Would I have gotten in trouble...

[micmack]

.. If I didn't properly notate on an international customs form that I was shipping art and not declare the true value?

 

Long story short, I did mention it was art and did mark the true value, but the recipient asked (after I had sent) that if I could NOT mention it was art and to declare a value of $80 (actual value was $1280).

 

The art is going to Italy and the person later mentioned that "in Italy things labeled art and list the true value tend to wind up stolen in Italian customs"

 

The point is moot since it was already sent, I'm just curious as to the ramifications if I did mark it falsely or to the claims of corrupt Italian custom agents.

Thanks

[Khazano]

Well it's technically illegal to fib on a customs form... But, no, 99.99% chance nothing bad would happen to you other than the artwork gets held up until someone provides proof of value. Some sellers dont like doing it though. I live in Canada, but have an alternate US shipping address for that exact reason.

 

The collector in Italy? Well, he'll probably have to pay some heavy duties and taxes on that 1280, which is why he wanted you to fudge the truth on the form. Although there could be some truth in the fear of it being stolen...

[NelsonAI]

You'll know once you take that trip to Italy and are detained in a back room by customs agents.

 

 

 

 

[theloveforart]

Micmack,

This hobby is already to expensive without throwing your money away to the government. I always try to help out a fellow collector when it comes to shipping internationally ( being changing the purchase price for a piece of art or just driving down to the boarder and exchanging the art with my fellow collectors). As long as the person realizes that if the art gets stolen that insurance will only cover the price that was written in the custom forms.

CHEERS

Raul Novo

[micmack]

Micmack,

This hobby is already to expensive without throwing your money away to the government. I always try to help out a fellow collector when it comes to shipping internationally ( being changing the purchase price for a piece of art or just driving down to the boarder and exchanging the art with my fellow collectors). As long as the person realizes that if the art gets stolen that insurance will only cover the price that was written in the custom forms.

CHEERS

Raul Novo

There is a limit on insurance which amounted to less than half the price of the art pages. I've sent to italy before without problems but I don't remember if "fudged" the info and I do know the price wasn't as high as this was.

Hope the buyer gets the pages...

[JayT]

I can vouch for the security concern regarding Italian postal service. It's very real and very frequent, particularly in certain regions of the country (more North the safer as a general rule).

 

It's why I myself never order from a seller if they can't ship to a PO box, because I am quite certain (some would call it concerned, I'm not as optimistic) anything coming to a local address will get stolen. Triple the risk if the customer is not Italian.

 

I see a lot of people person_without_enough_empathy about the U.S. postal service (both here and elsewhere), and you guys have no idea how lucky you are and good you have it.

[malvin]

I'm not a lawyer, but technically it is tax evasion and I'm sure there are specific laws about filling out forms with the wrong info.

 

And since I was smart enough to use my real name on these boards, I won't say what I do, but in Canada, I have to pay 12% on anything that comes in (sales tax). Fortunately art has no duty on top of the 12%. And I too have a US address to avoid customs hassles.

 

I would do it if I trust the buyer, as someone else said, the risk of doing that is of course if anything happens, you can't claim more than what you declared it for.

[marcusgipps-migration]

This may only be true in the UK, but a lot of EC countries often have the same regulations...

 

Imported artwork is only charged at 5% VAT, not the standard 17.5%. If the sender puts a large enough note to that effect on the package, it normally works - if not you have to go through the rigmarole of claiming, but at least you get the money back...

 

I now ask people to put this statement somewhere:

 

This package is an imported work of art and as such is only rated at 5% VAT for import purposes, under Notice 702 (October 2006) Section 11 - 5% VAT. HMRC ref: VAT Info Sheet 09/99

 

I only worked that out recently - would have saved me a bunch of money in the past, but better late than never!

 

Best,

 

M

[wca140]

Would FedEx or UPS be a better option in this case with complete tracking along the way and signature confirmation required?

[robert frey]

usps will only insure up to 650. they've indicated to me that fed ex has a similar cap on insurance and that you would have to go third party to get full coverage. i do not know about ups.