Reclaiming Import Tax

azzybish

I'm currently on a ski season in Switzerland and wanted to buy a pair of skis, but the prices in resort are ridiculous so i decided to buy from an online store in the UK.

The store i bought from was FreezeProShop, and the total bill for skis/bindings/mounting was £470.00. This included the UK VAT at 20%. I have just been sent a letter by DHL, the courier, requesting payment of import duty. This is roughly 83CHF, or £58. This does include their admin fee which is something like 30CHF, so the import duty is only ~50CHF.

Now the problem is i will essentially be paying VAT twice. I will be bringing the skis back with me into the UK late April. Is there a way/what is the correct method of reclaiming the VAT when i leave switzerland, and what should i do concerning paying DHL which needs to be done within the next week.

Thanks for your help!

Mikeyorks

azzybish wrote: »

. I have just been sent a letter by DHL, the courier, requesting payment of import duty.

This sounds like Customs Duty .... not VAT? Have a look at the attached table and you will see that sports goods - typically - range between 2.7% (golf / exercise) and 14% (bicycles). That is in addition to the 'S' rate (Standard) of VAT at 20%.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD_009989&propertyType=document

This also might help:

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_FAQs&propertyType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_PROD_008654#P36_6965


(Edited to say ..... I had a quick look at FreezeProShop and I'm puzzled as to why DHL are charging you as though you did the importing. As nowhere in the delivery / T&Cs can I find that the retailer suggests that's even an option? After all the reason for buying from a UK source is to avoid the hassle of importing yourself from a Swiss retailer? Worth taking up with the retailer - unless you did buy on specific 'direct to you from the manufacturer' terms?)

dzug1

It's presumably Swiss import duty you are paying (so the HMRC links are irrelevant)

I doubt there is any way you can reclaim it - nor the original UK VAT.

It might be worth checking with the Swiss authorities though

azzybish

ah sorry i wasnt particularly clear - i purchased from FreezeProShop and had them delivered to me in Switzerland.

The tax i am being requested is nothing to do with HMRC, its the swiss customs. The rate that im being charged is 8% under outdoor/open air sports equipment.

Thanks for the responses so far, hopefully someone who has done the same could help me out!

John_Pierpoint

If you were purchasing from a Swiss address, would it not have been possible for "FreezeProShop" to issue an invoice for zero rated VAT - Exports?