Import duty/VAT from Singapore

[skampino]

Hey everyone, I want to buy a bass from a singapore dealer. Anyone know what it would cost on a bass priced at £600 and shipping costs.at £154?
I have been on a couple of sites but its too confusing.
Be grateful of any help.
Ta

[ambient]

I think it's usually something like 25% in total. That's on everything including the shipping costs.

[gary mac]

Last time I did it, I'm sure it added approx 25% to the total, so that would be £188ish on this.

You would be better off trying to calculate it properly though, even if it is a little confusing.

Edited February 25, 2016 by gary mac

[RhysP]

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1456432914' post='2989074']
Last time I did it, I'm sure it added approx 25% to the total, so that would be £150ish on this.

[/quote]

Closer to £250.

[Dazed]

A bit off topic but, can I ask who the shipping is with?

I was looking into buying a bass from Singapore but the seller was quoting £3-400 for insured shipping using Fed Ex on bass valued at less than £500!

[BigRedX]

You can't really calculate the total amount accurately, because firstly HMRC don't always classify basses properly which means that the import duty they calculate might not be the the same as the one you have excepted. Secondly the clearance fee that you will be charged varies depending on the overall value of the item and the company who is doing the delivery in the UK.

Adding 25% on to the overall cost and shipping generally gives you a slightly higher figure than the the actual final cost but at least you won't have any nasty surprises.

Except... the VAT and import duty will be calculated on the declared (insurance) value of the item and shipping so that if the seller over-insures the bass, you will be charged the full insured amount and then have to try and claim back the excess.

[skywalker]

Guitars of all kinds carry 3.2% duty:-

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/measures.jsp?Lang=en&SimDate=20160227&Taric=9200000000&LangDescr=en

The duty is based on the value of the item if it includes shipping and insurance, or the supplier may put it separately on the invoice but it is still included for duty purposes. VAT is 20% of the value of the item (including shipping and insurance) plus the duty. The carrier will almost certainly add a clearance fee and a small percentage for prepaying the duty and VAT to customs.

[fleabag]

Do not use rip offs like Paypal for sending currency other than UK stirling

Use these people https://transferwise.com/

When i bought my Carvin head from Germany, ( it wasn't Thomann ) neither my bank or Paypal were acceptable on pricing. Both wanted around £30 + for the privelege of changing the £ to Euros. The German website wanted Euros, obviously

Transferwise charged me around £2.50 and it was a pretty faultless exchange. The German website was a little apprehensive, but they agreed. After all, if they dont get their money, they dont send the goods, so there's no problem for them