Import duty on guitar from Japan question
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- Power chords are my friend
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Import duty on guitar from Japan question
Morning all... I am looking into purchasing a guitar from a Japanese dealer and have no idea how the import duty works. Can anyone tell me about the process, what the rate is and any other info you think I should know about such a transaction before I jump in?
Thanks!
-Jeff
Thanks!
-Jeff
Hi Jeff
here is a previous post from the forum might enlighten you a little. It depends on where you are as to how much duty/VAT/fees etc will be charged, some countried have higher import taxes than others
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php ... ht=customs
here is a previous post from the forum might enlighten you a little. It depends on where you are as to how much duty/VAT/fees etc will be charged, some countried have higher import taxes than others
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php ... ht=customs
?13.75 for parcelforce villager, dont forget that extra 25p the B????rds take off you, this sickens me more than the VAT, they have already been paid for the shipping and this fee is just an insult
Here is another example with a running total, as you can see the duty is applied to the cost of the guitar and the shipping, then the VAT is applied to that total followed by parcelforce fees
Price of Guitar e.g ?940
Add Shipping from Japan e.g ?60
Add 3.7% import Duty = ?1037
Add 17.5% VAT = ?1218
Add ?13.75 for Parcelforce in the UK to process the customs charges
some US buyers have reported paying no Duty or import taxes but this seems to depend where in the US you are
Here is another example with a running total, as you can see the duty is applied to the cost of the guitar and the shipping, then the VAT is applied to that total followed by parcelforce fees
Price of Guitar e.g ?940
Add Shipping from Japan e.g ?60
Add 3.7% import Duty = ?1037
Add 17.5% VAT = ?1218
Add ?13.75 for Parcelforce in the UK to process the customs charges
some US buyers have reported paying no Duty or import taxes but this seems to depend where in the US you are
Do you really pay import duty for shipping? In Finland it goes like this ->
Price of guitar e.g. ?940
Add 3.7% import duty +?34,78
Add shipping from Japan e.g. ??60
total ?1034,78
Add 22% VAT +?227,65
Total ?1262,43
My choice to pick the guitar from customs or pay for postal worker to bring the guitar to my home door.
Here you have to pay VAT for shipping only if you purchase the guitar from a guitar shop or a company, not if it is purchased from a private person.
Price of guitar e.g. ?940
Add 3.7% import duty +?34,78
Add shipping from Japan e.g. ??60
total ?1034,78
Add 22% VAT +?227,65
Total ?1262,43
My choice to pick the guitar from customs or pay for postal worker to bring the guitar to my home door.
Here you have to pay VAT for shipping only if you purchase the guitar from a guitar shop or a company, not if it is purchased from a private person.
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- Guitar God
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- Guitar God
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- Guitar God
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- Guitar God
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You can't get a store to write "gift" on the customs form though, that would be fraud for them.
Don't know why I got stuck paying, but I did, and had to sign a rather official government form as well. -And it was my regular mailman (maillday, actually) who brought my guitar to the door. The box did say EMS on it though, so it should've gone through the same customs as the other forum members here, who got away without a fee.
Don't know why I got stuck paying, but I did, and had to sign a rather official government form as well. -And it was my regular mailman (maillday, actually) who brought my guitar to the door. The box did say EMS on it though, so it should've gone through the same customs as the other forum members here, who got away without a fee.
As I've said before, the customs people here don't care if it's a gift or not; if its value (including shipping cost) exceeds the duty threshold (?35, I think) then it is eligible for tax. Occasionally things slip through but not often and if Parcelfarce is involved then forget it, you WILL get stung.