Import duty.

Kowalski675
Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
edited November 2013 in MTB buying advice
To save me searching on Google, does anybody know for certain what the level of import duty would be if I order something from a Taiwan based Ebay shop and get stung by HMRC?

Comments

  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    full bikes plus shipping 15% + vat + a handling fee
    parts plus shipping about 4.8% + vat + a handling fee.

    so parts costing 100 (100 x 1.048) x 1.20)+£10 = about £135
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    Cheers. It's a set of forks. So shipping cost is included in the total that duty's calculated on?
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    shipping should be split between both as some is UK and some is not but it gets complex.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    Why can nothing ever be simple, lol?

    So if I'm using your approximate guide above, should I be including the postage costs in my figure?
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    do it as i have and you will not be far out,

    but the value the Excise people put on the item may not be the same as is on the invoice. as they have internet access as well.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • The Northern Monkey
    The Northern Monkey Posts: 19,136
    Is that the same for importing from any county outside the EU?

    Been put off buying from the US due to not being able to understand the import fees.
    Santa Cruz Butcher
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    nicklouse wrote:
    do it as i have and you will not be far out,

    Cheers, but including the postage cost in my starting figure, or not?

    I.E. The fork is £123.66 and postage is £24.12, so would I be looking at £165.51 or £195.84?

    Any idea what the odds of getting hit for the duty are? Without duty the price is good, but if I'm looking at £195 it stops making sense.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    185 + handling. (could be more than a tenner)

    IIRC they are checking more.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    nicklouse wrote:
    185 + handling. (could be more than a tenner)

    IIRC they are checking more.

    Cheers. Probably not worth taking the chance then.
  • adamfo
    adamfo Posts: 763
    Are you sure you cant buy cheaper in Germany? The price you see is what you pay

    http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k1019/ ... forks.html
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    adamfo wrote:
    Are you sure you cant buy cheaper in Germany? The price you see is what you pay

    http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k1019/ ... forks.html

    Yeah, they don't have them (Epicon X1s). Tbh, I haven't found the X1 model amywhere other than Taiwan/Hong Kong Ebay sellers (£123.66 plus £24.12 postage). I can get the X2 model from a UK seller for £135 including delivery.
  • Antm81
    Antm81 Posts: 1,406
    I spent roughly £140 on a dropper post, iirc it cost me around £25-£30 when it arrived and most of that was parcel force's handling fee for holding it while they sent the letter saying what I had to pay.
    Trance 27.5 Hoodoo Her Scott Contessa Daughter's Vulcan
  • 97th choice
    97th choice Posts: 2,222
    Kowalski675 wrote:
    adamfo wrote:
    Are you sure you cant buy cheaper in Germany? The price you see is what you pay

    http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k1019/ ... forks.html

    Yeah, they don't have them (Epicon X1s). Tbh, I haven't found the X1 model amywhere other than Taiwan/Hong Kong Ebay sellers (£123.66 plus £24.12 postage). I can get the X2 model from a UK seller for £135 including delivery.

    There's one on ebay for £110 on BIN, says new but unboxed
    Too-ra-loo-ra, too-ra-loo-rye, aye

    Giant Trance
    Radon ZR 27.5 Race
    Btwin Alur700
    Merida CX500
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    97th choice wrote:
    Kowalski675 wrote:
    adamfo wrote:
    Are you sure you cant buy cheaper in Germany? The price you see is what you pay

    http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k1019/ ... forks.html

    Yeah, they don't have them (Epicon X1s). Tbh, I haven't found the X1 model amywhere other than Taiwan/Hong Kong Ebay sellers (£123.66 plus £24.12 postage). I can get the X2 model from a UK seller for £135 including delivery.

    There's one on ebay for £110 on BIN, says new but unboxed

    Steerer's too short on that one, unfortunately.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 62,019
    The Northern Monkey wrote:
    Is that the same for importing from any county outside the EU?

    Been put off buying from the US due to not being able to understand the import fees.
    Basically yes. The EU is like one big country for customs purposes so anything you buy inside has no duty, anything from outside will have duty (as long as its something that duty is payable on, which it probably will if its bike related).

    Have a gander here: http://www.dutycalculator.com/
    and here: https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]

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