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Q: Import Duty Charges in the Channel Islands, Ireland, Great Britain ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   2 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Import Duty Charges in the Channel Islands, Ireland, Great Britain
Category: Reference, Education and News > General Reference
Asked by: andrewf444-ga
List Price: $200.00
Posted: 15 Aug 2002 04:19 PDT
Expires: 14 Sep 2002 04:19 PDT
Question ID: 54822
I need to know the import duty charges levied for luxury goods, e.g.
swiss origin wristwatches (£/$ 1000-8000), designer clothes and
luggage in the following locations: Channel islands (Jersey, Guernsey),
mainland England, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. The origin of the
items being imported will be outside of the EU.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Import Duty Charges in the Channel Islands, Ireland, Great Britain
Answered By: richard-ga on 15 Aug 2002 05:17 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hello and thank you for your question.

First a bit of background on the importing process as it applies to
goods entering the UK:

When an importing ship or aircraft arrives at the UK location where
goods are to be unloaded, the goods must be 'presented' to Customs
(Her Majesty's Customs & Excise or HMCE) by the person who brought
them into the EC or the person who assumes responsibility for their
onward carriage (this includes freight haulage companies, shipping and
aircraft lines). Goods may be presented by using an approved
computerized trade inventory system linked to customs, or
lodging Form C1600A at the designated Customs office.

All goods must be presented within 3 hours of their arrival at the
place of unloading. After presentation the goods must be covered by a
summary declaration containing the information needed to identify the
goods. The summary declaration should normally be made at the same
customs office as presentation. The summary declaration must be made
by:

the person who conveyed the goods into the EC; or 
the person who assumes responsibility for their onward carriage 
the shipping, airline or haulage company; or 
the representative of any of the above 

In the UK the prescribed form of summary declaration is Form C1600.
Customs may also accept commercial documents or computer records, if
they contain the necessary details.

When goods are imported into the UK it is the responsibility of the
importer or his authorized agent to declare them to Customs. In most
cases a Single Administrative Document (SAD) is used for this purpose.

Customs duties and other charges that are due must be paid, deferred
or secured before the goods are cleared by Customs. It is advisable to
show invoices with no freight costs incorporated, only the value of
the imported goods, as import duty will be charged on the total amount
presented for that shipment. Charges payable on imported goods
generally will consist of the import duties themselves, and applicable
Value Added Tax (VAT).

The charges payable are linked to the Commodity Code (similar to an HS
code, but more detailed) for a particular product. You can look up the
Commodity Code and relevant import duty for your product on the
Internet at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/dds/cgi-bin/tarchap?Lang=EN
(more about that below).

Import Procedures
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/fas/import_procedures.htm

I have run the items that you describe through the europa.eu.int site:

The Commodity Code for a luxury Swiss watch would be 9101110000
(you get that by browsing the lists at the europa.eu.int site given
above)

Switzerland, if that is the Country of Origin, is #039

The import duty rate for precious metal-cased watches originating in
Switzerland imported into the UK is 4.5%
TARIC Consultation
http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/dds/cgi-bin/tarchap?Lang=EN

The Commodity Code for dresses of wool or fine animal hair is
6204410000
Assuming that the country of origin is Singapore (for example),
the duty rate is 12.4%
The Commodity Code for leather luggage other than handmade is
4202119090
Assuming that the country of origin is China (for example),
the duty rate is 3%.
TARIC Consultation
http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/dds/cgi-bin/tarchap?Lang=EN

Please allow me today to track down the same information for
The Channel islands (Jersey, Guernsey), Ireland, and the Isle of Man.

I will post them here as a Clarification to my Answer.

Please hold off on rating my answer until I have the opportunity to
complete it.

Sincerely,
richard-ga

Clarification of Answer by richard-ga on 15 Aug 2002 08:41 PDT
As explained more fully below, the import duty charges for the Channel
islands (Jersey, Guernsey), Ireland, and the Isle of Man are exactly
the same as those I have provided for the UK.
 
With respect to imports into Ireland, this arises because Ireland is a
member of the European Union, all of whom are required to apply the
same tariffs.
The European Union consists of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
European Union Harmonized Tariff Schedule 2002
http://www.trade.gov/td/tic/tariff/eu_schedule/index.html

The answer is also the same with respect to the Channel Islands,
because the Channel Islands form part of the Customs territory of the
European Community:
"The Channel Islands were included in the Customs territory of the
European Community (EC) under a treaty of accession which entered into
force on the 1st January 1973. The effect was ultimately to allow all
Community goods moving between member states of the European Community
and the Channel Islands to be imported [from other EC members] without
incurring Customs duty. 'Community (or EC) Goods' means both goods
originating in the EC and goods imported from non-EC countries ...."
The Customs Territory of the European Community
http://user.itl.net/~impots/trade_eu.htm

The same is true for the Isle of Man:
"The Isle of Man is one of the few offshore areas which forms part of
the European Union for customs and VAT matters. Although the Island
itself is not an EU member, it is associated with the UK for VAT and
customs purposes and a Isle of Man company can therefore be an ideal
offshore vehicle for trading within the EU."
http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:yEug2DhjTRYC:www.itbankinggroup.com/taxhavens/iofman.shtml+%22isle+of+Man%22+import+duty&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
[Google Cache of an itbankinggroup.com webpage]

Search terms used:
"Isle of Man" import duty
UK tariff
UK customs duty
"Channel Islands import duty

Thank you for your patience in allowing me to complete this answer.
If you should desire any clarification of this matter, I will be happy
to respond.

Sincerely,
richard-ga






If you need similar information for other countries, you are of course
welcom to return to Google Answers but here is a site, courtesy of the
US government, that provides direct links to the information sites of
80 countries
Country and Regional Tariff & Tax Resources
http://www.trade.gov/td/tic/tariff/country_sites.htm

Request for Answer Clarification by andrewf444-ga on 19 Aug 2002 11:07 PDT
So would I be right in assuming that the VAT rate charged across
Europe is the same also or does it vary from country to country. Can
you clarify if VAT is charged in the Channel Islands on goods imported
from outside the EU. Do they participate in a similar tax treaty as
the Isle of Man.

Thanks

Andrew

Clarification of Answer by richard-ga on 19 Aug 2002 12:26 PDT
Hello again:

I made only passing reference to the VAT in my Answer because it did
not appear to be within the bounds of your Question.  The following
should give you what you need:

Isle of Man

The Law:
"[The UK] does not include the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man but
for VAT purposes the Isle of Man is treated as part of the UK. ...
Goods sent from the UK to the Isle of Man or vice versa are not
regarded as imports or exports for VAT purposes."
The United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands
http://www.hmce.gov.uk/business/tradinginternet/tradinter-6.htm

Abuse of the Law:
"The business report highlighted the problems related to prevention
and protection policies and confirmed that 'bootlegging' was a serious
threat to the Island's revenues, it explained: 'We are working with
customs services in other countries to fight this illegal activity ...
we intend to enhance our disruption strategy and continue to develop
our close links with local brewers, licensees and shopkeepers.
Together we hope to disrupt the bootlegging operations by seizing
their goods, the vehicles which they use to bring in the goods onto
the Island and by taking their profits from them.' "
Isle Of Man VAT Compliance Programme Boosts Revenue
http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=4090

Channel Islands

The Law
"There is no VAT in the Channel Islands. Goods passing between the
Channel Islands and the UK or the Isle of Man are imported or exported
for VAT purposes."
The United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands
http://www.hmce.gov.uk/business/tradinginternet/tradinter-6.htm

[No abuse of the law here, because goods can be brought into the
Channel Islands VAT-free.  But upon reconveying them from the Channel
Islands to the UK, the VAT tax must be paid]

UK VAT 17.5%

The standard rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) is 17.5%. Certain goods are
subject to concessions, but not the products that you describe. I have
not found any indication that watches or designer clothes pay any
premium rate, however.  There is extensive information on the VAT
process at
http://www.hmce.gov.uk/business/importing/importing.htm

As the comment by owain-ga below correctly notes, the VAT is charged
on the customs duty as well as the value of the goods.

Ireland VAT 21%

Ireland has its own VAT law (the EU has only mandated that the
standard minimum VAT must be 15%, rates vary among Member States and
among certain types of products).
Ireland's VAT rate on watches and most clothing is 21%
http://www.revenue.ie/services/tax_info/vatrate/T01364.htm
http://www.revenue.ie/services/tax_info/vatrate/T00253.htm
 

Thanks again for your question, and good luck in your business!
richard-ga
andrewf444-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Excellent, exactly what I needed to know. Thanks for providing the extra info.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Import Duty Charges in the Channel Islands, Ireland, Great Britain
From: lot-ga on 15 Aug 2002 10:55 PDT
 
There used to be a handy reference link at the HMCE site for the
amount of duty on products, camera lenses, camera bodies, computers,
hi fi, clothing, shoes etc that were all different. The link seems to
have disappeared now :-(
lot-ga
Subject: Re: Import Duty Charges in the Channel Islands, Ireland, Great Britain
From: owain-ga on 15 Aug 2002 11:12 PDT
 
For the UK, the VAT is charged on the customs duty as well as the
intrinsic value of the goods. www.hmce.gov.uk is the UK Customs and
Excise website.

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