# Customs Duty/vat On Russian Imports?



## steve plywood (Jul 27, 2013)

just wondering chaps,if one were to order a vostok from say zenitar, are you likely to be hit with any further charges from customs/vat ?? thanks. :think:


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Yes, anything you buy from outside the EU, be it Russia or the US, is subjected to VAT and import duties. But there's so much stuff going through customs that not everything can be checked, so some stuff can get through without them checking or bothering about, some don't. There's really no way to tell.

Vostoks are cheap and I don't know at what point these taxes start to apply in the UK now.

EDIT: I'm not on the UK, so I'm not sure about the figures I'm going to give you but they should be much different. The way I calculate this from outside the EU is to add 30% on total cost of the item (23% VAT + some tax or other). That being said, if something from outside the EU costs Â£100 and I can't find it cheaper than Â£150 inside the EU, it's obviously worth it to order from the outside. Even if customs get to it, I'll still get it cheaper.


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

I've ordered from Zenitar numerous times and not been hit for duty. A lot of it depends on the courier - Fedex and UPS have been ok for me but Parcelforce Worldwide are a right bunch of robbing ****s.


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

I've bought a few things from the USA and on the last two items have been hit for the VAT. That has only been about three or four pounds GBP but then the Post Office have the cheek to add another EIGHT pounds GBP to process it!!

Regards

David


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

ive had loads from russia and ive never been pinged the only time i have been caught is on a mako xl from the states


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

DJH584 said:


> I've bought a few things from the USA and on the last two items have been hit for the VAT. That has only been about three or four pounds GBP but then the Post Office have the cheek to add another EIGHT pounds GBP to process it!!


 Â£13 with the thieves at Parcelforce....


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Well, there you go... chances of being taxed over at the UK are very slim. Portugal is much tighter, I would say 1/3 to 1/2 is caught by customs and much more so over the last year. And that's for stuff coming from the East, I never had a single thing slipping through customs when it comes from the US or Canada. :angry:


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

Lampoc said:


> Â£13 with the thieves at Parcelforce....


Now that really is taking the mickey.



Kutusov said:


> Well, there you go... chances of being taxed over at the UK are very slim.


Possibly so. I've had stuff in from Hong Kong before now and not been charged for it.

Can't say that I've bought anything from Russia, maybe I'll give it a try. Now where has that auction site tab gone???????

Regards

David


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## steve plywood (Jul 27, 2013)

Thanks for the replies guys,seems like trying to get a bargain is a bit of a gamble.


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## andrew91 (Jul 11, 2013)

If the seller is willing to lie about the price of the item(under Â£35) and ticking that the item is a gift you will have no bother getting the item through customs. I am working in the post office atm and almost everything that comes from abroad has been ticked as a gift and has a nominal value on the customs form when it is clear it's not. Working there for the last 3 months and there have been a lot of instances like this and so far nothing has been caught.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

andrew91 said:


> If the seller is willing to lie about the price of the item(under Â£35) and ticking that the item is a gift you will have no bother getting the item through customs. I am working in the post office atm and almost everything that comes from abroad has been ticked as a gift and has a nominal value on the customs form when it is clear it's not. Working there for the last 3 months and there have been a lot of instances like this and so far nothing has been caught.


That in the UK? Very different overhere, even with a declared value they still ask for a proof of that, be it a BT or a Paypal statement. They have been doing that for years and years now as they know fully well that what's written on the customs slip means nothing, especially with stuff coming from China, HK, etc. Very generous people, they flood us with gifts!!! :lol:

I currently have one watch stuck on customs since the 5th and I know I'll be getting a letter requesting documentation in a week or so. Then a couple of weeks for them to release it and payment of VAT and duties upon delivery :wallbash:


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