Buying from america

dhd1965

Hi there,
I have spied a pair of wheels being sold in America at half price saving nearly £600 on the uk price, I have emailed and spoken to the shop and they are happy to ship to uk.

Has anybody else bought wheels from America and will I have to pay tax and duties and if so how much on a £600 pair of wheels i.e will it be worth it?

Thanks in advance for any comments

simbil1

Something like 8% import duty plus 17.5% VAT plus any carriers brokerage fees.

wheeler585

If the sender is a decent guy,you can get them to send it as a gift. This stops any tax being added on,or a very limited amount anyway!!

simbil1

Not sure a 'decent guy' would want to be complicit in tax evasion

The 'gift' thing really won't work anyway - look at this from the HM revenue & customs:

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).

geoff_ss

It can be very expensive importing from the USA. Not only are you likely to be charged duty but the carrier pays the duty and then charges you for that privilege as COD, Of course VAT at 17.5% is charged on the whole amount.

I've bought quite a lot of small stuff (though fairly expensive) from Japan and so far have avoided any charges at all. The stuff just comes straight through. The only thing I bought from the USA copped for the whole lot. It was still cheaper than buying the same thing here but not by very much.

Plus, of course, evading import duty is a crime.

Geoff

bhm100

Yeah, as the other guys have said, it's not as cheap as you'd think. I'm buying one of the Pedalforce CF frames in the group buy, and have asked the customs exactly what duties I'm liable for.

Even though I asked detailed questions I still got a vague answer, but the gist of it is that they'll take the total amount (goods & carriage & insurance) then slap on import duty based on that - so import duty on postal charges.

Then just to make sure you don't do anything like that again, they'll charge VAT based on the total plus import duty - another tax on tax..... good old Golden Brown.....

Sadly, I doubt your wheels would be worth the effort.

proto

Get them shipped to a mate/relative in the US. Ask them to repack, removing invoice and despatch notes etc. Make the box look 'used'. Fill in the customs form correctly and leave it to luck.

bhm100

:oops:

whoops - just re-read the thread and I'm wrong

If you're saving £600 at half price then assuming you're paying £600, your wheels would be a good buy, even after taxes all paid. Not as cheap as you'd expect, but still much cheaper than the UK.

sorry for the confusion...

wheeler585

I didnt say that the taxes would totaly be eliminated when sending as gift. But reduces it by a considerable margin. Ive had quite a few packages sent from the states and when sent as a gift the price tax is reduced!!! Just had some nokon cables sent via a gift and didnt have to pay a sausage!!! What a DECENT guy!!

simbil1

wheeler585 wrote:

I didnt say that the taxes would totaly be eliminated when sending as gift. But reduces it by a considerable margin. Ive had quite a few packages sent from the states and when sent as a gift the price tax is reduced!!! Just had some nokon cables sent via a gift and didnt have to pay a sausage!!! What a DECENT guy!!

Sometimes you will pay no tax at all on packages - customs do not pick up on everything although they do seem to pay more attention to stuff from the states. Some carriers from the states automatically add the taxes and pass the proceeds on to customs.

The original poster is buying some expensive wheels. Marking them as 'gift' means that they are not taxed if the declared value is less than £36. Normally the tax free limit is £18 for non-gifts.

The exporter could mark the declared value as less than £36 and as gift. You run the risk of the item being seized by customs and the sender runs the risk of prosecution. The insurance on the package may also pay out the declared value if it gets damaged.

meagain

The penalties for evasion can be considerable! Goods seized. ALL duties and VAT payable (which doesn't get you the item back!). Plus hefty fine. Especially if using an intermediary is interpreted as conspiracy to defraud....

Like any crime, if you don't want to risk the time, best avoided.

SunWuKong

Agree with Proto.

I have relatives in the USA, it makes things even cheaper by sending to them and they then ship it to me. Not evading tax as no tax is liable :twisted: (except any paid in US).

I too have bought a pedalforce in the group buy. Luckily my mum is visitng the US after it delivered to my aunt's, so she is bringing it back for me.

scooterboy

Ive never bought a bike or bike bits from the USA but regularly buy high value Guitars from there (My other passion/hobby). Ive always come out on top compared to the UK prices even paying the duty and vat plus usually an £8 parcelforce fee for handling, as often the UK price is a straight pound substitution of the dollar price rather than a true conversion of $1.94 odd to the £1.

The customs rate doesnt have to be the paid price but should be the actual marketable price of the goods - (ie the actual cost of replacement if the goods were to disappear or be damaged). i usually allow a straight 22%addition to the purchase+shipping price into the equation before pushing the button.

Good luck

aracer

SunWuKong wrote:

I have relatives in the USA, it makes things even cheaper by sending to them and they then ship it to me. Not evading tax as no tax is liable :twisted: (except any paid in US).

Really? So you don't buy anything costing more than £18 then - hardly seems worth the bother. I presume your mum is declaring your new frame when she brings that back through customs?

wheeler585

But couldnt it be more than £36 as a friend of mine bought a pair of corima wheels frm the states. Thinking he was getting a bargain he bought them. When they arrived he had a bill of about £150,not such a bargain after all!! Im not preaching you should dodge taxes but,think i would risk it to dodge such a hefty tax bill!!

simbil1

SunWuKong wrote:

Agree with Proto.

I have relatives in the USA, it makes things even cheaper by sending to them and they then ship it to me. Not evading tax as no tax is liable :twisted: (except any paid in US).

I too have bought a pedalforce in the group buy. Luckily my mum is visitng the US after it delivered to my aunt's, so she is bringing it back for me.

You are evading tax - it's the same as if you went out to the US and bought a bike and then brought it through customs without declaring it. Paying US taxes does not make any difference.
Is your mum going to say she took the pedalforce out with her and back again or is she going to declare it at customs? She will be liable for import duties and possibly fines if she goes through 'nothing to declare' and they pull her up.
Unluckily, ignorance is no defence.

aracer

Do you work cash in hand, wheeler585? I seriously recommend you should consider it, as you can evade a lot of tax doing that too.

meagain

SunWuKong wrote:

Agree with Proto.

I have relatives in the USA, it makes things even cheaper by sending to them and they then ship it to me. Not evading tax as no tax is liable :twisted: (except any paid in US).

I too have bought a pedalforce in the group buy. Luckily my mum is visitng the US after it delivered to my aunt's, so she is bringing it back for me.

You are clearly very certain that no C&E folk read this Forum!!

BTW, discussion above would prove "conspiracy"! Hope your mum likes the shovel!

wheeler585

Yeah whatever aracer!! Dont overdramatise things here mate,im not your drug or pimpdealer on the corner here!! Simlpy asking if they can send it via gift doesnt make me a hardcore tax dodging crook!!! Ha!!

aracer

So what's the difference between evading income tax and evading VAT and import duty on bike parts,wheeler585? I'm afraid what you are proposing does make you a tax dodging crook!

wheeler585

Ha dont be a fool!! !! Lighten up as well,you might start o enjoy life,plus you dont know me from Adam aracer so dont point the finger. Supose your perfect eh! Course you are!!

cabron

I have bought from the USA and have never paid the full amount of duty - although I've been clobbered for "some" every time. It's really up to you, if you can find a dealer that will mark the item as a gift, or undervalue the total value on the goods description, you'll pay less duty - and you can save a lot of money. However you may get stung if you're unlucky and C&E are suspicious, or if the item is damaged in transit and the insurance will then only pay out on the declared value.

There are risks, it's up to you whether you take them or not! Ignore the moralisers, make your own choice, be prepared for the worst case scenario, and if it doesn't happen, be happy.

wheeler585

Totally agree with you cabron!! Take it your a crook like me to hey!! ha! Honestly by some of the reaction in here you would of thought i would of murdered someone. To be perfectly honest i didnt even know it was against the law to ask them to mark it as a gift. Learn somthing every day hey!

z000m

you should expect to pay tax when buying stuff from abroad, if the item isnt a bargain unless tax&vat is nil 0, then in my opinion its not a bargain at all.

wheeler585

Big problem now days is that everybody wants somthing for nothing and are hunting around for the best bargains!! Think Ebay has alot to answer for!

SunWuKong

If you're bringing in a personal possession on your person you have the allowance of £145. Anything above that and you pay VAT and import duty on if the item.

il_principe

aracer wrote:

So what's the difference between evading income tax and evading VAT and import duty on bike parts,wheeler585? I'm afraid what you are proposing does make you a tax dodging crook!

Who cares mate! I'm fed up with getting ripped off in this country. Why is it that I can buy Castelli clothing cheaper in the States than I can in the UK when the stuff is made in Europe in the first place? It's a joke. If I can get stuff from the states and evade the tax then I'll do it with no qualms whatsoever.

simbil1

SunWuKong wrote:

If you're bringing in a personal possession on your person you have the allowance of £145. Anything above that and you pay VAT and import duty on if the item.

Almost right but the £145 is for all the stuff you bought outside the EU - "£145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs"

aracer

jashburnham wrote:

aracer wrote:

So what's the difference between evading income tax and evading VAT and import duty on bike parts,wheeler585? I'm afraid what you are proposing does make you a tax dodging crook!

Who cares mate! I'm fed up with getting ripped off in this country. Why is it that I can buy Castelli clothing cheaper in the States than I can in the UK when the stuff is made in Europe in the first place? It's a joke. If I can get stuff from the states and evade the tax then I'll do it with no qualms whatsoever.

So you would happily also evade income tax and not pay your way, yet get the benefits of the NHS for example (something they don't have in the US - hence one of the reasons they pay less tax)?

il_principe

erm, Nope! Think you're missing my point. As for the NHS, I went to my GP for the first time in 16 years last month, all I wanted was my Etape entry form to be signed - he charged me £35 for the privilege! I'll continue to import tax free by means of recompense.

aracer

Not missing you're point at all - you're missing my point that there' s no effective difference between evading different forms of tax.