To buy from the USA?

tuux1598g

Hi,

I wish to buy a new camera lens from the USA as they are so much cheaper (I can get a vibration reduction lens for less than the bog-standard one over here in the UK), however I am unsure as to how customs etc. work and the legalities/costs of this - a link to an article or information would be appreciated?

Also, does anybody know if Amazon US would ship to the UK (with them having a UK counterpart charging double the US price for the same item)? Any info greatly appreciated.


Cheers.

andybk

you have to pay tax on anything over £18.00 , or £30.00 sent as a gift , but its not the tax that hurts its the standing charge for collecting it by the post office or courier , ( around £30.00 ), you may be lucky as some couriers catch you everytime and some occasionally , its seems to be pot luck , some you think you got away with it then recieve a bill a few months after ,
Its about time this tax grabbing government changed the limits as they are about 40 years out of date ! (what can you get for £18.00 nowadays )
btw , all european transactions are duty free , so check out them first ,
unless you fancy a trip to the states , as the personal limit has been raised i think to approx £1000 now

i expect someone will be by soon with a official site to help you
andy

stevebananer

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&propertyType=document&resetCT=true&id=HMCE_CL_001454

The list of common internet goods in the article shows duty rates for cameras & accessories.

debjk

andybk wrote: »

you have to pay tax on anything over £18.00 , or £30.00 sent as a gift ,

Really My Dad has been sending over parcels from the U.S for birthdays and Christmas for 5 years contents vary but a digital camera one year for me plus presents for 3 kids and I have never ever been charged tax maybe I am just lucky. Think some of his parcels have had over £200 worth of goods in them :j

tuux1598g

Thanks to everyone for the advice... a further question:

stevebananer wrote: »

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&propertyType=document&resetCT=true&id=HMCE_CL_001454

The list of common internet goods in the article shows duty rates for cameras & accessories.

The rate for camera lenses is 6.7% (plus 17.5% VAT) - which leads me to ask... 6.7% of what? The Pounds sterling price that I have paid for the item? in which case who decides what the item is worth as obviously buying for £110 from US and then paying 6.7% + 17.5% = £136.62... still much cheaper done legitimately than the £230 price tag of buying it in the UK - does this seem the right figure?

A_rabbit_with_a_cause

Just get an american friend to buy, then get them to send over marked as a gift, undervalued. Online purchases in america don't get charged Tax, so no need for the 17.5% or the 6.7% unless the american friend lives in california.

bobdauilda

tuux1598g wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for the advice... a further question:



The rate for camera lenses is 6.7% (plus 17.5% VAT) - which leads me to ask... 6.7% of what? The Pounds sterling price that I have paid for the item? in which case who decides what the item is worth as obviously buying for £110 from US and then paying 6.7% + 17.5% = £136.62... still much cheaper done legitimately than the £230 price tag of buying it in the UK - does this seem the right figure?

Do you have to ring HMRC before buying the goods from the US to agree the tax first or is it just done for you at the customs point?

deanos

bobdauilda wrote: »

Do you have to ring HMRC before buying the goods from the US to agree the tax first or is it just done for you at the customs point?

You dont need to tell them anything, the package might not get stopped, if it does customs will open the package and determine how much you have to pay based on the declaration or if they think its way too low the estimated retail value

stevebananer

tuux1598g wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for the advice... a further question:



The rate for camera lenses is 6.7% (plus 17.5% VAT) - which leads me to ask... 6.7% of what? The Pounds sterling price that I have paid for the item? in which case who decides what the item is worth as obviously buying for £110 from US and then paying 6.7% + 17.5% = £136.62... still much cheaper done legitimately than the £230 price tag of buying it in the UK - does this seem the right figure?

Duty is based on the value declared on the customs label completed by the seller plus the shipping charge and insurance charge if one is made.

VAT is charged on the value of the goods, plus shipping, insurance and the customs duty payable. (Tax on tax!)

Royal Mail's minimum fee for handling a dutiable package is now £8. Other carriers' fees will vary.

It's true that some items slip through the charging net, as there are thousands of parcels being imported every day that does happen.

Not a good idea to ask the sender to undervalue the goods. The recipient in the UK is legally responsible for the accuracy of the declaration, and if any misdeclaration is detected it'll be the importer who's potentially in trouble with HMR&C.

user1234_2

andybk wrote: »

...btw , all european transactions are duty free , so check out them first ,
unless you fancy a trip to the states , as the personal limit has been raised i think to approx £1000 now...

Is this true? I didn't know the £145 limit for bringing things back on the plane was changing/changed? Can't find anything online about this.

ManAtHome

Sure it's still £145 - remember reading a few articles last year which suggested that GB(H) was all for raising the limit to £1000, but don't think anythings actually been done about it yet (no surprise there then...).

Ah ah - just found a link. Spookily enough, the EU have raised their limits despite GB(H) whinging that it should be higher. Supplementary question - which country hasn't raised their limit in line with the rest of Europe..? Sup-Supplementary question - are ministers of a certain small EU country full of ****?
http://www.melonfarmers.co.uk/cw.htm (scroll down about 4 clicks - 2 stories, March and December 2006.