Buying an iphone in Hong Kong

bestyman
bestyman Posts: 1,115 Forumite
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in Overseas holidays & travel planning
We will be going to Hong Kong and Bangkok in December.

An iphone X is £200 cheaper in Hong Kong than UK, not sure of Thai price yet.

Are there any problems with buying one abroad? It would be from an official Apple store so assuming any returns can be done in the UK store?

What about VAT? Can I claim back the VAT in HK? Do I pay VAT on entry to UK?

Thanks
On the internet you can be anything you want.It`s strange so many people choose to be rude and stupid.
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Comments

  • UnionGirl
    UnionGirl Posts: 182 Forumite
    Don’t know about VAT for Hong Kong. I bought my IPad Air from official Apple store in Shanghai. I checked first with the Apple store in my city and they said that they would honour any guarantees, repairs etc. They did say that any repairs could take longer as they would need to source parts from China.

    I’ve had no problems though.
    As my Mum always said "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves"
  • richardw
    richardw Posts: 19,458 Forumite
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    It'll be worth more than £390, so you'll need to consider duty and VAT https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arrivals-from-outside-the-eu
    Posts are not advice and must not be relied upon.
  • Cisco001
    Cisco001 Posts: 4,018 Forumite
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    edited 16 October 2017 at 2:33PM
    richardw wrote: »
    It'll be worth more than £390, so you'll need to consider duty and VAT https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arrivals-from-outside-the-eu

    If OP go there in person and buy it. Open the phone and use it. They can't charge you VAT on a phone you are using.

    BTW, there are no VAT in HK
  • shaun_from_Africa
    shaun_from_Africa Posts: 12,858 Forumite
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    Cisco001 wrote: »
    If OP go there in person and buy it. Open the phone and use it. They can't charge you VAT on a phone you are using.
    Of course you can be charged VAT & import duty on something that you are using.
    All that is required for the goods to be liable is that they were purchased in a non EU country and they exceed your personal import limit of £390.
    It doesn't matter if the goods are new and unused or second hand and used, if they exceed the limit, you can be charged.
  • Cisco001
    Cisco001 Posts: 4,018 Forumite
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    shaun_from_Africa wrote: »
    Of course you can be charged VAT & import duty on something that you are using.
    All that is required for the goods to be liable is that they were purchased in a non EU country and they exceed your personal import limit of £390.
    It doesn't matter if the goods are new and unused or second hand and used, if they exceed the limit, you can be charged.

    But in practical, how are they going to check?
    Stop you in airport and say 'hey! you haven't paid tax for the phone you are using?'
    We are not talking 10 iphone for grey import.
    I believe OP is talking about one iphone for personally use.
  • richardw
    richardw Posts: 19,458 Forumite
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    Cisco001 wrote: »
    But in practical, how are they going to check?....

    Are you advocating that they go through the green 'Nothing to Declare' arrival channel at the UK airport, when they knowingly should be going through the red 'Something to Declare' channel with their new iPhone X?
    Posts are not advice and must not be relied upon.
  • stoneman
    stoneman Posts: 4,520 Forumite
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    richardw wrote: »
    Are you advocating that they go through the green 'Nothing to Declare' arrival channel at the UK airport, when they knowingly should be going through the red 'Something to Declare' channel with their new iPhone X?

    I would, and have many a time. Photograph receipts and send them to onedrive, then chuck them away. Take all labels off stuff and throw away boxes.
    I once got stopped with my golf clubs in the golf travel case, got asked if I had just bought them from abroad and said no, which I hadn't.


    It was the travel case I had just bought. ;)
    The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.
  • shaun_from_Africa
    shaun_from_Africa Posts: 12,858 Forumite
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    Cisco001 wrote: »
    But in practical, how are they going to check?
    Stop you in airport and say 'hey! you haven't paid tax for the phone you are using?'
    We are not talking 10 iphone for grey import.
    I believe OP is talking about one iphone for personally use.

    They don't have to check anything.
    If customs think that you have something that requires duty paying then it is up to you to prove otherwise.

    As the phone that the OP is considering buying costs somewhere in the region of £1000 to £1200 in the UK, this isn't something that customs will ignore if they have any suspicions about where it was purchased.
    They may well ignore a £50 Nokia but a £1k iPhone?
  • malkie76
    malkie76 Posts: 6,170 Forumite
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    Worth remembering that HMRC work with credit cards and banks to look at any overseas purchases, so unless you pay in cash they could be looking for you when you return.

    Highly unlikely, but still a risk.

    Nevertheless this website tends to take a dim view on methods of tax evasion.
    Legal team on standby
  • bigadaj
    bigadaj Posts: 11,531 Forumite
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    malkie76 wrote: »
    Nevertheless this website tends to take a dim view on methods of tax evasion.

    But certainly not avoidance.

    The difference can be subtle, and people's moral compass can vary widely.
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