Importing Electronics within the EU?

[Andeh13]

Im after a new speaker setup and iv fallen for the Harman Kardon HKTS11. They are almost £400 in the UK, but go for much much less on the mainland...around £280.


If i buy them and import them into the UK, what sort of taxes & import duty can i expect to pay? The fact that it is all within the EU im hoping means not much, but the way this government runs things its anybodies guess.

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg...mId=1078172361


thanks guys

uk;
http://www.twenga.co.uk/prices-HKTS-...akers-117822-0

eu;
http://www.twenga.de/preise-HKTS-11-...echer-117822-0

[Hicks12]

I believe its somewhere around 20% import tax on top of the total product+shipping, but that might be just outside the EU, anything over £18 gets taxed though afaik. However even with this on top it still only makes it cost around £335 so its still cheaper than buying from england so id go for it.

[Jay]

at a guess I would say VAT

[Flibb]

none within the eu

[kalniel]

none within the eu

This. No vat or duty to be paid.

[peterb]

But you will pay VAT at the country of origin - at the rate set in that country - so check that the price quoted includes VAT. But otherwise there are no other taxes or duties to be paid.

[Andeh13]

hmm, makes it tempting! Will have to try and contact the shop & ask about delivery charges. Thanks guys

[PeterStoba]

Well it's a £70 saving excluding delivery, surely delivery can't be more than £70?

[Saracen]

Well it's a £70 saving excluding delivery, surely delivery can't be more than £70?

Dunno about that. If they're speakers, they could well be heavy and seriously bulky.

Personally, even if I saved £70, I'd be concerned about whether it was worth it, given the potential for hassle and cost if I had ordered from out of country and there turned out to be a problem and I had to send them back!

[khizman]

No taxes/duty/vat.

[RADCOM]

Do they have a Global warranty i.e. if they develop a fault can you return them to a Harmon Kardon outlet in the UK.

[Andeh13]

Good point on the warrenty, i will check up on that. By exporting them out of the country could the tax be refundable/not payable? I know when i bring stuff back from South Africa (parents live there) i get the tax back, or does the fact they are in the EU means its not possible?


Thanks again for all the help guys

[beanbandit]

By exporting them out of the country could the tax be refundable/not payable? I know when i bring stuff back from South Africa (parents live there) i get the tax back, or does the fact they are in the EU means its not possible?

If it was possible to get your local tax refunded, you then would be liable to pay vat when importing them.

[Salazaar]

The EU is a free market which means that duty is paid at the point of purchase at the local rate and nothing further. Only when you import to or export from the EU to you get to refund the taxes (and then, in theory, you should then pay your own local import duty).

[Saracen]

Good point on the warrenty, i will check up on that. By exporting them out of the country could the tax be refundable/not payable? I know when i bring stuff back from South Africa (parents live there) i get the tax back, or does the fact they are in the EU means its not possible?

Erm .... yes and no. In your situation, I'd guess (unless there's relevant things you haven't mentioned) that the answer is no.

VAT is a consumer tax, not a tax on businesses. So businesses register for VAT, and can reclaim VAT on what they buy. So if, for instance, I buy something in another EU state, I can notify them of my VAT-registered status, and my VAT number, and they then exempt that supply from VAT when supplying to me. This is the "intra-Community supply" principle. The methods for dealing with intra-EU VAT, between registered businesses can be more complicated than that, though, and is currently being massively overhauled.

So, because I'm VAT registered, if I buy goods from other EU counties for my own business use I get the VAT back, either before supply as above, or by reclaim after the event. If I then sell those goods on to you, as a consumer, in this country, I charge you VAT at prevailing UK rates. That's the first situation.

Now for the second. As a consumer, you can't do that. In which case, you either buy from a UK business that has already done it and pay VAT at UK rates, or you pay the rate prevailing in the country you buy from, because that's the determining point of supply.

And the third situation is that of "export". The whole original point of the EU (or Common Market/EEC) was a common trading block, with harmonisation of trading and trade taxation. So, for VAT purposes, importing and exporting applies between EU and non-EU, rather than between countries, as such. If you were taking goods back to South Africa, or the USA, etc, then yes, there are procedures for reclaiming the VAT. But, as a consumer, not if you're an EU citizen.

The above applies to VAT. Import duty, excise duty etc, aren't reclaimable, even as a VAT registered business.

[Andeh13]

Thanks for all the replies guys!


Contacted a shop selling via ebay.de (Germany) and they ship to England so ill look into taking it further. The fact there isn't an import tax/duty makes it much cheaper then buying within the uk, delivery is only 25euros so its a net saving of £70. All i need to do now is check whether the 5 year Harman Kardon warrenty is transferable within the UK, or else ill have to stick with their 2 year warranty.