Who has imported a guitar?

Voodu Child

Ok, so i know the score with importing from outside the EU- the customs is 21%, and you have to pay 3.7% on top of that or something...but...

Emmet got a guitar from Japan recently, and somehow managed to avoid paying any duty....So...

I was wondering whos got a guitar from outside the EU, and who had to pay duty on it?

(apologies for enquiring about info thats probably already in posts here, but im hoping to get an idea of the chances of getting through unscathed-is it like 50/50, or more like 1 in 10 or something?)

Ravelleman

I got my Ravelle from America. Somehow it dodged the tax bullet. So did my bro's cymbals. For us it's been very hit and miss.

Eoin Madsen

The 21% is Irish VAT, the 3-4% is the customs duty. Almost everything you buy in this country has 21% VAT on it, so don't think of avoiding it on an import as a "saving" so much as it is theft or tax evasion. Whether you are appropriately taxed depends on whether the exporter has correctly filled out the customs declaration. Shops are generally careful, since they could potentially get in a lot of trouble. Private sellers seem a little more lax in my experience.

voxpop

bought a guitar from the states and got hit for all taxes! Still slightly cheaper than the german sites though. The main reason for this though is because I had the guitar insured (while being shipped) and so the value was marked on the box.

Doctor J

I bought a bass from Japan and it wasn't until a few months later that the taxman showed up. They are definitely tightening the noose, import-duty wise. Don't count on not getting caught because, chances are, you will be... sooner or later.

Johnny Storm

Eoin Madsen wrote:

The 21% is Irish VAT, the 3-4% is the customs duty. Almost everything you buy in this country has 21% VAT on it, so don't think of avoiding it on an import as a "saving" so much as it is theft or tax evasion. Whether you are appropriately taxed depends on whether the exporter has correctly filled out the customs declaration. Shops are generally careful, since they could potentially get in a lot of trouble. Private sellers seem a little more lax in my experience.

If you import something and the "authorities" (I'm keeping it clean here) fail to tax you, then that is not tax evasion or theft. That is incompetence on the part of the said "authorities".


Obviously, if you get the sender to lie on the customs declaration ie mark it as a gift when its not or put a lower value on it then it is tax evasion

Edit: Oops - sorry bout the rant there. To answer the origianl question, when I bought a guit from the US earlier this year it was shipped by FedEx. They actually phoned me before it was delivered to find out was I going to pay the VAT/ duty by credit acrd or whatever.
Its worth noting that you pat VAT and duty on the cost of shipping and insurance as well as the cost of the guit itself. I must say that really pissed me off. I believe it is done that way because it would be too much trouble for some poxy civil servant somewhere to subtract the cost of shipping and insurance from the total on the invoice in front of him/her/it.
Another rant - must get out more .......

irlirishkev

I bought a Martin accoustic from the States, and saved nearly a thousand euro. I paid tax etc on it when it arrived, but it was no more than a couple of hundred euro. Definitely worth it in my opinion..

K.

Doctor J

Johnny Storm wrote:

If you import something and the "authorities" (I'm keeping it clean here) fail to tax you, then that is not tax evasion or theft. That is incompetence on the part of the said "authorities".


Obviously, if you get the sender to lie on the customs declaration ie mark it as a gift when its not or put a lower value on it then it is tax evasion

Failure to declare a taxable item is tax evasion. Whether you think you've got away with it or not, it is up to the individual to declare any imported goods which meet the taxable criteria. If you don't get stung initially and you don't declare it, yes that is tax evasion and is a crime.

Johnny Storm

Doctor J wrote:

Failure to declare a taxable item is tax evasion. Whether you think you've got away with it or not, it is up to the individual to declare any imported goods which meet the taxable criteria. If you don't get stung initially and you don't declare it, yes that is tax evasion and is a crime.

I disagree. The passage of the goods through customs with the paperwork is declaring the goods. If they still dont tax you, you have committed no crime.

Voodu Child

okay, so if u do get something in from abroad, and say they ship it with a door to door courier service, how do they charge the tax? Does the courier service bill you on delivery? Or do they hold it at customs and contact you or what?

Beecher

On past experience the courier bills you at delivery, and they never seem to have change so I always seem to havta pay a few euro's more for not having the exact amount

JMArr

I bought some SD pickups from WW&BW in US...fed ex will drop to your door but its cash on delivery for the customs duty, which you have to pay the delivery man there and then.or else they take it away again until you pay.I wasnt aware of it and got stung for 50euro ah well...still only came to 180 for 2 seymour duncans saving of 150 compared to dublin prices.:-)I say if you get away with it fair play what they dont know wont hurt em.

Citizen_Erased

Got my tele from the states and managed to dodge customs so I got off pretty well.

disgruntled

I've bought from the states a couple of times (music123) and also from Japan (Ishibashi), I dunno maybe I've just been unlucky but I have had to pay vat and duty each time.