Buying from abroad and taxes?

[TSR2]

Hi Chaps

Have any of you bought goods online from outside the EU recently. I'm thinking about Japan or possibly the USA, but I've no idea how much more I'll have to pay in customs Duty and Tax when it gets to Blighty other than the customs charges will have to be paid and there will be a tax liability as its over £136. Any experiences would be much appreciated.

[Edit] Should have said the item will be a watch [if i go for it.]

[speedbird591]

Hi Ben. Cyberbrat bought a few things from the USA - clothes and games - before he went to Uni. He (read me!) got caught once or twice with unexpected charges - but not always. The HMRC site gives lots of info.

HMRC

You'll be liable for import VAT and customs duty and if it has to be paid in the UK (rather than pre-paid to a registered retailer in the US) then the courier will have to collect it and will charge you a tidy amount for doing so. It could cost you more than you save but it's also possible that it won't. It always seems to be a bit of a gamble and I always lose when I gamble

Ian

[ianhind]

A bit out of date:

http://www.sloanefox.freeserve.co.uk/importukduty.htm

But the important thing to search for on Google is "Taric"

[TSR2]

It looks like its a bit of a minefield! You could buy something at a few hundred pounds and end up paying another hundred in fees taxes and import duty depending on the courier.

Thanks very much chaps

[DaveB]

Hi Ben

Been a while but as I remember it.. anything bought from outside the EU above £18 will incur the full force of UK justice (read fleecing the pants off you)!! I bought a yoke and pedals from Flightsim Store some years ago. They were a good price (on the surface) but I ended up paying around £35-£40 more for each unit. Not very impressed at all

As has been mentioned, not everyone gets stung though and I've no idea why

ATB
DaveB

[thehappyotter]

Depends how they package and label it too. I once got a watch wrapped in Hello Kitty wrapping paper, bow and all, labeled as a childs toys. Clearly done to avoid customs intercepting it.

Being honest of course I called HMRC and posted them a cheque...

[dodger]

Hang On Hang On !!,

I'll go down our local market this week Ben and get you a watch for a Tenner

Roger.

[Garry Russell]

There was a low value exception, anything below £15 but that was done away with putting hundreds of people out of work in the CI where a lot of the stuff was packaged to avoid VAT.

Any value outside the EU is subject to VAT and nowadays I think it's about £35 for gifts and then they are chargable too.

[TSR2]

What happened was when I got divorced back in 2005 or 6 I treated myself to a Seiko watch. I didn't pay any attention to the calibre or type, I just saw one and I liked it so bough it. It was £160 which admittedly isn't a lot of money for a watch, but was probably a factor of 10 more than I'd ever paid for a watch before. It was a Quartz watch so I new at some point I'd need to change the battery. Roll forward to 2009 and said battery needed replaced, so I took it in to Goldsmiths jewellers in the Metro Centre who relieved me of £50 which was to cover the battery and re sealing it. They had to send it off to be done. Anyway, a mate picked it up for me the following week and they refunded him £20 because they couldn't reseal it. I meant to go back and query it, but completely forgot about it. 6 months later the watch stopped and I was going to take it back in and complain, but was so busy with other stuff it got put in the drawer and forgotten about. Until a few weeks ago. I took it in to Timpsons to get a new lifetime guarantee battery and reseal. When the guy to the back off, it was covered in rust and no longer working. I thought I'd be cleaver and get a new movement, but even though I had it properly clamped etc I manage to damage the mechanism which holds the crown in. Given that I've driven 1600 business miles in the last 5 weeks I'm going to treat myself to a Seiko Automatic. The really nice calibres are very expensive, but there is a Japanese website that specialises in selling domestic Japanese watches world wide. The price is about 30 - 40% less than an equivalent European model, which makes it affordable, but it sounds like I could end up paying that back and some. Oh well

[AllanL]

So all I have to do is buy a Seiko watch and then I can treat the wife to a divorce? And I'll have a snazzy watch to boot.

Fandabbeedozee, as they say round here.