Importing Games From Outside Europe

Joe Musashi

Does anyone know what the case is when importing games from outside Europe, in regards to import taxes and other additional charges?

There are a few games that I'm interested in from a Japanese seller, but in the description it mentions about the additional charges, which I hadn't even considered.

Before putting in any bids, I want to find out what the case is.

You might think you've got a bargain and then when the other charges get added on, it may not be such a bargain.

Retr0gamer

There's no additional import charges as long as the goods are below a certain price and with videogames they are always below that value. There's also nothing stopping the seller marking it a gift and not having to pay charges just in case. Ebay sellers charge over the odds for 'postage and additional charges' because ebay doesn't take a cut out of it. Just don't buy from those people.

osprey

I think the only catch is importation from the U.S. If the goods exceed $100 in value then there is an import tax issue. This applies to all packages gifts or otherwise. I was liable for the tax in March after I ordered a power kite from the states.

97i9y3941

i dont know what games joe talking about,but if they old ones i dont think the customs are fussed or bothered with it,new ones maybe,as for us tax i think its the same again on product,old not bothered,new maybe yes..

o1s1n

Also depends who the carrier is. Generally stuff coming out of Japan is brought by EMS and you won't get taxed on it.

UPS on the other hand :mad: I had a couple of airsoft rifles delivered by them. Got reamed out of it with tax. Think it was 70 in VAT and additional charges for one of them! gits. Never go with UPS.

But yeah, you won't be charged VAT on old games. I've never been and I've bought a lot of stuff from outside of Europe.

RUDOLF289

o1s1n wrote: »

Also depends who the carrier is. Generally stuff coming out of Japan is brought by EMS and you won't get taxed on it.

UPS on the other hand :mad: I had a couple of airsoft rifles delivered by them. Got reamed out of it with tax. Think it was 70 in VAT and additional charges for one of them! gits. Never go with UPS.

But yeah, you won't be charged VAT on old games. I've never been and I've bought a lot of stuff from outside of Europe.

Hello o1s1n,

I am not a great fan of UPS, however, they are obliged (as any other carrier such as DHL, FEDEX, TNT, EMS etc) to declare shipments to customs once the value declared on the package exceeds a treshold. Have a look at the following post ;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=207975&page=2

Hope that explains why UPS had to collect money from you. Not sure why your shipments from Japan come through without having to pay Duty and/or VAT. Perhaps you have been lucky sofar.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

o1s1n

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

Hello o1s1n,

I am not a great fan of UPS, however, they are obliged (as any other carrier such as DHL, FEDEX, TNT, EMS etc) to declare shipments to customs once the value declared on the package exceeds a treshold. Have a look at the following post ;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=207975&page=2

Hope that explains why UPS had to collect money from you. Not sure why your shipments from Japan come through without having to pay Duty and/or VAT. Perhaps you have been lucky sofar.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

Hy Rudolf.

UPS (and all other carriers) are obliged to, yes. However they are not obliged to add the 'additional charges' fee on top of that. Which I have had done twice. This fee doesn't go to the government, it's a stealth charge from UPS.

I have ordered hundreds of items over the years from outside of Europe and the only ones ever to be charged VAT come via UPS. EMS never gets charged VAT. Two weeks ago I bought a game for 240 euro from America. It would have been charged VAT if it went by UPS. It went EMS so it wasn't.

I know all items coming from outside of Europe should pay VAT. However EMS just never has it added. Therefore to save money stay away from UPS and go with EMS whenever possible.

Other carriers like DHL, FEDEX, TNT are also hit and miss. They don't have as high a probability as UPS for being charged VAT (Plus they don't have that nasty UPS 'additional charges fee) but they're still not as good as EMS.

We've had many many packages coming from China over on the airsoft forum for several years and this is the conclusion we've come to. Always go EMS.

RUDOLF289

o1s1n wrote: »

Hy Rudolf.

UPS (and all other carriers) are obliged to, yes. However they are not obliged to add the 'additional charges' fee on top of that. Which I have had done twice. This fee doesn't go to the government, it's a stealth charge from UPS.

I have ordered hundreds of items over the years from outside of Europe and the only ones ever to be charged VAT come via UPS. EMS never gets charged VAT. Two weeks ago I bought a game for 240 euro from America. It would have been charged VAT if it went by UPS. It went EMS so it wasn't.

I know all items coming from outside of Europe should pay VAT. However EMS just never has it added. Therefore to save money stay away from UPS and go with EMS whenever possible.

Other carriers like DHL, FEDEX, TNT are also hit and miss. They don't have as high a probability as UPS for being charged VAT (Plus they don't have that nasty UPS 'additional charges fee) but they're still not as good as EMS.

We've had many many packages coming from China over on the airsoft forum for several years and this is the conclusion we've come to. Always go EMS.

Hello o1s1n

I would be interested to know why you would expect a carrier to provide a customs entry on your behalf, pay money to customs on your behalf and not charge a nominal fee for the service ? You have the option of issuing an instruction to UPS not to clear the goods on your behalf, just to notify you on arrival, so you can produce the entry to customs yourself and settle the money due for Duty and/or VAT directly with customs.

I know for a fact that DHL will levy a 2% advance fee over the outlay in VAT / Duty plus an administration fee. I am not 100% sure about Fedex and TNT, but even An Post will charge for collecting the duty / VAT.

Where I come from we say : "Only the sun goes up for nothing". As I said, you can opt out by doing the customs process yourself.

regards,
Rudolf289

batari

Hello Rudolf (:))

Dude's not expecting anything from anyone, only giving his opinion on which courier he prefers over the others available. Hope this helps.

Regards,

A.

o1s1n

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

Hello o1s1n

I would be interested to know why you would expect a carrier to provide a customs entry on your behalf, pay money to customs on your behalf and not charge a nominal fee for the service ?

You have the option of issuing an instruction to UPS not to clear the goods on your behalf, just to notify you on arrival, so you can produce the entry to customs yourself and settle the money due for Duty and/or VAT directly with customs.

I know for a fact that DHL will levy a 2% advance fee over the outlay in VAT / Duty plus an administration fee. I am not 100% sure about Fedex and TNT, but even An Post will charge for collecting the duty / VAT.

Where I come from we say : "Only the sun goes up for nothing". As I said, you can opt out by doing the customs process yourself.

regards,
Rudolf289

OR, as I have previously mentioned, avoid UPS and go with EMS. As I've been doing so for years.

defenderdude

I bought some defender control panels and pcb's from the states a few years back - was hammered by customs on them. It didnt matter that they were over 20 years (now nearly 30) old and mostyly not even working.

I have to admit - I was shocked/p1ssed as hell but I had to suck it up and always had arcade stuff marked low for shipping from then on.

Sucks if it goes missing as the insurance (if any) only covers the marked value.

Also, like O1s1n said - avoid UPS...:mad:

RUDOLF289

atariman wrote: »

Hello Rudolf (:))

Dude's not expecting anything from anyone, only giving his opinion on which courier he prefers over the others available. Hope this helps.

Regards,

A.

Hello Atariman,

I got the impression he was asserting that UPS was taking something that they were not entitled to (as in Euro 13.50 for processing an entry and collecting money paid out to customs).

Also, if you believe that customs are charging you incorrectly, there is an appeals process. Have a look at this thread with a happy ending ;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055212393&page=2

Next time you have an issue with customs, feel free to give me a shout. I would be happy to take a look and make sure you are being charged correctly.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

RUDOLF289

defenderdude wrote: »

I bought some defender control panels and pcb's from the states a few years back - was hammered by customs on them. It didnt matter that they were over 20 years (now nearly 30) old and mostyly not even working.

I have to admit - I was shocked/p1ssed as hell but I had to suck it up and always had arcade stuff marked low for shipping from then on.

Sucks if it goes missing as the insurance (if any) only covers the marked value.

Also, like O1s1n said - avoid UPS...:mad:

Hello Defenderdude

if you believe that customs are charging you incorrectly, there is an appeals process. Have a look at this thread with a happy ending ;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...5212393&page=2

Next time you have an issue with customs, feel free to give me a shout. I would be happy to take a look and make sure you are being charged correctly.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

defenderdude

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

Hello Defenderdude

if you believe that customs are charging you incorrectly, there is an appeals process. Have a look at this thread with a happy ending ;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...5212393&page=2

Next time you have an issue with customs, feel free to give me a shout. I would be happy to take a look and make sure you are being charged correctly.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

Thanks for the offer. Do you work for either Customs or UPS?

RUDOLF289

defenderdude wrote: »

Thanks for the offer. Do you work for either Customs or UPS?

Hello Defenderdude,

no, I do not work for either Customs or UPS. I do work in transportation / logistics (I run my own - independent - business), 30+ years experience and willing to help fellow board members to navigate through the maze of import challenges.

Have a look at the attached document. It explains some of the import / export procedures.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

RUDOLF289

osprey wrote: »

I think the only catch is importation from the U.S. If the goods exceed $100 in value then there is an import tax issue. This applies to all packages gifts or otherwise. I was liable for the tax in March after I ordered a power kite from the states.

Hello Osprey,

have a look at this thread. Somebody who imported a Powerkite and was charged duty (2.7%) and VAT. Customs took an incorrect value and the guy in question appealed the entry. In fact Powerkites should be zero rate from a duty point of view.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055212393&page=2

Let me know if you need any assistance

Cheers,
Rudolf289

o1s1n

Hey Rudolf, I was actually wondering something recently out of curiosity, perhaps you might know given your background...

Say someone in America wanted to send me something to review/try out etc. I'm not actually buying them item from them. They're just lending it to me for a brief time. Which would mean it would also have to be sent back.

Due to the items rarity, we would need to have it insured for its value in case it went missing/was damaged.

Is this considered taxable? It's not a purchase, but there would be an amount on the package stating its value.

RUDOLF289

o1s1n wrote: »

Hey Rudolf, I was actually wondering something recently out of curiosity, perhaps you might know given your background...

Say someone in America wanted to send me something to review/try out etc. I'm not actually buying them item from them. They're just lending it to me for a brief time. Which would mean it would also have to be sent back.

Due to the items rarity, we would need to have it insured for its value in case it went missing/was damaged.

Is this considered taxable? It's not a purchase, but there would be an amount on the package stating its value.

Hello o1s1n,

There are a few options. It would help to know what the item is that you are looking at in terms of customs classification and what the expected value would be. However, in general terms these are the options ;

1) The supplier could obtain a Carnet (an international Lassez Passee) from his local chamber of commerce. The carnet would need to be with the shipment, so customs can process it on arrival and departure. The supplier would need to put up a (refundable) deposit. He get's the deposit back once he submits the processed Carnet to the Chamber of Commerce.

2) You can apply for temporary import on arrival (you need to make sure you intercept the shipment prior to customs clearance). You will be required to put up a deposit, the equivalent of the duty and VAT due on normal importation. However, you can claim this back when the goods are exported.

That would be it in a nutshell. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance. Happy to help

Cheers,
Rudolf289