Import Duty

[The_G_Man]

I have bitten the bullet and secured a PS3 from ebay. I know, Iknow but I just could not stop myself.
What I need to know is can I still get stung for import duty through a private sale?
If I can what is the best method of avoiding the tax?

Thanks in advance

[buster_broon]

I have bitten the bullet and secured a PS3 from ebay. I know, Iknow but I just could not stop myself.
What I need to know is can I still get stung for import duty through a private sale?
If I can what is the best method of avoiding the tax?

Thanks in advance

yes you will

the only way to make sure you get away with it is by declaring a false amount

but this could cause problems with insurance if it goes missing and if customs decide to open the package and they see the declared amount isnt matching whats in the package they can hold it indefinately and seek legal advice on a prosecution

there are other options like returning a defective item, but it could open up a wee mini minefield

[The_G_Man]

What about marking it as a gift? Would that help?

[buster_broon]

What about marking it as a gift? Would that help?

nope

that only raises the level level slightly from ?18 upto ?35 before you pay any import tax

funny thing is you are allowed to bring in about ?145 from a visit outside the EU, but its a tiny amount via post

[EJG1980]

Like Buster says, I'd be very careful about doing stuff like marking it as a gift, declaring a low value, etc., it's just asking for trouble. I don't envy the bill you could end up with though, I paid just over ?70 when I imported my Japanese 360 + Ridge Racer 6, so God knows how much you'll be paying on that PS3!

[The_G_Man]

Oh dear, the misses has already went through me for paying ?640 for a PS3. I will ask the seller just to value it at $599 and just take the hit on that rather than the full price I paid.

[buster_broon]

Oh dear, the misses has already went through me for paying ?640 for a PS3. I will ask the seller just to value it at $599 and just take the hit on that rather than the full price I paid.

To be honest matey it would be worthwhile just declaring it for the full amount - as it might only be about ?30-?40 extra for that piece of mind that if anything goes wrong you will get all your money back instead of 50%

for a wee bit of advice - get him to ship it via DHL courier

they are just as expensive or inexpensive (half empty or half full) as USPS global but their admin fee is the cheapest by a country mile, so that might save you about ?10 and you will get it quicker

but saying that they charge based on % of cost instead of a flat rate, so it might be more expensive , best thing to do is search couriers and see which one will charge the lesser admin fee as its the only way to save money since customs will be a fixed price on the total cost

there are loads of import duty threads here - have a wee search and that might open up further answers and offer some great suggestions

most of us here have probably experienced customs at some point in our importing 'career'

[The_G_Man]

Thanks for the advice mate. Feeling a bit sick now. She will kill me if she answers the door to the courier and has to pay money. I had better take a holiday

[charlesr]

Dodging duty and tax on consoles just isn't worth it. Pay up and know you are properly insured. It's also illegal, but then seemingly so is importing a ps3

[The_G_Man]

Just a thought. My son shares my name and he attends school, surely a minor cannot pay tax?

[EJG1980]

Yup he can. He pays VAT nearly every time he goes in a shop and buys something

[NekoFever]

And how exactly does a minor pay for a ?640 piece of consumer electronics from the US?

[The_G_Man]

With his dads credit card?

[buster_broon]

With his dads credit card?

Jesus you are trying your best to get out of this

Video game hardware isnt exempt from tax no matter how it goes to

things like toys and clothes are, unless you get the seller to hide it inside a massive tickle me elmo

[EJG1980]

Yeah, there's no way you're getting around it without taking big risks. You can work out roughly what you might end up paying though, I found a little example on the DHL web site:

What is the value for VAT?
The value for VAT is the declared value of the goods plus the transport costs to the country of destination plus the customs duty.

Example of Duty calculation
Goods 2 special edition "Hits of the 80's" CD sets
Value of goods ?80 +
Transport to the UK ?35

Total value for Duty ?115 x 3.5% Duty = Total Duty payable ?4.02

Example of VAT calculation
Value of goods ?80 +
Transport to the UK ?35 +
Duty charges ?4.02

Total value for VAT ?119.02 x 17.5% = Total VAT payable ?20.83

Therefore the total import Duty and VAT charges payable on import of these goods would be ?24.85

Edit: Just checked another good site and they list the import duty on "video games" as 2.8%, which is a tiny bit better than the 3.5% used in that example

I think that's probably the rate you'd be charged, as off the top of my head it seems about right considering what I paid for my Xbox 360 and how much duty / tax I was charged.