[KhaiHoang]

Hi,

I'm thinking of buying my first headphone amp -- an iBasso D3. Has anyone imported using them to the UK? Just wondering what kind of customs charge I should expect if I do get this?

Thanks

 

[J.D.N]

It doesn't really matter who you import from, import tax/customs will be they same if they charge you it.

Check out the Customs & Revenue site, all the info will be on there.

 

[BigTony]

The basic charge is 17.5% of the total cost (including p&p) plus a fee for collection the duty.

I didn't get hit, but you can't assume you won't!

 

[nhat_thanh]

Well if you buy it on the iBasso website, you only have to pay the shipping which is 24$.

 

[KhaiHoang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTony /img/forum/go_quote.gif The basic charge is 17.5% of the total cost (including p&p) plus a fee for collection the duty. I didn't get hit, but you can't assume you won't!

Did they mark it up for the full value of the package Tony?

Thanks, Khai

 

[tomjtx]

to the US ,iBasso puts "usb device sample, no commercial value"

So there is no duty.

However there would be no duty anyway, the 1st 800.00 (or possibly more now) is duty free.

Electronic goods over that amount have , I think, 5% duty.

In practice it is up to the discretion of the customs officer and they generally don't asses duty if it's under 2,000.00 or so.
IME.

Of course, we don't have universal health care and inexpensive university tuition and many other benefits so, in the long run, we are probably paying a lot more "duty" than you guys

 

[bernado]

The tax free import limits in the UK are a totally different story. You are only allowed a total of around £25 (including shipping costs) before the Revenue have their wicked way. Plus a one off import handling charge of £8. I recently bought a couple of tubes in from the US and the charges exceeded my purchase price. Marking it "gift" cuts no ice either.

 

[DennyL]

I'm in the UK and I've bought several things from other countries outside the EU, including an iBassi D1. I've only been caught twice in maybe ten consignments, and was not even charged for a DarkVoice amplifier that arrived in a huge wooden crate. To the person who says it doesn't matter who you buy from, it just depends on whether you are caught, I do suspect that some suppliers are better at declaring the consignment in a way that reduces the chance of it being caught, and also different couriers may differ in the chances of picking your consignment for tax. To anyone who suggests asking the shipper to declare a value lower than the real value; if ever there's an insurance claim, I think it would be the declared value that would be used.

One item I was charged for was a second hand RSA amp, and it made it more expensive than a new one without charges would have been. I suspect that the seller, who had never shipped abroad before, made a 'naive' declaration that cried out to be charged. I have heard that RSA are quite good at shipping things in ways that don't often incur charges. I don't know if that's true.

In the case of iBasso, my first D1 was faulty and I shipped it back and they sent a replacement. They were excellent, they shipped the replacement before receiving the returned item. All that happened without me being caught for charges.

 

[KhaiHoang]

Thanks Bernado and DennyL. Pretty much everything I've ever received from outside the EU over the £18 threshold gets done. Once you factor in VAT, import duty and charges it's around 25%. It sounds as if iBasso will "minimise" any costs though so D3 it is I think. It's now just a shame about the GBP-USD!

 

[Lil' Knight]

The guy Nhat_Thanh above also bought the D3 from UK without any duty.

p/s look like we have many Vietnameses here...

 

[KhaiHoang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif The guy Nhat_Thanh above also bought the D3 from UK without any duty. p/s look like we have many Vietnameses here...

Ahh really, OK, then I think I'll go ahead then. That's just on the boundary of what I'm willing to pay.

Yep, as I'm sure you've already gathered from the name, I'm Vietnamese.

Thanks all

 

[dwilson9@tiscali]

I have been caught every time recently with purchases from the US and China for items of pretty low value (<£100). You get charged import duty if applicable, VAT on the whole lot, plus the post office charges an absurd £25 fee for handling! It has put me off buying foreign merchandise, it's much easier if the supplier has a European sales outlet (anywhere in the EU means no import duties, etc). Seems ridiculous when people walk through airports with much higher undeclared values in their luggage. And the limit from outside the EU in that circumstance is approx £140 anyway.

 

[roxxor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bernado /img/forum/go_quote.gif The tax free import limits in the UK are a totally different story. You are only allowed a total of around £25 (including shipping costs) before the Revenue have their wicked way. Plus a one off import handling charge of £8. I recently bought a couple of tubes in from the US and the charges exceeded my purchase price. Marking it "gift" cuts no ice either.

No, it's £18. From the HMRC website:

Quote:

If you buy goods online from a country outside the European Union, for instance the USA, Canada, China, Australia You will be charged: * Customs duty if the amount of duty is €10 (£7)* or over * Import VAT if the value of the goods is €22 (£18)* and over * Excise duty for some goods like alcohol and tobacco

What's particularly annoying about this, is that on another link on the same website (can't find it now though), it said £35.

 

[jamato8]

In a strange way this really is a limit of freedom. In many ways you are being told to buy local or suffer the consequences. While there can be import tax in the US, they don't go after your throat, or in this case, pick up upside down and get all they can.

 

[BigTony]

Yeah these duties are a real bummer, especially with items that can only be bought in the US online (ZFT only sell new Zappa CD's via the web) , so a $15 CD, with $18 p&p, plus VAT and duty handling came out to $45, i.e. 3 times the price of the original

It is a crap shoot as to if customs pick it out, but I have found regular post rather than courier seems to have a better success rate.

I have been quite lucky recently, imported over $600 of amps from China with no duty, and the only items the customs have opened have been secondhand SACD's which were under the duty value (but I do always make sure that each CD/SACD is sent on its own).