Shipping a kit from the USA to the UK

[TrevS]

Hi all

This might well have been covered before but if I were to order a kit or car parts from the United States then would the items incur import duty and VAT?

I checked a couple of websites but it seems that for certain items the duty is higher than others.

Also if you buy an item privately then how do you declare the items when they are imported to customs? Do you need a receipt from the seller to help verify the items value?

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has imported a kit into the UK to understand the process and the costs involved.

Thanks

Trevor

 

[Ian Anderson]

Trevor

For anything worth above£30 expect HMRC to remove funds from your bank!

If you buy and then ship over they take the cost of the goods (on the invoice) and the cost of the postage or freight.

To the total of the above they will charge you duty and vat. Vat is 20 percent and on most car parts the duty is 4.5 to 5 percent.

For round numbers bank on25 percent of the cost of the goods and freight to be added.

Oh and if you are worried you can also check the ecpxchange rate you will be converted at on their site
Ian

 

[TrevS]

Thanks for the info Ian, very helpful

You mentioned that HMRC make their calculations from the invoice you produce for the goods plus the shipping costs. This is fine if you bought a new car from a dealer in the states but what happens when you buy something from Joe Bloggs and pay in cash. Could Joe Bloggs write out a receipt for the car at say half the amount you paid and then do HMRC assume you paid that amount or do they investigate.

It seems that for normal consumer goods it would be easy to see if you were trying to get around paying the full duty but GT40 kits and parts are difficult to value.

Trev

 

[Ian Anderson]

If they expect some undervaluation then the are at liberty to decide on the correct price for duty and vat.

If you buy on e bay at a great price then you have proof of purchase price.

So long as your documentation looks reasonable you should not have problems

Ian