Donate SIGN UP

Uk Customs Duty?

Avatar Image
zimkip | 21:49 Sun 13th Aug 2017 | Shopping & Style
3 Answers
I'm considering purchasing an item on eBay that will be an import from Japan, the value of the item including postage is £ 691.99. Can anyone give me an idea of how much import duty/customs charges I will be liable for? The item in question is a DSLR camera & 2 lenses.
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 3 of 3rss feed

Avatar Image
Things are never easy where Import Duty is concerned! If your camera is seen as just that (i.e. a 'camera) there's no duty to be paid (although, as I posted on your other thread, there will still be VAT, plus a customs examination fee). However the EU has ruled that a camera which can "record at least 30 minutes of a single sequence of video in a quality of 800 x 600...
22:14 Sun 13th Aug 2017
Already answered
Things are never easy where Import Duty is concerned!

If your camera is seen as just that (i.e. a 'camera) there's no duty to be paid (although, as I posted on your other thread, there will still be VAT, plus a customs examination fee).

However the EU has ruled that a camera which can "record at least 30 minutes of a single sequence of video in a quality of 800 x 600 pixels or higher at 23 frames per second or higher" shouldn't be classed as a 'camera' but as a 'video recorder'. That means that Import Duty of 4.9% needs to be applied to such an item.

So if your package is classed as a 'camera' there's no Import Duty to pay and my figure of £146.40 (on your other thread) should apply.

If the entire package is classed as a 'video recorder' you'll pay 4.9% on the cost of the items (but not on the carriage) and a further 20% VAT on the cost of the items, on the cost of the carriage and on the Import Duty. (Yes, that really is a tax on a tax!)

So, assuming (for the sake of convenience) that cost of the items is £660, with roughly £30 for the carriage, you'd pay about £32 in Import Duty plus about £144 for the VAT and £8 for the customs examination fee = around £184 in total.

However if HMRC (or Parcelforce Worldwide, who actually carry out routine customs examinations, under contract to HMRC) split your consignment into a notional 'video recorder' (attracting duty) and photographic lenses (with no duty) the final figure might be somewhere between my two estimates above.
Most DSLR cameras limit their recording time to 29min 59sec for a single "take". This is to ensure that they are defined as cameras and not as video recorders.

1 to 3 of 3rss feed

Do you know the answer?

Uk Customs Duty?

Answer Question >>