Import tax question

Mrsmoneypenny

On New Years day my daughters camera was broken, the person that broke said they would replace it in March - this is not a problem.

I live outside EU and said that i would send her one of my cameras, that I would collect it this week when i was in England and take it home with me in March. by that time she would then have her replacement.

My daughter has an 8 month old baby and, until the camera was broken had been using the camera every day.

I sent the camera over over three weeks ago. Our daughter told us every day she had not received the borrowed ca mera.

Yesterday a letter arrived from HM customs to say that the needed to assess whether duty needed to be paid.

The camera is more than two years old and I do have the receipt for it. It was not bought in the EU.

I am due to go home on Friday of next week and was planning to take it back with me.

Has anyone had experience of HM customs? Would it be a good idea to ring and attempt to explain the situation?

Thanks in advance.

John_Pierpoint

How much was the camera when you bought it (free of duty?) and VAT at 17.5%
How long ago was that?

I have a nasty feeling you are going to be "stuffed" either way.
You pay the import duty and VAT (What did you put on the customs slip with the parcel or does your at home postal office not offer such an arrangement? "unsolicited gift" would have been an idea.
Or you try to set up a procedure to explain that the camera is only worth a fraction of its original value because technology has made it obsolete.
Then you try to claim a refund when you export it and your self, as you go home. But you might well run out of time doing this and go home without the camera.

I have no personal experience of taking personal possessions/samples across borders but I once had to import a computer - second hand from USA in the days when rapid technology could make them valueless almost over night - Customs & Exercise insisted on uplifting the declared value by 50% before calculating the duty.

If you Google with appropriate words, you will find something that fits your situation.

I've just tried the channel islands (where my printer inks come from because I don't want to pay 700 GBP per litre which is the list price in the UK) using: Jersey import values duty

Games are not quite the same thing as cameras but this discussion gives you some idea:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/wii/428593-how-much-import-duty.html

Few more pointers here:

http://forums.ebay.co.uk/thread.jspa?threadID=1200127158&start=0

.

Mrsmoneypenny

Camera was approx £250, it was two years ago.

The camera has been upgraded by Sony about three/four times since we bought this model, but I would have to check.

Mrsmoneypenny

Just an update, i case its of any use to anyone in the future.

Rang the number on the letter from HM customs. Spoke to a lady, explained the situation, she told me which parts of their form to fill in, to enclose a letter explaining the situation and post off.

I had the camera back within three days, no tax to pay, no other costs to pay either.