importing set into UK- advise please

foxale · Post by **foxale** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 4:04 am

Hi guys- I've just bought the Brad Angus set off e bay, ( bit excited here) and am wondering what the implications are going to be tax/import wise. Can I get round them a bit by asking the seller to declare a much lower cost, of that the set is antique or anything like that? Anyone with experience of this?

Thanks

Simon

kenr · Post by **kenr** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 6:13 am

Simon,

Two things to consider. One is the lottery of the parcel being picked up for VAT and other import tax. There is also a fee for charging you VAT and duty and you can't have the parcel 'til you cough up. The value of the goods will influence how much VAT you pay. Putting "gift" or whatever on the customs declaration doesn't actually make any difference on the import duty, it's all on value, but not all parcels are picked up by customs.

Second thing is what level of risk you want to accept if there is any problem with the safe arrival of the pipes. If you ask the seller to put less than the face value on it then you risk being out of pocket if the worst happens and the set arrived damaged in transit. I assume you are getting the parcel shipped by secure/ insured post. Contract law would usually allow the sender to use whatever they think fit if you don't specifically ask for insured postage so it's all your risk. Insured post services on both sides of the Atlantic have a tracking system on their web sites so you can see where your parcel is which I think is worth checking also.

Ken

Pat Cannady · Post by **Pat Cannady** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 8:16 am

Why not pick them up in person? That way you can have Brad set them up for you.

BTW, something to consider for the return flight if you choose to pick them up in person: British Airways has a nasty habit of forcing musicians to check valuable instruments into the hold. You may want to try a different carrier.

Uilliam · Post by **Uilliam** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 8:57 am

Simon be prepared for a nasty shock,I recentlly imported some pipes from the US on a straight swop,it cost me £425 which I certainly wasn't expecting.The set I sent to the states didnae attract anything like the same costings even though they were a much better set, so I felt kinda done by , so start saving !!!

Slan go foill

Pat Cannady · Post by **Pat Cannady** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:08 am

Yeah, the VAT may be pretty high. Your chances of getting whacked with VAT decreases significantly if you pick it up in person, so use the savings for airfare!

BTW there is no US import duty on bagpipes...Thanks to JFK for that one good bit of piping karma

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:30 am

Thank JFK?... I got some GHB and supplies in 1956, and was told there was no duty on bagpipes or their accessories then. When did JFK do his thing?

Ted

Pat Cannady · Post by **Pat Cannady** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:50 am

I'm not sure, wasn't he in the House or the Senate before he ran for President? My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think he was a Senator for Massachusetts starting about '54 or '55, and it's possible that he was able to effect that change while in serving in the Senate. This was all years before I was born, so I leave it to those who were alive at the time.

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 10:53 am

Simon,you can find the relevant information on the H.m. Customs and Excise site .'Notice 143-a guide to overseas post users' refers
UIlliam hit the nail on the head

Uilliam wrote:Simon be prepared for a nasty shock,I recentlly imported some pipes from the US on a straight swop,it cost me £425 which I certainly wasn't expecting.The set I sent to the states didnae attract anything like the same costings even though they were a much better set, so I felt kinda done by , so start saving !!!
Slan go foill

£425!

-I felt badly done by when it cost me an extra £69(21%)

for a $409 Copeland low D.The thing that REALLY got me was that I was charged £13 of that simply for Royal Mail 'tampering' with my mail on behalf of the Customs!

It's nought but a tax on artistic expression!!!

(it STILL riles me!)

snoogie · Post by **snoogie** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:10 pm

Why do you think we dumped all that tea in Boston harbor?

-gary

djm · Post by **djm** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:02 pm

Snoogie, don't get too smug. The American authorities play some pretty nasty tricks, too. For instance, when it comes to importing living things into the US, nothing takes higher precedence than cut flowers. Let's say you had purchased a hugely expensive pet from another country. US Customs will leave it to rot on the runway for days if there are large shipments of cut flowers coming in. There is a huge amount of loss in the American pet trade specifically because of this. For some reason, Chicago is the worst.

That's just an example of course, but the point is that no-one is free of government bureaucracy and taxation. You probably take it in other ways that we don't see (and probably don't want to know about).

djm

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 4:37 pm

Pat Cannady wrote:I'm not sure, wasn't he in the House or the Senate before he ran for President? My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think he was a Senator for Massachusetts starting about '54 or '55, and it's possible that he was able to effect that change while in serving in the Senate.

One book, which went through a first printing and then WAS REMOVED FROM STORES EVERYWHERE, explains that allowing for duty free import of pipes WAS why he was assasinated. WE can't PROVE it of course...

snoogie · Post by **snoogie** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 5:55 am

djm, sorry if my comment came across sounding smug. It was intended to be a joke referencing events surrounding excessive taxes and the UK a few hundred years ago...not a statement that the US govt is any better.

Kevin, are you saying there was a piper's wife or girlfriend on the grassy knoll? :roll:

-gary