Importing a bass from the EU

[franzbassist]

Hello all

 

I’m looking to buy my first bass from the EU since B#%?!* happened. It’s likely around 3k on euros. What sort of tax and duty and tax am I paying on top?

[ezbass]

Reckon on about 23-25% IIRC

[fretmeister]

Item, add the shipping. Then add 20% vat to that. Then the duty (about 4%), and then finally the courier charge for dealing with the customs paperwork. Usually about £15-£20

 

You won’t get any surprises if you assume 30% over the item price. Probably be a little lower.

[franzbassist]

Thanks, both, and ouch! 😩 

[itu]

A ferry, or train... an option?

[Hellzero]

And I guess you meant EEC, not EU... 😉

[tauzero]

5 hours ago, Hellzero said:

And I guess you meant EEC, not EU... 😉

 

Shipping costs including time travel are prohibitive.

[WalMan]

6 hours ago, itu said:

A ferry, or train... an option?

Not that that makes any difference other than the courier cost, except 🤦🏼‍♂️

Edited November 25, 2024 by WalMan

[itu]

I have heard that people take a case, and maybe even a £50 bass along, and come back with a case - and a bass. Just heard...

[Hellzero]

1 hour ago, itu said:

I have heard that people take a case, and maybe even a £50 bass along, and come back with a case - and a bass. Just heard...

I know some people who did it.

[Hellzero]

6 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Shipping costs including time travel are prohibitive.

And don't tell me the ECSC doesn't exist anymore...

[Burns-bass]

9 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

I know some people who did it.

Hardly the crime of the century.

 

When I was on a walking holiday in Flanders we met a chap who, after a lot of very delicious beer, showed us what he was carrying back to Britain. It was a WW2 dagger owned by a member of the  SS. Reckon that would probably get you stopped at customs!

 

Was an odd chap. Was very interested when I told him my great uncle was a member of the SS during the war. Not the normal response you get.

 

 

[WalMan]

3 hours ago, itu said:

I have heard that people take a case, and maybe even a £50 bass along, and come back with a case - and a bass. Just heard...

 

2 hours ago, Hellzero said:

I know some people who did it.

...and I used to read Excise Duty cases, mainly to laugh at the dreadful excuses put forward by people bringing a Transit full of assorted fags and booze saying it was for 'personal use' when it could be easily shown that they would need to be drinking a gallon of spirits and smoking a kilo of rolling tobacco a day to do so.

 

People have done it and got away with it. but they are not fools at points of entry and you run the risk of having your purchase confiscated and losing everything. Similar to trying to get the seller to under declare on the import declaration, or just doing it thinking they are 'helping' you. Parcel gets pulled & Customs see your '63 Precision declared as a £150 Squier. Bye bye Precision & outlay 

[Hellzero]

Nobody asked @franzbassist, but is it a new item bought in an official store or is it a second hand item bought from a private person?

 

If it's new, the store has to withdraw the VAT that you'll have to pay has one of the incoming taxes, and in the end according to the exchange rate of the day, you'll end up paying almost the same amount as if you were buying it in the U.K.

 

In case of a second hand item, as others said, get prepared to pay at least 30% of incoming taxes...

 

In fact, I do the maths another way: I simply add 50% to the bare selling price of the second hand item as the shipping fee, the handling fee and the administrative fee or any other fee will be added to the declared value to calculate the final amount of the VAT.

 

I've done it the other way round and unless the price of the second hand item is very low, it's not a winning situation at all.

[franzbassist]

39 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Nobody asked @franzbassist, but is it a new item bought in an official store or is it a second hand item bought from a private person?

 

It will be a new custom bass, my third, from Franz Bassguitars in Germany.

[Hellzero]

33 minutes ago, franzbassist said:

 

It will be a new custom bass, my third, from Franz Bassguitars in Germany.

So, they'll have to sell it to you without VAT.

[Steve Browning]

8 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

So, they'll have to sell it to you without VAT.

Absolutely correct. I would assume they sell with incoterms ExW (ex-works) and you will be responsible for the costs of transportation (including insurance etc) to which HMRC will add UK VAT. The courier will (usually) settle the import taxes and charge these costs on (plus their admin fee) before they deliver the guitar to you. 

[Twigman]

12 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

So, they'll have to sell it to you without VAT.

Only if he can prove it is to be immediately exported.

If he collects from the factory expect to pay VAT and have to reclaim it when exporting.

[Reggaebass]

Not sure if it’s the same but when I bought my new custom Sandberg I didn’t pay any taxes, and they covered postage 

[Steve Browning]

7 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Not sure if it’s the same but when I bought my new custom Sandberg I didn’t pay any taxes, and they covered postage 

A quick look at the Sandberg site shows they only sell within the EU themselves. Non-EU sales are via a dealer, so the tax position depends where that dealer is, and which incoterm they use. ExW would be normal, but DDP (delivered duty paid) is not impossible.

[Grahambythesea]

Is it worth it? Grrrrr Brexit!

[fretmeister]

20 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

Is it worth it? Grrrrr Brexit!

 

I think the thing that shall not be mentioned was crap as well - but VAT was going on a purchase either way.

Looking at non-Vat prices abroad is not a true comparison.

 

Most of the time the savings just aren't worth the hassle.

[franzbassist]

33 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

Is it worth it? Grrrrr Brexit!

 

Indeed......

[cybertect]

18 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Item, add the shipping. Then add 20% vat to that. Then the duty (about 4%), and then finally the courier charge for dealing with the customs paperwork. Usually about £15-£20

 

You won’t get any surprises if you assume 30% over the item price. Probably be a little lower.

 

Just to be picky about the sequencing, you need to add VAT after calculating duty and shipping.

 

e.g. (ignoring any separate charge for handling customs paperwork)

 

Bass: £1000

Shipping: £50

Duty: £40

 

Ex VAT total £1090

 

VAT @ 20%: £218

 

Total inc VAT:  £1308

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cybertect]

Also, import duty from the EU for stringed musical instruments such as bass guitars is 2%, not 4%

 

Commodity Code 920290

 

https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/subheadings/9202900000-80?day=25&month=11&year=2024

Edited November 25, 2024 by cybertect