Import Charges?

rob.e

rob.e

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Sorry if this is the wrong forum but wasn't 100% sure where to put this.

I've ordered a couple of lenses off amazon, through the Market Place. Foolishly I thought that being UK sellers, the sellers would be located in the UK and send items from the UK, and so didn't have to consider import charges. Turns out I was wrong as I've been given a tracking number saying it's currently being processed in Hong Kong :bang: and a closer look at the other sellers feedback shows a few people have said it is delivered from America :bang:

Is there anything I can do to claim the costs back if I get charged? As there it wasn't stated *anywhere* that the items were from abroad, and what should I expect to pay? Have many people here imported lenses and do you have to pay tax often? If I wanted to import I would have done so through eBay and found out what the possible extra costs were first. Last time I use Amazon Marketplace :bang:

From Hong Kong I have the Sigma AF 70-300mm f4-5.6 DG APO which cost £115 and from America I've got the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 which cost £65

I've done a search and couldn't find anything so apologies if this has been posted before.

Rob
 
I suspect they'll declare them as gifts to avoid import tax. It's an absolutely terrible way to do business.
 
I agree, if you do get stuck with duty/tax try contacting Amazon, they may be able to do something.

Too late now but I think Kerso could have beaten that 50mm f1.8 price and onestopdigital certainly can.
 
If they arrive with a bill refuse delivery and they'll be returned to the seller. Then ask for a refund as they didn't specify the charges were applicable. Last resort take it up with your credit card company for a chargeback.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I did see the 50mm 1.8 on onestop-digital but noticed they were ship from Hong Kong, so thought I'd rather pay a few quid extra and get it from the UK than bother trying to import something and mess round getting the VAT refunded. Forgot about kerso though, wish I had remembered now.

From what I can see on the HMRC Website the standard duty is 6.7% and the VAT rate is 17.5%, so 24.2% extra possibly? Definitely not worth it for the canon, although the sigma would still be a reasonable price with it added on.

Not sure if it's be best to send them back if I have to pay a bill, as that means my account will be £200 down until I get the refund, and I'm a student so haven't got tons of cash so I'll have to wait till I can place another order.

I'm hoping I'm worried about nothing, but I guess I'll have to wait and see :(

Going to ask the sellers about it on amazon and see what they have to say about it as it wasn't mentioned anywhere.

Rob
 
the_stiffmeister said:
I suspect they'll declare them as gifts to avoid import tax. It's an absolutely terrible way to do business.
Click to expand...

Declaring as a gift dosent get away with VAT, it just ups the VAT free threshold from £18 to £36 under certain conditions.

See below

2.2 Do I have to pay import duties and/or import VAT on goods sent to me?

Most goods arriving in the UK from outside the EU are liable to any or all of the following taxes:
  • customs duty
  • excise duty
  • import VAT
and must be paid whether:
  • you purchase the goods or receive them as a gift;
  • the goods are new or used (including antiques)
  • the goods are for your private use or for sale
2.3 Are import duties and import VAT always payable?

No. Customs duty is waived if the amount of duty is less than £7.
Import VAT is not payable on:
  • commercial consignments eg goods purchased over the internet with an intrinsic value not exceeding £18, but this does not include alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters
  • gifts, excluding alcohol, tobacco, perfumes and toilet waters, with a value not exceeding £36 and which comply with the rules shown in paragraph 2.4.
There are a number of other circumstances where relief from some or all customs charges may be available. If you think your goods may be eligible for a relief you should contact the National Advice Service for further information.

2.4 Gifts

Goods sent as a gift are not free of import duties and import VAT. However, customs duty will not be collected if the amount is less than £7, and import VAT is not chargeable if:
  • the value of the gift does not exceed £36
  • the customs declaration is completed correctly
  • the gift has been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in this country
  • the gift is for the use of either yourself or your family
  • there is no commercial or trade element and the gift has not been paid for either directly or indirectly
  • the gift is of an occasional nature only eg for a birthday or anniversary.
Please note the purchase of goods from outside the EU to give as a gift to a relative or friend, whether or not addressed to that person, is treated as a ‘commercial consignment’ for which the import VAT relief threshold is £18 (paragraph 2.3 refers).
 
I bought the canon 50mm lens from a uk seller for £58 new and thought this to be a reasonable price.
 
If it's declared as a sample, does that avoid import duties?
 
Just got an email from the seller of the canon lens.

Dear Rob

You do not have to worry about that a bit,

Our warehouse is based here in London and our items are running many times out of stock and it takes time till we get it back in stock so what we do in between we transfer many orders direct to our main distributor which is located out of states and they ship the order direct to the customer so there is no delay but of course this has nothing to do with you and you will not get charged a penny for it,

Thanks
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that as I am the recipient, if there are any taxes they will have to be paid by me :suspect:

Rob
 
Normally duty avoiding imports are shipped as repaired items, that's how One Stop do it.
 
Well the Sigma 70-300mm arrived on friday and it said that the sender pays any import duties, which is all well and good but the value of it was about 514 HKD, or about £34. Couldn't see anything marking it as a gift but may have overlooked it.

No sign of the canon 50mm yet and I now see kerso has them about £6 cheaper and I've bought from him before so know he's pretty reliable. :(

Rob
 
Well the canon 50mm *finally* turned up yesterday, marked as a commercial sample with a value of $10 :thumbsdown: didn't have to pay any taxes for either luckily, but that's the last time I am ordering anything of any value from Amazon Marketplaces after this. I am made up with the canon 50mm though :D Thanks for all your help guys, much appreciated :)

Rob
 
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