Importing parts from US/Shipping costs

[JNWRF01]

Hi - does anyone have experience of importing some parts from the US (they are second hand wheels)? I need a recommendation in terms of which freight companies to use.

Also, what sort of import tax issues are there for second hand parts?

Tks

[andrewc]

tax - there will be import duty based upon the declared value of the goods and also 15% vat on top.

Freight cost will be either be based on actual weight or volumetric weight whichever is higher. Volumetric weight is normally calculated by ( L x W x D ) / 6000 where LW&D are dimensions in CM.

Ocean freight - slow. Cheap ish
Air freight - fast but expensive
Express Air - very fast. very expensive.

There may be customs / handling fees on top.

Its probably cheaper for the people in the US to arrange shipment thier side rather than you sort it out this end.

Insurance. by default probably just industry standard of £ 12 per kilo or something daft. However customs may get curious if you insure a set of wheels for £ 1000, but declare their value to be £ 10 each.

[Al Weyman]

Doubt you would pay too much import tax, freight charges seem to vary a lot and be warned if they use US post it will be delivered to the UK post office who will require you to pick it up or charge you again for forwarding on, you also pay them the duties it may occur but sometimes they will be nothing all depends who can be bothered to check!

[Alex Hodgkinson]

On used parts you shouldn't be paying any import duty. I've bought fuel rails and engine parts from the States and providing the customs form is clearly marked used parts there shouldn't be a problem.

[R59]

Make sure that the send includes three copies of the Invoice, and has filled in all of the relevant forms.

Small stuff - I usually have sent over by USPS Expedited Shipping, typically takes a week, but is ever soooo much cheaper than using UPS or FedEx.

Big stuff (engines) - I used a shipping agent to handle it. The engine builder built a crate to house the motor, I supplied the size details to the agent, they told me the price, I said "best get on with it then". I think it was something like $600 to ship a smallblock chevy on a 48hr service. In fact, I paid for the engine late on Tuesday afternoon, and gave the shipper the go-ahead at the same time. It arrived on Thursday morning. Can't knock that!

As it was a second hand motor, it only attracted something like 0.7% duty! And obviously Vodka & Tonic.

The outfit I used was called Apex Shipping. Can't find their website details though, they may have gone belly up since then.

[andrewc]

Used parts can and do attract duty if they are over the value threshold.

See point 6 on this page. The page is headed internet shopping but the theory still applies.
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...ument#P26_2829

VAT is payable on all items bought outside the EU providing the value is above £ 18.

Duty is payable on all items bought outside the EU providing the value is above £ 120 although payment is waived if the duty amount is less than £ 7.

Items within a EU member state should be exempt from import duty and VAT but there could be other duties (in the case of tobacco, alcohol, fuel) to pay.

Sometimes things that should get charged taxes do sneak through the system. If they do, good for you, but always assume you will have to pay import duty, VAT and some sort of handling fee.

Documents: Different companies have different requirements on the numbers of copies of paperwork they need. Fedex often request 4. Always keep one for yourself and be preparared to email a copy to the other end.

[JNWRF01]

Thanks guys... I think i need to find another shipping agent like Apex!