america to UK: import tax on lenses?

richboyphoto

richboyphoto

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Anyone have experience from getting lenses shipped over?

did import tax come back to bite you?
 
Yes, and yes - bought a 150-500 ages back via a private seller and got £100 or so added, plus a long drive to get it.
 
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Me too. Having said that I've also had things sent over with nearly the full value declared (over the VAT limit) and nobody asked for any money. Chances are you will have to pay out though.
 
In my experience, things sent from the USA usually result in a hefty bill (import duty + VAT + courier fee).
 
bloomen said:
Me too. Having said that I've also had things sent over with nearly the full value declared (over the VAT limit) and nobody asked for any money. Chances are you will have to pay out though.
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Same here, stuff I was expecting to pay taxes on got declared as "gift" by the company I bought from...
Still if friends sent me actual gifts from the us (and they do!) and I got clobbered I would be well annoyed
 
Gifts are liable for duty and VAT in exactly the same way as goods purchased from a store, unless the value is under some small amount (~£40 I think - I don't recall the exact figure). Marking a package as a gift shouldn't make any difference, unless they also declare the incorrect value on the package.
 
gcogger said:
Gifts are liable for duty and VAT in exactly the same way as goods purchased from a store, unless the value is under some small amount (~£40 I think - I don't recall the exact figure). Marking a package as a gift shouldn't make any difference, unless they also declare the incorrect value on the package.
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That's a good point, I can't remember the amount looking odd to be honest, but then I paid GBP and the value was in USD
I bought a PID for an espresso machine and was fully expecting to pay the taxes and duties....even though it said "gift" the whole package was emblazoned with the companies details and logo, so not sure what happened there!
Generally gifts from friends are low value, coming such a long way USPS I think that is wise :)
 
gcogger said:
As is declaring something as a gift when it is not!
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Regardless of where things come from same goes for anything bought out of UK....like from HK or wotnot, various sellers popular with some TP'ers

Sometimes as a purchaser you do it knowingly and choose to take the risk, other time not and it is down to the seller and whatever they mark things as (correctly or incorrectly) you get lucky

I have to say though I wonder what HMRC policy is. They obviously can't check every individual item, but there seems no hard and fast rule as to what will be stopped at customs pending import duties and what won't...and value and description don't always seem to indicate what they might do with it one way or the other.

Personally I prefer purchasing from the UK unless on the odd occasion there is an item I am looking for not available for sale in the UK. In which case whatever happens with import duties or not, happens....but I always would expect to pay.
 
I believe that whether you get hit for duty and VAT depends on the carrier used.

If it's posted, then it's hit or miss; if a courier like FedEX, UPS or DHL is used it's more more likely to be subject to charges as each parcel is individually tracked. Chances are the courier will pay automatically pay the charges on your behalf and then charge you.
 
The courier (or Royal Mail) also charges a fee for handling customs for you. The lowest I've been charged is £5-6, but I've also been charged over £20!
 
If the value is greater than £18, then you're liable to import duty and tax.
If marked as a gift, this value is I believe £45.
Carriers such as DHL and UPS etc. declare the items to HMC. If there's any duty to be paid, they pay it then get it back from you plus a nice "admin fee."
The Post Office is hit and miss. I've only got stung once. £3 VAT plus a £5 handling fee on a $50 item.
 
You can look up the duty levied on the TARIC database. I think certain lenses are 0% rated, so if you ensure they get marked with the correct custom code you may well avoid the duty aspect, but may still get charged VAT and a handling fee.

Whilst its tempting to have things marked down with a low value, if something gets broken in transit, if something cost £ 500, its much easier to argue about its value if its marked as £ 500 and not £ 5 or £ 50.
 
andrewc said:
You can look up the duty levied on the TARIC database. I think certain lenses are 0% rated, so if you ensure they get marked with the correct custom code you may well avoid the duty aspect, but may still get charged VAT and a handling fee.
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Last time I checked, lenses were 6.7% but digital cameras were 0%.

Unfortunately the duty is paid on the full price including postage, then the VAT is charged on the new total (i.e. including postage and duty), so it mounts up pretty fast.
 
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