Questions about importing airsoft gear

AngryCerealBox

Hello everyone I want to ask questions about importing airsoft gear into the country.Long story short airsoft isn' legal where i'm from but i had been a big fan of the sport since a long time ago,because of the scarcity of the sport in my country i had drifted away from it slowly in the past few years and moved on to other hobbies.But now that i will be studying here for the next few years and upon knowing that airsoft is legal here,i am thinking about investing in this old hobby of mine I had went through alot of the websites selling airsoft in Ireland and found some of the gear i need though its still lacking in most of what i want.

So i'm thinking about importing them myself but i have no idea how the import system works here in Ireland and i had actually never imported anything a day in my life.So can anyone guide me through the process of importing the gear?Plus i'm aware that i'd have to pay VAT,can anyone tell me how that works and how will i be charged?

Adzski

Hello.

There are Government websites detailing the rules, this VAT guide for importing ouside of EU countries being one of them:
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vat/guide/imports.html

I have ordered a lot of Airsoft items from overseas (RIFs and gear) and generally find that if you can order from within the EU (some Polish airsoft sites are very good) you do not get any other charges.
My experience has varied with ordering from Japan and China, only one time did I receive an order without paying extra charges to the courier firm, who normally contact you and arrange to take payment prior to delivery

Hope that helps, cheers,

Adam

AngryCerealBox

Thanks for advice Adam So like if say i ordered from the UK i wouldn't have to pay the VAT?And when you ordered from China did you get charged extra by the customs or the retailers?And do your items go straight to your house or if you have to go to the custom to claim them or file some kind of paperwork?The chinese retailers seem to have some nice products that i can't seem to find on any other websites along with free shipping as well.I am just afraid that it would be alot harder to get them into the country.The government websites makes it sound like a very painful process.

K.Flyer

If you are buying RIFs from abroad, just make sure that it's from a reputable company that will convert it to under 1 joule before sending it to you.

Adzski

AngryCerealBox wrote: »

Thanks for advice Adam So like if say i ordered from the UK i wouldn't have to pay the VAT?And when you ordered from China did you get charged extra by the customs or the retailers?And do your items go straight to your house or if you have to go to the custom to claim them or file some kind of paperwork?The chinese retailers seem to have some nice products that i can't seem to find on any other websites along with free shipping as well.I am just afraid that it would be alot harder to get them into the country.The government websites makes it sound like a very painful process.

Correct, ordering from within EU means no VAT.
When I have ordered from Asia, the courier companies (DHL and UPS) have called me when they have the parcel for delivery, to collect any charges/fees due on behalf of the government and their handling, prior to delivering to the door. As far as I know, all charges are calculated by the value declared on the packaging.
you can get an idea of the charges using this website:
http://www.goodada.com/ie/customs-import-and-export-duty-calculator

I have only ordered a pistol (which was below 1J from the factory) from Japan previously (apart from Tac gear/upgrade items), so as K.Flyer says, you just need to be careful that anything over that, the company can and will downgrade and mark up the package correctly prior to shipping.

cheers,

Adam

Zen 2nd

What are you looking for anyway?