Import taxes and customs

[bolthole]

One more thing to add... I bought a saw from the states a few yeas ago when the exchange rate was 2 dollars to the pound; I did get stung for import duty (it was still well worth it) but the dealer had supplied the wrong pitch of chain with the saw.

 

I ruined the chain, bar and sprocket finding out the hard way but also when I took it to the local UK Husky dealer to be fixed he told me that the saw wasn't CE approved and therefore couldn't be used for professional work... well it could, but there was the potential for my insurance to be invalidated if something went pear shaped and the insurance company discovered that my saw wasn't CE approved...

 

It smelled a bit fishy at the time but I'm sure he had a point. The saw was exactly the same as the UK model I later bought... but you know what insurance companies are like... if there's a way to avoid paying, they'll find it!

[Stubby]

One more thing to add... I bought a saw from the states a few yeas ago when the exchange rate was 2 dollars to the pound; I did get stung for import duty (it was still well worth it) but the dealer had supplied the wrong pitch of chain with the saw.

 

I ruined the chain, bar and sprocket finding out the hard way but also when I took it to the local UK Husky dealer to be fixed he told me that the saw wasn't CE approved and therefore couldn't be used for professional work... well it could, but there was the potential for my insurance to be invalidated if something went pear shaped and the insurance company discovered that my saw wasn't CE approved...

 

It smelled a bit fishy at the time but I'm sure he had a point. The saw was exactly the same as the UK model I later bought... but you know what insurance companies are like... if there's a way to avoid paying, they'll find it!

 

They are not always the same. The Americans have tn EPA and California has its very own spec . For example a California spec husky 338 (crap I know ) is so restrictive due having to meet the strict emissions fopr that state they had to make the motor a bigger capacity and even then it was gutless .

[WorcsWuss]

All you need to know here....

 

HM Revenue & Customs: Buying from abroad on the Internet - what to look out for

 

Everything comes in through the Parcel Force / Royal Mail hub at Baginton.

Parcel Force will then send you a card detailing the charges which can / will be:

 

VAT @ 20% [not just on purchase cost on shipping too as far as I recall but I may be wrong]

Customs Duty - As I recall it was waived on the saw I bought on eBay from the US because it was less than £9 in payable value.

 

Handling Fee - This is charged by the Royal Mail / Parcel Force if they have to open and re-pack the item for customs. This seems to be abused by PF / RM a bit and they seem to charge it even when they don't have to do anything....

 

All told the saw I bought was £130 to buy and ended up costing about £210 in total. The same saw I think was £360 here.

Warranty is the biggest issue.

[Stu3k]

As above you have to pay the VAT if asked, but not the Mail/Parcelforce fee for collecting the vat . They even seem to guestimate the amount due !

The Cannot withhold ur parcel if you refuse to pay their collection fee !

I got £50 compensation for depot manager refusing to deliver a Fiskar axe

[miker]

i bought a saw from the states £70 import duty

[morten]

If you want to be certain of the TOTAL costs (shipping to your address, customs, VAT) when importing from the USA, you can use http://www.shopusa.com/

 

You can immediately calculate the total costs, and further more, you'll get a US address that allows you to take advantage of "Free shipping within US mainland" offers, and buy from shops that have a "US addresses, only" shipping policy.

 

EDIT: I am not certain if ShopUSA is available in the UK. I can tell it is available in Ireland, Australia, Denmark, Sweden and other countries, though. But can't tell if UK is supported

Edited September 29, 2012 by morten