Oh bugger! Now awaiting a knock on my door :-)
-----Original Message-----
From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
Piers Hemy
Sent: 18 March 2005 11:59
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [OM] Re: Sending an Olympus on a world trip
Gifts imported into the European Union ARE subject to duty and VAT.
Paraphrasing from HM Customs & Excise advice:
A gift is not free of duty and VAT merely because it is a gift. The EC
agreement allows them to be imported free of charges only if they comply
with these rules:
The value of the goods must not exceed €45.
They must be correctly declared.
They must have been sent from a private person abroad to another person in
this country.
The gift must be for the use of either yourself or your family.
There is no commercial or trade element and they have not been paid for
either directly or indirectly.
Any alcohol, tobacco products, perfumes or toilet waters are within the
duty-free allowances for travellers.
They must be of an occasional nature only, such as a birthday or
anniversary.
The same advice also has a chilling warning about mis-description of
merchandise imported under the guise of gifts (again, paraphrased):
Be aware that although the foreign sender may have completed the customs
declaration form on the parcel the recipient is regarded (in law) as the
importer of the goods and responsible for the information on the
declaration, and any customs charges that may be due. This means that if the
seller offers to misdescribe items or underdeclare their value in order to
evade customs charges that are legally due on importation and the
declaration is found to be false or misleading you may be liable to
financial penalties or criminal prosecution. Furthermore the goods
themselves will be liable to forfeiture.
While I doubt that HMCE would quibble about an obviously used camera, their
general powers make the constabulary look wimps - and if you are VAT
registered, make sure that you pay HMCE before any other creditor (the
excise men do not take prisoners). Be warned!
--
Piers
-----Original Message-----
From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Martyn Smoothy
Sent: 18 March 2005 11:35
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [OM] Re: Sending an Olympus on a world trip
Probably just my ignorance (which is virtually boundless) but why would VAT
be due? The camera is not being bought/sold. On a couple of occasions I have
bought stuff from the USA & the seller has marked the item as a gift on the
customs document (not that I'd ever ask them to do such a thing) - in which
case no VAT/dues were payable.
--snip
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