This conversation has probably been done to death, but I'm just wondering who has bought anything from the U.S. and has been hit with a hefty import tax bill? The only reason I ask is because iv been speaking to an Ohlins distributor in the US about a possible order. He can supply and post a 30mm Ohlins fork kit & a TTX GP shock for £1500, which is quite a good deal. Iv asked him how we could get over the tax or reduce it in some way, he replied by saying "he'll declare the goods value at £600" Now should I go for it and take the risk or leave it completly.... It could be a bit of a gamble!!
This is the worst time of year to get anything from outside the EU as the customs have more staff to get through the xmas rush .I would say 99% chance you will have to pay duty .My fairing kit is still in the hands of the customs as they wont accept the invoice and want my credit card receipt
I'd be interested to see the outcome of this as I fancy a simular deal.. I have a 30 mm kit in mine plus a hyper pro 3d rear shock. Ideally Id like fit a new kit to some gold forks I have.. There's s place on the states called biohazard who offer s simular idea re goods values etc
Simplest way is to ask Customs! All they need to know is what it is and how much then make your decision from there.
A good question. I will also be interested in the outcome. I have fancied a number of motorcycle items based state-side; but have always been put off by export tax...and how much one has to pay.
I ordered a yoshi from the states and they marked it as a gift to the value of £100, you take a slight risk if anything goes wrong with such a small value but it did keep the import taxes down quite a lot
if they say the value is £600 then you will charged the import duty,which depending on what the item is classed as in the commodity codes section (usually around 10-15%,but can vary),then VAT@20% on top of that.then your postage charge from parcel force.+vat) so say £90 import duty (i'd say thats the max@15%) then £140 VAT then say £20 from parcel force so about £850 the problem you have though,is if it gets lots,you would only be covered for £600,not the real value. you can find what the commodity code for them would be on the customs website,it's tricky to find the exact match but helps a lot if you do just in case they over charge you (as in use the wrong commodity code)
Thanks guys. That last post is perfect, thanks Scooby. My local dealer can supply a new TTX & 30mm fork kit for £1900. Looking in to it, importing from the U.S. could maybe cost me more than I can get the bits for in the UK...
I got an Ohlins shock on special from the excellent hardracing people check out their webbie its Santa's CBR grotto (and other manufacturers), the dude there said he would mark the parcel 'replacement for defective item'. As I'm an honest tax-payer and would not defraud HM Gov. I convinced myself this referred to my existing shagged shock, which was being replaced as it was defective. Sadly the Customs man had no back-tracking to check the authenticity of this claim as they wrote no such thing and as Scooby says they whacked 15% on top for import duty. Im pretty sure that that was about it tho (in my case), bar P&P, so as the £-$ was good at the time and the sale price was well under half the price here in Blighty I'd have to say it was a happy ending. Well worth watching the sales these guys have. Garys
Import duty & taxes made easy | DutyCalculator MyUS.com - #1 International Shipping, Mail and Package Forwarding Service - MyUS.com MyUS.com - SERVICES & RATES https://www.ukimports.org/services/import/customs-clearance/how-to-calculate-uk-import-duty-vat.php
that's a great link,and shows that bike suspension is set at 4.7% so would make sense to buy that from the US,it's VAT that stings but still a hell of a lot cheaper than over here.
Bought quite a few items from USA and Japan plus a few cheapo items from China/Hong Kong, only one item was bike related (Japan), had to pay VAT and customs duty on all of the USA/Japan items, never paid anything other than the purchase price from the small inexpensive China/Hong Kong items. You'll pay VAT and customs duty unless you're very very lucky.
I get my family to bring stuff over when they visit..you are allowed a certain amount in value..but they have never been stopped... Not sure if that's an option for you.
Happy to accept I'm Inaccurate here and it was 15% of the purchase price simply cos it worked out that way ( as extras/purchase price) and I assumed it was the VAT. Sorry for the inaccuracy. Probably creeping pre-senile persistent stupidity syndrome. Good info tho cheers.GaryS
