*Sigh* UK Customs OA advice please if you have any.

[Garf]

Checked my tracking and can see my item is being held by customs pending additional charges

 

I have done a little searching initially on HMRC and then here and it looks like printed matter can be covered by VAT exemption.

 

Link to HMRC (UK customs rates)

 

Link to old post on forums regarding this.

 

Technically I should be able to claim this back, however has anyone here had any recent experiences regarding this kind of problem?

 

Thanks.

 

Edit: ouch... further reading of the fine print shows

 

4.4 Incomplete publications

 

Parts of books, unbound pages and separate illustrations are standard-rated.

 

By concession, the following are zero-rated:

 

Part work publications designed to build up into a zero-rated book. Once a complete book has been supplied, amendments to it may also be zero-rated.

Card based continuity series publications, even though not bound, but stored in their container will for, VAT purposes, be treated as a book.

 

See Notice 48 Extra-Statutory Concessions.

[Pirate]

Advice: Go pay the charges and get your package.

[Garf]

I'm intending on doing that and the charges are expected to be waaaay lower than I initially estimated having spoken to the sender. Just wondered if anyone else had any experiences. I have no idea how long it will take for customs to get in touch. I can only assume I will be posted an invoice.

[Bronty]

if its anything like the system here in canada they will just affix a bill to your package and you pay the bill when you pick the package up. Its not a big deal and won't delay your package much (say a week tops IMO).

[t3quila]

Comic art is not exempt, comic books are.

Unless it is imported from the EU

 

[JS]

I recently shipped a piece of OA to London worth 4k. I declared the value at $650 (max USPS will insure an overseas item for - dont get me started on how stupid our shipping policies are for how far advanced we are as a society)...anyway, the buyer had his item held...he paid the fees by going down to his local post office, about $50USD he told me...and he got his package...really nothing difficult about it..

[Maccai3]

i didn't get charged for either of mine, was it 'spensive?

[Garf]

Well let's just say it was kindly labelled. Approx £2.50 VAT and a £13.50 handling fee for telling me I had to pay that small amount whilst they delayed my package.

 

I'm so upset

 

 

Edit: Relevant info here though. USPS to UK seems to link to parcelforce. If you check your tracking number and see it is being held you can phone up Parcel Force customer services with your tracking ID even before they send you an invoice through the post. They then let you pay over the phone. Pages got to me the day after I paid. It only held up for 48 hours.

 

If you are not sure who your parcel is with on the UK side the good old Royal Mail customer services will take your tracking ID, kindly inform you it's not their problem and give you the tel number you are looking for.

[cheekyj2112]

Hi

 

I would have chipped in sooner but couldn't find my log in details!

 

What I have said to someone previously is -

 

From what I can remember off the top of my head, if the item coming

into the UK has more than a nominal value, and last I looked was

about £17/$35, then it can attract VAT on the asessed value. That

value is usually gleaned by customs from an invoice or that stated

on the customs declaration. Pretty much unavoidable if the insurance

value is declared.

 

The level of VAT imposed is variable, depending on the person

asessing. Standard rate is 17.5% [now 20%] but there are arguments that can

take it to a reduced rate or exempt, especially if it was created

pre-1972 or 1973. (Something to do with creation of the EU I

imagine).

 

On top of the VAT, Customs/Post Office often impose a handling

charge for the privilege of opening your package and I think that

may be around £15-20.

In my experience there's no comparable US import tax/duty so sending

isn't so much of an issue unless you declare the contents of a

package as "original" art, in which case Fed Ex become highly

excitable ;o)

 

Sending and receiving within the EU shouldn't be an issue at all

since we-don't-have- any-borders. We is all Europeans now, innit? :op

 

Hope that answers more than it confuses.

 

I've argued the toss with customs on occassion and received some concessions but these days generally try to make sure it doesn't arise in the first place. Duty on a 5 figure piece doesn't bear thinking about!

 

My tuppence, for what it's worth and without liability or any moral culpability whatsover!

 

 

[Terry Doyle]

Hi

 

The level of VAT imposed is variable, depending on the person

asessing. Standard rate is 17.5% [now 20%] but there are arguments that can

take it to a reduced rate or exempt, especially if it was created

pre-1972 or 1973. (Something to do with creation of the EU I

imagine).

 

 

During the time I was regularly buying art from Russ Cochran, I would sometimes get stung for the VAT charge. At the time, I contacted Customs and Excise to check on these charges and they sent me a booklet that touched on items eligible for examptions. I subsequently found out about the the pre-1973 exemption rule (pre-1972 or 1973, I'm not sure either!). I then had Russ's people clearly mark-up (then) future parcels with a statement to the effect that the artworks were pre-1973 created/disposed of by their creator/s, etc, and I would then receive artwork VAT-free (if pre-1973 art).

 

After a while the VAT rules got change and, as you suggest, VAT-free became VAT-reduced.

 

Although Cochran's people would affix a genuine sale amount to their parcels heading my way, nowadays many US sellers will work with UK buyers over declared values.