Import tax
Turbo Mini Forums

I want a new v4 Megajolt from AutoSport Labs to replace my v2 but I'm trying to work out what the import tax will be on it.

I presume there are people on here who have ordered from them, what was the tax/duty you had to pay on it? I've tried the online calculators but keep getting a completely different result each time.

I'm also wondering if I have it sent to my work whether the tax will be lower, etc.

When I got mine there wasn't any tax, I think it was sent as a gift and the value was less than $50 (or whatever the cut off point is!)

This was around a year ago now I guess, from Autosport Labs

when i got mine i didnt get taxed either that was september this year

"Tuning should be a compromise between what is possible and what is necessary"

10)Thou shalt always quest for more power

ask them to send as a gift. you dont pay tax. however i have a storey to tell....

my brother bought a bass guitar NECK (just the wood, no metal bits on it) for $400 and we have to pay $70 import tax because it was classed as a musical instrument?!!?!?!???!?!?!? even though its a fucking piece of wood! lol the moral is, ask before you buy if they will send as a gift.

I had some electronic bits from Australia earlier this month and they sent it as a gift without asking. So I dodged the tax!

I also bought the hard cut rev limiter from them (about 6 months ago), same case, no tax, I imagine with Autosport they just say gift and send it out without asking :)

As above, but, please do bear in mind that if they do send it as a gift, and it goes missing, there is no insurance and you have no come back.

all very helpful - I was looking at ordering my megajolt just yesterday from Autolabs

Ive just bought £1000 worth of custom valves from USA and got charged £256 import tax... takes the piss a little

Chris

The piss take is that they apply duty on items £100 and above and the Megajolt comes to £101 approx after converting :(

I was talking to someone in work about it and apparently alot of things get through without being taxed but it's only if something catches their eye.

as above,

when buying stuff from abroad assume you will have to pay customs, some cheaper stuff will slip through, generally they look for expensive stuff as this will net them more money (obviously).

be thankfull smart, it would have been more come february!

Maybe I should ask them to wrap it in Winnie the Pooh wrapping paper so nobody suspects

Just ordered mine this morning :)
See how it goes.

As Andy and Joe say, it just needs factoring in.

You are avoiding paying Sales Tax in the country of origin so you can't expect to avoid paying it here too.

But they are leniant with the set limits - I have had more come through duty/VAT free than I have actually paid duty/VAT on - but never declared as a "gift". I personally think Customs are more suspicious of ones declared "gift" and they have the legal right to open and impound them (ie. you lose them totally). Reputable companies refuse to make false declarations anyway (ie, DIYAutotune and GlensGarage for megasquirt both clearly state it on their websites) as they risk prosecution in the USA if they are caught doing it.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Guess I can claim it back anyway ???

Certain states in America charge tax don't they? I think one is California. I've bought from overseas before without an issue but I don't want to get stung for an extra third of what I've already paid.

Autosport state on their site they won't lie about the contents or costs, etc.

Also, you can't claim back import tax, only the VAT on it.

declaring something as a gift doesn't necessarily mean that you won't get charged import tax.
Also there is no lower limit to what is eligible for import tax. I recently ordered a couple of t shirts from the states, and the company delivered them separately, with separate bills. Both were under £15 including delivery, but I got charged import for both of them. The import duty was quite low (a few £, but the postoffice charge around £10 to process ANY import fees. So my import duty was the same price as the goods... But this is just the rules, if you're concerned about the potential charges, have a look at the hmrc site, and calculate what the real duty 'should be'.

Wether you actually get charged anything or not, is simply luck. They only correctly process/charge a relatively small proportion of the parcels that come into the country.

On the flip side, I had a set of split rims made & shipped from Canada, and they didn't get processed/charged.. and they were quite high value, so it seems it can work both ways!.

sales tax in the states is only applicable if you're resident in the state that you're buying it in (or something like that). But I think you then pay import into your own state. either way you shoudln't get charges sales tax if you buy something in the staes and have it posted to the UK.

Edited by jpboost on 7th Dec, 2010.

Too many projects!

There are essentially two taxes, import duty (a small percentage based on the description of the item) and VAT (17.5%, soon to be 20%). However there are lower limits for these depending on whether the items are "gifts" or commercial goods. The limits for both are clearly stated on HMRC's website.

Then if you are unfortunate enough for the goods to be sent by "post", RoyalMail/ParcelForce will add a processing charge if duty/VAT is payable. This is totally fraudulant as RoyalMail have reciprocal agreements with most countries in the world not to add extra charges for delivery, in either direction. Their pathetic excuse is that the fee is not for delivery but for processing the duty/VAT. Choose a supplier who uses someone like UPS (not to be confused with USPS) who do not add fees but simply collect the VAT at your doorstep.

But as JP says, in my experience, only a few get actually charged even if above the defined limits, especially if it's properly declared and not "hidden" as a "gift".

Sales tax USA if you buy in the state it's sold, otherwise tax applicable in the state you live in (often there are reciprocal agreements, at least there were when I lived/worked in the USA quite a few years ago) but VAT in the UK if you import (but only if it gets pulled in by Customs according to the limits). The principle is you pay the tax applicable where you live, not the point of origin.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Thanks boys :)

They use EMS (I think) so hopefully Royal Fail won't touch it. I'll just buy it and hope for the best.

Incidentally, there is a 'safe' limit that is supposedly exempt - it is 18UKP. This is the point that the value is determined to not be worth pursuing import duty. However - it seems JPboost's experience shows that there are days when they don't have enough work to do so pull any random package.

It really isn't worth bitching about, as there is so little that can be done. One thing to consider however, if you have a company send something by UPS or FEDEX, you don't get charged much, or any of a 'handling fee'...
You also get the item in your hand, rather than having some numpty from the post office stood at your front door, waving that thing you are desperate for in your face, asking for the money before he hands it over...

At least with the major carriers, you can appeal what you considered an 'unfair' charge, having got your item in hand.

And for those who ask for $200 worth of electronics to have $20 put on the value - this is fine until your package goes missing, and your recompence is $20. with USPS there is one box to fill in for package value, which automatically becomes the customs value.

Others have also pointed to 'gift' not being an escape either: I know of one american guy living in the UK who's mother sent him a pullover she hand-knitted for christmas, and he got charged import duty and the RM 'handling fee'...

Basically - croos your fingers, and hope for the best. If you are lucky, then stick 10 quid in a jar. You can then use this to pay for the next time you import something and you aren't lucky.

Tax and duty are paid on the total cost of the goods, which includes the postage!!!! That really does take the piss!! That £18 soon turns into the postage alone!!

As Dave said, if its expidited with UPS or Fedex, you will pay the tax, duty and a handling charge. Its a bit hit and miss with Royal mail and Parcel Force.

a

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

I told parcel farce that their handling fee amounted to extortion. They were holding goods I owned until I paid a fee to them which I couldn't question, and I couldn't take my business elsewhere. Tossers.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???