Import duties

Tgr141291

Tgr141291

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Tom
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Not sure where to put this so here goes

Looking to buy sonething on ebay from S Korea for about $200

What extra fees will I encounter like import and vat etc.

Want to see if its worthwhile. Anyone had experiences of importing from outside EU?

Ta
 
It can be anything up to about a third of the value. There is often no rhyme or reason to it either.
 
If it comes through the mail, there's less likelihood of being charged, unless it's tracked and delivered by Parcel Force. As well as the VAT and Duty, you get a collection fee which was about £8 but is now £13.50, I believe.

If it's FedEx, UPS etc., you're likely to get the bill a couple of weeks after delivery, and the collection fee will be £20+. The VAT will be charged on the declared value and the shipping cost and, in my experience, this is grossly overestimated (so worth querying). Whether any Duty is charged, and how much, depends on the class of goods.
 
You basically have to pay VAT at 20%, handling charges, some other charges and if it comes by courier - you will also have to pay their handling charges.

Allow 25% and you will be fine.

If it is marked as 'sample' then it will probably get through with no charges. If it is small in size, it may also get through.

I used to get quite a bit from US ebay or US retailers, some came through fine (marked as sample or low value) others didn't

Bear in mind - if you mark a low value, you can only claim up to this value if its damaged. I am not sure if marking it as 'sample' has any effect if anything goes wrong.
 
i bought my manfrotto tripod and head from the far east, by the time i paid tax and fees to get it out of customs the saving was negligable. plus it took longer to arrive obviously compared to that of a UK seller.

in other words, personally i wouldnt bother.
 
$200 is about £125
VAT on that: £25
Collection fee: £8.00 (Royal Mail), £13.50 (Parcel Force), £20+ (FedEx/UPS)
VAT on shipping?

If the value of the item is properly declared, you could be charged £33 or quite a bit more (a minimum of 26% of the item value). Or you could be charged zilch, but bear in mind the import duty threshold has just been reduced to £15, so packages may be inspected more thoroughly, at least in the short term.
 
What I'm looking to import is the Markins Q3 Traveller tripod head.

Can't get it anywhere in the UK - only from Germany at a price of £295

ebay price from South Korea is £190

So as long as if I'm not charged £100 it will definitely be cheaper.
 
Tgr141291 said:
ebay price from South Korea is £190
Click to expand...

You will have to pay:

Import duty at whatever the appropriate rate is (maybe 0%) on the price including shipping cost
VAT on the price including the import duty
A collection fee imposed by the carrier.

I can recall buying a computer game from Canada about a decade ago (no European release scheduled for months). The game cost about £30, the duty, VAT and fees cost about the same on top.

On an initial price of £190 vs £295 here, you should come out ahead.

If the package comes in and duty is not collected automatically, it is your legal responsibility as the importer to declare it to HMRC so they can charge you the correct amount of import duty and VAT (and it is a criminal offence not to do so).
 
The TARIC commodity code would probably be 9006 91 00 00 (parts & accessories for cameras), attracting 3.7% duty.
 
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