EU import charges on goods

Hannimal

I am from an EU country and I visited in December as one of my parents passed away. As anyone who has been affected by grief knows, you easily get a bit air-headed. So when I left back for the UK I left my glasses and the jewelry I wore at the funeral at my sister's house. She is ready to send that together with some other things I took from my childhood home before it was listed for sale. These are all things I own already. Some - such as the jewelry and the glasses - were bought in the UK. However, I am now concerned that should my sister send them over to me I would need to pay VAT or customs charges on them. Does anyone know if this is the case? I was told at the post office that I would have to pay - however, I was not entirely convinced that the clerk was certain of his answer and I haven't been able to find out online either.

bris

Do you have purchase receipts to prove you already own them and when you bought them? If not you pay on the value of the items.

mattyprice4004

Unfortunately a lot of people use the ‘it’s personal goods’ excuse when sending items, making it harder for those who genuinely are doing so. 

You’ll need to provide proof these are your own items, and when sending them fill out the correct part of the Customs documentation for this. 

If you’re in an EU country, it may genuinely be a better idea to wait until things are a bit more ‘normal’ and re-visit to collect your items. 

Hannimal

bris said:

Do you have purchase receipts to prove you already own them and when you bought them? If not you pay on the value of the items.

Some of these are things like presents from when i was a child. The glasses are about 2 years old. No receipts left.

Hannimal

mattyprice4004 said:

Unfortunately a lot of people use the ‘it’s personal goods’ excuse when sending items, making it harder for those who genuinely are doing so. 

You’ll need to provide proof these are your own items, and when sending them fill out the correct part of the Customs documentation for this. 

If you’re in an EU country, it may genuinely be a better idea to wait until things are a bit more ‘normal’ and re-visit to collect your items. 

Thank you. I figured it's cheaper to buy new glasses now