Sounds credible Tom. I have been bitten by these charges, and now know the
rules! They apply whether the lens is new or used, Zuiko or Walmart-ogon.
European Union rules only allow relief from charges on imported goods which
meet either of these criteria:
* have an intrinsic value (actual value of the goods excluding S&H) of
Euro22 (=USD25) or less;
* are correctly declared gifts whose value must not exceed Euro45
(=USD52).
Put another way, if you wish to be generous, you can send a gift of value
USD52. Alternatively, you can sell goods of value USD25. Else the buyer
gets to pay customs clearance fee plus duty/VAT on the value of what you
send. In my case, in UK, the VAT is 17.5%, so the total is around 20%.
Belgian VAT may be slightly different (though the duty should be the same, I
think 3%). Customs clearance fee can be USD20 and upwards, depending on the
shipper. Cheapest is usually the postal service, so long as you don't use
their express service - but it's up to the Belgian end to determine the
charge.
In my view, the intrinsic value is not the same as the replacement value, so
I think you could validly declare the value of 4 ounces of aluminium alloy
and glass as "x", while declaring it's replacement value for insurance
pruposes as "x^y" - I wonder what Bill Barber's view is on that?
Not knowing the rules cost me a _lot_ on USD60 of parts from John H.
Knowing the rules got me an OM4T for not much more than those parts.
As a seller, aside from observing the "opportunities" alluded to above, the
best you can do is make sure not to include the shipping cost in the value
you declare - the customes authorities at the other end will add the shiping
cost on anyway - as I discovered :-(
Piers
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Tom Scales
Sent: 13 May 2003 10:22
To: Olympus List
Subject: [OM] Duties to Belgium
I just had a potential buyer ask a question for which I did not know the
answer.
He is under the impression that everything from the US, even a used lens,
will have a 25 0uty added. Is this true?
Thanks,
TOm
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