Importing from the US of A

pariko

Evening fellas,

Just want to double check something with the wise and sagely regulars of this board, specifically anyone who has experience with importing guitars from across the Atlantic, or indeed from Japan I guess (I'm talking about ordering from eBay here, not actually bringing the thing over myself). Am I right in saying that the price you pay is basically instrument + shipping + customs tax (as a percentage of the price before VAT - 3.7% for an electric guitar right?) + Irish VAT @ 21%?

Also, presuming the guitar is being shipped by courier, it'll be a case of paying the basic price of the guitar plus shipping on the credit card at first, then settling the customs and VAT with the courier company yeah?

murphaph

Don't they do it this way?

Purchase price + shipping + customs duty + 21% VAT (based on price plus duty!!).

They certainly levy VAT on cars based on market value plus VRT!

Yeah, you pay the duty to the agent here to release the item. They used to be useless at recouping this money and you'd usually get yoru stuff duty free. Not anymore though.

pariko

murphaph wrote: »

Purchase price + shipping + customs duty + 21% VAT (based on price plus duty!!).

That's what I meant, I think - that the 21% is taken as a percentage of the price after customs is added!

murphaph

Oh yeaaaah. Oops. My bad!

It wasn't me!

I think the VAT is charged on the price, including shipping, while the customs duty is charged only on the item. As far as I remember, that's how it goes.

darrenw5094

My last Edwards Les Paul slipped by the Irish customs.

I saved about €140.
Never give up hope....it's better off in your back pocket than Berties.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you.:cool:

Johnny Storm

It wasn't me! wrote: »

I think the VAT is charged on the price, including shipping, while the customs duty is charged only on the item. As far as I remember, that's how it goes.

AFAIK it depends on how the documentation is filled out.
If a private individual (eg EBay seller is US) ships to you they will typically fill out a form declaring the value of the guitar for customs purposes. Then when it gets to Ireland the customs official will charge you VAT and duty based on that value. (ie guitar only)

If a large company ships to you (eg MusicYo.com) they will create an invoice showing the total of what you paid them. IE the cost of the guitar plus shipping, insurance, and anything else. When the guitar gets to Ireland you will pay VAT and duty on the total of the invoice.

Its stupid and unfair but that's how it is.

Also If you get your guitar shipped by a cheaper method (USPS) you may have to pay an Irish customs expeditor 50 yoyos to get it out of customs. If its shipped by FedEx or UPS they usually contact you in advance for the money.

Just my .02 Euros.

Quatre Mains

if you're getting a really top-end guitar you're actually as well off to fly over and get it imo.Better to spend 300-400 on a weekend away than giving it to the HSE to waste! They dont stop you for guitars at customs in the airport unless you have it still wrapped and the price tag hanging off it. If not then go the Ebay route and as already described. Good luck - serious bargains to be had, if i had the cash I'd be back already!

pariko

Johnny Storm wrote: »

Also If you get your guitar shipped by a cheaper method (USPS) you may have to pay an Irish customs expeditor 50 yoyos to get it out of customs.

Are you saying it may actually get stuck in an airport until I pay the customs?

darrenw5094

Johnnycabs wrote: »

if you're getting a really top-end guitar you're actually as well off to fly over and get it imo.Better to spend 300-400 on a weekend away than giving it to the HSE to waste! They dont stop you for guitars at customs in the airport unless you have it still wrapped and the price tag hanging off it. If not then go the Ebay route and as already described. Good luck - serious bargains to be had, if i had the cash I'd be back already!

Yer Johnnycabs...that would be right.
Edwards are about €600 and are only available in Japan.
So i am not flying out there to buy one of those.

Going to USA for a Gibson Les Paul and taking the bad boy home is probably worth it.

Johnny Storm

pariko wrote: »

Are you saying it may actually get stuck in an airport until I pay the customs?

Yep. You don't think they trust you, do you?
It'll be held in Port Laoish somewhere while the customs boys send you a letter saying its arrived. Then you send your cheques for the VAT/duty and another one for €50 to the customs broker and it'll be delivered a day or two later.

Johnny Storm

Johnnycabs wrote: »

...They dont stop you for guitars at customs in the airport unless you have it still wrapped and the price tag hanging off it. ...

Other frequent posters here have had very different experiences.

And, FYI, from this forum's charter:-

...There is to be NO discussion of how to avoid paying import duty whether your instrument is being delivered or you're bringing it back to the country. This is a bannable offence!

Eoin Madsen

Johnny Storm wrote: »

Also If you get your guitar shipped by a cheaper method (USPS) you may have to pay an Irish customs expeditor 50 yoyos to get it out of customs.

This has never happened to me. I've had to call in and collect stuff from the postal depot and pay tax, but never with any significant fee. There's normally a tax handling charge of about 10 euros irrespective of where it comes from, but never anything like that.

Johnnycabs wrote: »

if you're getting a really top-end guitar you're actually as well off to fly over and get it imo.Better to spend 300-400 on a weekend away than giving it to the HSE to waste!

You'd be pretty hard pressed to get a transatlantic weekend away for 300-400 euros. Unless you bring your own food and sleep on a bench at the airport.

Johnny Storm

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

This has never happened to me. I've had to call in and collect stuff from the postal depot and pay tax, but never with any significant fee. There's normally a tax handling charge of about 10 euros irrespective of where it comes from, but never anything like that.

It happened to me. I have no idea why your experience was different.

Eoin Madsen

Johnny Storm wrote: »

It happened to me. I have no idea why your experience was different.

Once or more than once? And when?

I've bought a whole lot of stuff by USPS and have never seen anything like this. Additional arbitrary customs charges or customs "processing" fees seem a bit iffy to me. I would have got straight on to Revenue and demanded an explanation. Customs duty is fixed. A broker of some kind making money off the Irish tax system sounds like fraud.

Voodu Child

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

Once or more than once? And when?

I've bought a whole lot of stuff by USPS and have never seen anything like this. Additional arbitrary customs charges or customs "processing" fees seem a bit iffy to me. I would have got straight on to Revenue and demanded an explanation. Customs duty is fixed. A broker of some kind making money off the Irish tax system sounds like fraud.

It happens all the time.

With goods over a certain value, the customs department will (for whatever reason) decide that a SAD form needs to be filled in. And this can only be done by a registered clearance agent.

It's completely routine, nothing shifty or fraudulent. But I didn't have much luck finding out the exact circumstances that require the SAD, or whether you can do it yourself and cut out the clearance agent. It's value related anyhow, usually only goods well over a grand in my experience.

Johnny Storm

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

Once or more than once? And when? ...

Why? Are you planning to investigate on my behalf, Officer Madsen?

Anthony_1980

i bought a gibson les paul supreme from usa and what i did was pay the shipping €80 and got the company to declare it at a lower value ie i paid €2200 but go em to declare it for €500 so id only pay vat and duty on this amount

if it got lost or broken id be up **** creek etc

its a risk , but nowadays shipping is excellent so i paid €2200 less €80 shipping and €180 duty and excise so i paid €1940 for a 2006 brand new gibson les paul supreme

pm if u wanna know anymore

Johnny Storm

:rolleyes:

The_g-man

i paid €1940 for a 2006 brand new gibson les paul supreme

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=36238&cat=500

You seem to be charging €2500 for a les paul supreme here. Hmm.....

Eoin Madsen

Johnny Storm wrote: »

Why? Are you planning to investigate on my behalf, Officer Madsen?

Hehe. Just wondering what the context was.

voodoo_child wrote: »

It's completely routine, nothing shifty or fraudulent. But I didn't have much luck finding out the exact circumstances that require the SAD, or whether you can do it yourself and cut out the clearance agent. It's value related anyhow, usually only goods well over a grand in my experience.

There was absolutely nothing in the Revenue Commissioners customs duty literature about it, unless it's a new addition.

I don't think I've had anything worth over a grand shipped by USPS that I can remember. But still... if you get charged a hidden €50 extra on a guitar valued at 1k, that's essentially like making the duty 9% instead of 4%. Given our otherwise strict consumer laws, it seems a little odd that it would be legal to do it without making information on it clearly available.

Anthony_1980

and why shouldnt i charge €2500 ??? if u wanna go buy from uk or ireland go pay the €3000 + ok , i took the risk getting it here so why not get a few extra for it

Voodu Child

Eoin Madsen wrote: »

There was absolutely nothing in the Revenue Commissioners customs duty literature about it, unless it's a new addition.

It's not a new addition, it's 2 or 3 years ago that it first happened to me.

I don't think I've had anything worth over a grand shipped by USPS that I can remember. But still... if you get charged a hidden €50 extra on a guitar valued at 1k, that's essentially like making the duty 9% instead of 4%. Given our otherwise strict consumer laws, it seems a little odd that it would be legal to do it without making information on it clearly available.

There's nothing odd or illegal about it, and it's not a 'hidden' e50. Google 'single administration document' and you'll find whatever info you need. It's a standard EU-wide procedure.

If you can prepare the SAD yourself, you can possibly avoid involving a clearance agent - but it's a technical document, for a lay person to fill it out would require familiarity with the exact rates, procedures, forms etc. You need to present worksheets showing your calculations, and various other documents depending on the nature and origin of the goods.

Personally, the amount of time needed to find all the info wasn't worth it, 50euro was cheaper than several hours of my time.

*My knowledge of it is pretty patchy and it's going back a few years, so I could be wrong on a few points, but the general gist of it should be accurate

feylya

Anthony_1980 wrote: »

and why shouldnt i charge €2500 ???

It's called profiteering and it's against the Adverts.ie rules.

Eoin Madsen

voodoo_child wrote: »

and it's not a 'hidden' e50.

If there's no forewarning or availability of information regarding the charge then I think it qualifies as a hidden charge.

Voodu Child

Well, what I mean to say is that the e50 (or whatever), it's not going to the revenue department. A clearance agent is a completely independent party.

We're shielded from a lot of it because most shipping companies (DHL etc) have their own local clearance agents, but the fact is, that importing goods IS subject to plenty of rules and restrictions. Like I say, the s.a.d is just a bunch of declarations and forms - it's an official EU thing, so you'll find out about it if you look hard enough.

You could argue that it's hard to find the info, and you'd be right, i got pretty fed-up looking for it personally, but anyway, it is what it is. No point arguing with the man

Eoin Madsen

voodoo_child wrote: »

You could argue that it's hard to find the info, and you'd be right, i got pretty fed-up looking for it personally, but anyway, it is what it is. No point arguing with the man

Aww, where your hippy spirit gone, man? Fight the machine!

pariko

Well, I got my guitar (it actually came from Canada) on Friday, and without going into detail about it, I have yet to pay any import duty or VAT whatsoever. I got an invoice in the post from DHL today asking for €12 though (duty, tax, 2% surcharge). Is this is a booboo on their part? I have the guitar sitting next to me, what possible leverage do they have to get twelve smelly euro off me?

Eoin Madsen

pariko wrote: »

Well, I got my guitar (it actually came from Canada) on Friday, and without going into detail about it, I have yet to pay any import duty or VAT whatsoever. I got an invoice in the post from DHL today asking for €12 though (duty, tax, 2% surcharge). Is this is a booboo on their part? I have the guitar sitting next to me, what possible leverage do they have to get twelve smelly euro off me?

It's not uncommon for shipping companies to charge tax after delivery. They've paid the money to Revenue on your behalf already so you owe them money. You could steal from a shop and make the same argument once you got outside, but it wouldn't hold much weight, legally.

€12 is a serious under charge anyway, unless your guitar actually cost €50?