On Tue, 13 May 2003 11:45:17 +0100
"Piers Hemy" <piers@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Sounds credible Tom. I have been bitten by these charges, and now
> know the rules! They apply whether the lens is new or used, Zuiko
> or Walmart-ogon.
>
> European Union rules only allow relief from charges on imported
> goods which meet either of these criteria:
> * have an intrinsic value (actual value of the goods excluding
> S&H) of Euro22 (=USD25) or less;
> * are correctly declared gifts whose value must not exceed
> Euro45(=USD52).
>
> Put another way, if you wish to be generous, you can send a gift of
> value USD52. Alternatively, you can sell goods of value USD25.
> Else the buyer gets to pay customs clearance fee plus duty/VAT on
> the value of what you send. In my case, in UK, the VAT is 17.5%,
> so the total is around 20%. Belgian VAT may be slightly different
> (though the duty should be the same, I think 3%). Customs
> clearance fee can be USD20 and upwards, depending on the shipper.
> Cheapest is usually the postal service, so long as you don't use
> their express service - but it's up to the Belgian end to determine
> the charge.
Ahh, authoritative answers. Good :)
LaPoste in France kindly asked a 100 Eur processing fee for their
assistance 2 weeks ago when I received something from outside EU.
Which shipment company do you use?
>
> In my view, the intrinsic value is not the same as the replacement
> value, so I think you could validly declare the value of 4 ounces
> of aluminium alloy and glass as "x", while declaring it's
> replacement value for insurance pruposes as "x^y" - I wonder what
> Bill Barber's view is on that?
>
Uhh...I call for lawyer on thatone. I am almost sure that it will not
work, but I am just an engineer so what do I know of these
matters....?
> Not knowing the rules cost me a _lot_ on USD60 of parts from John
> H.
Same here. However John is not to blame - he sends insured (as he
should) and declares the value (as he should) such that insurance and
customs match. Further, he is a company, so he is legally bound to
declare as such.
I've used John and, despite all the customs problems for which he is
not to blame, he is a good person to deal with who can get many odd
things and plays "by the rules". All else equal,
> Knowing the rules got me an OM4T for not much more than those
> parts.
>
> As a seller, aside from observing the "opportunities" alluded to
> above, the best you can do is make sure not to include the shipping
> cost in the value you declare - the customes authorities at the
> other end will add the shiping cost on anyway - as I discovered :-(
>
Yup, that is true. Well, except I have discovered that when receiving
something of a value under the "45 Eur gift limit", the shipping is
not added (which would bring the total over 45 Eur). If this is the
rule or is just luck, I dunno.
--thomas
> Piers
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tom Scales
> Sent: 13 May 2003 10:22
> To: Olympus List
> Subject: [OM] Duties to Belgium
>
>
> I just had a potential buyer ask a question for which I did not
> know the answer.
>
> He is under the impression that everything from the US, even a used
> lens, will have a 25 0uty added. Is this true?
>
> Thanks,
>
> TOm
>
>
>
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--
-------------------------------------------
Thomas Heide Clausen
Civilingeniør i Datateknik (cand.polyt)
M.Sc in Computer Engineering
E-Mail: T.Clausen@xxxxxxxxxxxx
WWW: http://www.cs.auc.dk/~voop
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