Importing & You - The facts about UK customs charges

[TheFull9]

This is a topic I see come up time and time again, I get messages about it on YouTube, I see questions posted in threads all over the place across multiple forums, so here's the gen.

 

To start off, these are the pages on the official HM Revenue & Customs page which explain the basic rules behind the two main import fees you're likely to be charged when importing your airsofting goods (be they replica weapons, accessories or gear/equipment) in to the UK from abroad:

 

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/tax-and-duty.htm

 

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/arriving/arrivingnoneu.htm

 

As you can see, any package arriving from within the European Union (EU) is not subject to Import VAT/Customs Duty, for a list of countries that are classed as being inside the EU, see this page and scroll down to section 4.2:

 

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P144_16379

 

4.2 Which countries are full members of the EU?

The current Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus*, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

*The European Commission has advised that the application of the Community Customs Code and Principal VAT Directive shall be suspended in those areas of Cyprus in which the government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control. Goods from those areas will be treated as non-EU imports.

Packages being imported from nations not within the EU may attract Import VAT and Customs Duty dependent on the overall value of all the items contained within that package. For the details of exact values that the items may be worth before you are charged these fees, see this link again, but this time scroll down to section 2.3:

 

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P144_16379

 

2.3 What are the limits for customs duty and import VAT?

• Commercial consignments of £18 or less are free from customs duty and import VAT (please note: With effect from 1 November 2011 the £18 threshold will be reduced to £15 - see 2.4 below). For example, goods purchased over the internet with an intrinsic value not exceeding £18, will not be charged any duty or VAT but this does not include alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters. See paragraph 2.6, 2.7 and section 3.
  
• If you are sent a gift with a value of £40 or less, and which complies with the rules shown in paragraph 2.5, it will be free from customs duty and import VAT, but this does not include alcohol, tobacco, perfumes and toilet waters.
  
• Customs duty becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9.
  

There are a number of other circumstances where relief from some or all customs charges may be available. If you think your goods may be eligible for a relief you should contact the Excise and Customs Helpline on Tel 0845 010 9000 for further information.

VAT is charged at a fixed rate of 20%, whereas customs duty is dependent on the nature of the items you are importing; various types of commodities each being allocated a specific 'commodity code'. These codes each have a certain % of tax associated with them, unfortunately at this time I don't know what the codes are for the types of items you'd be buying for airsoft use, however the average for most things is between 5% and 9%, though it can be as low as 0% or as high as 85%. See the very first link for reference.

 

The main crux of the matter of course, and the thing people want to know, is "how much am I going to be charged for importing XYZ?". There's actually been quite a few occasions where folks have asked me what they're going to be charged for importing a JG M4 from RSOV/a rail system from eHobby/a Plate Carrier from Op Tactical etc, the list goes on. My answer always being "Off the top of my head? No idea. It all depends".

 

In order to simplify the matter in the best way that I can think of, I've quickly produced a program that will allow you to input the value of the items you're importing and return a

rough

value that you're likely to be charged by the courier company when the package passes through customs. You'll need either Microsoft Excel or the OpenOffice equivalent to run the spreadsheet. The full OpenOffice suite can be downloaded for free via their website:

 

http://download.openoffice.org/index.html

 

Then head to this link and click the green "Save file to your computer" button in the middle:

 

https://rapidshare.com/files/3120439262/Import_charge_calculator.xls

 

The maths are not entirely perfect so do not take the values output as gospel, however they will give you an amount fairly close to the one that you're likely to be charged.

 

Any feedback anybody might have on the application or the issue in general please do post up here or feel free to PM me.