Import duty on US CD's

Just a quick one- does anyone know if you have to pay import duty on new CD's from the States bought over the internet? If so, is there an amount below which you will not be liable for duty..$20 for example?

Just found the official Spirit site- Used to be a fan a long time ago.

http://www.randycaliforniaandspirit.com/buy.html

 

I've found that if i import CD, LP's , etc one at a time then i never get stung for duty and the sender can happily put the correct value on the package.

Whenever I've ordered stuff off places such as CD Wow in Hong Kong they always send the items individually even if you order a few at the same time.

 

Many thanks. One CD a time it will be, then. Shame, because if you want a few items from a specific site I guess you might end up paying more on shipping- doing it individually, one by one.

 

As far as I can remember, £17 is the magic figure. Above this, you might get stung for Customs charges. That's why it's better to get them individually.

 

That's convenient. The CD I want comes to £16.99 :MILD:

 

I thought it was £18. Been that level for years too, surely it should be rising with inflation?

 

Yes, that's it!
So, above that add VAT, Duty, p.o. charge, together with senders shipping fee, I still found it cheaper to buy 4 or 5 of the cheaper say £6-8 discs depending on the senders shipping cost-breaks. Furthermore, customs didn't always implement import charges ... Most of my hdcd discs were imported direct, much cheaper than Vivante prices!

 

Anything above £18 you pay VAT and import duty which in total is 22% also the uk postoffice now add a handleing charge as well about another 4%

 

I bought a big box of vinyl, about 40 LP's from the States not long since, and the shop marked them as samples. Thankfully I didn't get stung for the duty.
I also get them sent to work, hoping that customs might be a bit more lenient towards a school

 

I just had to pay £8 import tax on 2 discs! I'll remember the one disc at a time method from now on.

 

I think its more hit and miss than that.......just a random selection

I've never been charged what ever the cost...????

But have been stung on a preamp I had to pay as much in tax and duties as the amp cost ???

Though I've now had 20 or so purchase of bits and peices get to me without tax ...... I'm expecting to have to pay for one soon due to the law of averages!

 

I had a bit of a shock the other day when I bought an amplifier from the States for $500. TNT stung me for £100 duty. I phoned them up to ask why it was nearer 40% instead of 20% and they said that it depends on what they are charged when the item gets clearance in the UK- and that the £100 charge was totally correct.

 

Me too, I'm sure they'll catch me soon

 

Make sure your next few purchases are really miniscule

 

Was that $500 inc postage as you pay duty on the cost into the country ie. item cost + postage. Then you pay VAT on that and a handling charge to the carrier for paying the duty for you.

It's impossible for customs to check every bit of standard mail coming into the country so I work out the maximum I might have to pay and feel good if I end up paying nothing.

 

I think it was a declared as $500 on the box and shipping was about $200 on top, as it was very heavy. I thought duty was only calculated on the declared value of the goods (i.e in my case $500)

 

Its gona be 10% duty then 17.5% VAT plus charges so

$500 = £280 = £28 Duty + £55 VAT + charges so thats not too far off. It does suck though. Try getting them to declare used or if less scrupulous repaired on the import sticker

 

Dammit- the item WAS infact ex-demo. So, if they'd stated second-hand on the declaration it wouldn't have incurred charges.

Ah well, next time. I'm hardly going to send it back and ask them to re-send it second-hand. That would be a MAD thing to do :guiness:
wouldn't it?

 

it's been a while since I've ordered an cd's from the US - but I thouight it was $40 which depending on the dollar rate would equate to 17/18 quid...

 

Just had a thought , i'm pretty sure that in this age of buying things online the threshold for duty might have gone up in the last budget to something like £35. it might be worth checking this out. also don't forget that it is the total charge including any shipping that you get charged for not just the price of the goods if they are over the minimum amount.