with Custom & Excise charge, VAT and delivery charge before the Post Office would give me it.

I'm now very wary of purchasing outside the UK.

[UK_Terry]

andy_burnton wrote:
I recently purchased an item on eBay which came from the Island of Jersey and was hit with Custom & Excise charge, VAT and delivery charge before the Post Office would give me it.

I'm now very wary of purchasing outside the UK.


But was it still cheaper than buying here?

[Brettpp]

Import duty?..
What Camera?.

[martcol]

Well for me, it's no longer a camera I'm thinking of but a lens. I've got my 10D but one day, I might be able to buy an L lens. When I do, sod the duty, I'm gonna have a long weekend in NY!

Yeee Ha! :D

Martin