Is Import Tax to be paid on items bought from Germany?

Hi all,

Looking to order a B12 kit from Germany soon but have a question about it.

I asked Demon Tweeks for a best price on the B12 kit which they refused to knock a penny off. I stated the kit is over £200 cheaper in Germany and they said that i will get stung with Import Tax at 20% if i buy the parts from Germany which is why its soo much cheaper!

Can anyone confirm if this is true and tax needs to be paid?

If 20% Tax needs to be paid then i wont be saving a great deal buying from Germany.

Thanks

Ash

Agreed, no import tax or VAT. Take advantage of the weaker Euro!

I buy all my bike components from Germany.

I bought tyres from Germany and there was no duty / import charges to pay.

This is why I bought mine from Germany, saved over £200 and the shipping was about the same cost. Like has been said above, with no import tax and weak Euro, why wouldn't you?

There's no 'Import Tax/Duty', but you do have to pay VAT at some point - if you've paid it in the other EU country (Germany) and they've charged a lower VAT rate, technically you have to pay the difference between their VAT rate and the UK rate. If they haven't charged VAT on the item, you are supposed to pay the UK rate

PerryGunn said:

There's no 'Import Tax/Duty', but you do have to pay VAT at some point - if you've paid it in the other EU country (Germany) and they've charged a lower VAT rate, technically you have to pay the difference between their VAT rate and the UK rate. If they haven't charged VAT on the item, you are supposed to pay the UK rate

Click to expand...

That is for NON EU countries

Germany is in the EU so you only have to pay German VAT (included in the price you have been quoted) so HMRC don't get a penny.

No idea where you got the idea of paying the difference if their rate is less than ours its just wrong

from the horses mouth

Border Tax Man said:

VAT
You pay VAT on goods sent from non-European Union (EU) countries and EU special territories (eg the Canary Islands) if they’re:

gifts worth more than £36
other goods worth more than £15
alcohol, tobacco products and fragrances (eg perfume, eau de toilette and cologne) - of any value
You have to pay VAT on all goods sent by mail order from the Channel Islands no matter what their value.

You’ll be charged at the VAT rate that applies to your goods. VAT is charged on the total value, including:

the price paid for the goods
postage, packaging and insurance
any duty you owe
Customs Duty
You’ll be charged Customs Duty on gifts and other goods sent from outside the EU if they’re above a certain value, unless the duty comes to less than £9.

The value includes:

the price paid for the goods
postage, packaging and insurance
Type and value of goods Customs Duty
Anything under £135 No charge
Gifts worth £135-£630 2.5%, but rates are lower for some goods - call the helpline
Gifts above £630 and other goods above £135 The rate depends on the type of goods and where they came from - call the helpline

Click to expand...

85genius said:

PerryGunn said:

There's no 'Import Tax/Duty', but you do have to pay VAT at some point - if you've paid it in the other EU country (Germany) and they've charged a lower VAT rate, technically you have to pay the difference between their VAT rate and the UK rate. If they haven't charged VAT on the item, you are supposed to pay the UK rate

Click to expand...

That is for NON EU countries

Germany is in the EU so you only have to pay German VAT (included in the price you have been quoted) so HMRC don't get a penny.

Click to expand...

It also applies to EU countries if they supply goods without charging VAT then you're supposed to pay the UK VAT on the items

From the HMRC website

HMRC said:

You don’t pay duty or tax on goods you bring in from the European Union (EU) as long as you:

transport them yourself
will use them yourself or give them away as a gift
have paid duty and tax in the country where you bought them

Click to expand...

Note the 'have paid duty and tax in the country where you bought them'. If you've bought them without VAT being charged, you'll have to (or are supposed to) pay the UK rate

As it happens, buying things from websites falls foul of the 'transport them yourself' clause which is why you can't get away with having bulk deliveries of cigarettes sent over from EU countries where they're significantly cheaper. This allows customs to charge you duty/VAT on items that have been posted from other EU countries

85genius said:

No idea where you got the idea of paying the difference if their rate is less than ours its just wrong

Click to expand...

I purchased some items from amazon.de including a sim-free mobile, standard German VAT rate is 19% but, as the item was for UK delivery, they charged 20% VAT. They do this because of the 'transport them yourself' clause mentioned above

PerryGunn said:

85genius said:

PerryGunn said:

There's no 'Import Tax/Duty', but you do have to pay VAT at some point - if you've paid it in the other EU country (Germany) and they've charged a lower VAT rate, technically you have to pay the difference between their VAT rate and the UK rate. If they haven't charged VAT on the item, you are supposed to pay the UK rate

Click to expand...

That is for NON EU countries

Germany is in the EU so you only have to pay German VAT (included in the price you have been quoted) so HMRC don't get a penny.

Click to expand...

It also applies to EU countries if they supply goods without charging VAT then you're supposed to pay the UK VAT on the items

From the HMRC website

HMRC said:

You don’t pay duty or tax on goods you bring in from the European Union (EU) as long as you:

transport them yourself
will use them yourself or give them away as a gift
have paid duty and tax in the country where you bought them

Click to expand...

Note the 'have paid duty and tax in the country where you bought them'. If you've bought them without VAT being charged, you'll have to (or are supposed to) pay the UK rate

As it happens, buying things from websites falls foul of the 'transport them yourself' clause which is why you can't get away with having bulk deliveries of cigarettes sent over from EU countries where they're significantly cheaper. This allows customs to charge you duty/VAT on items that have been posted from other EU countries

85genius said:

No idea where you got the idea of paying the difference if their rate is less than ours its just wrong

Click to expand...

I purchased some items from amazon.de including a sim-free mobile, standard German VAT rate is 19% but, as the item was for UK delivery, they charged 20% VAT. They do this because of the 'transport them yourself' clause mentioned above

Click to expand...

Just to be 100% clear on this, YOU, the CONSUMER, does NOT pay any extra than the price charged by the SELLER.
It is the SELLER's responsibility to calculate the appropriate VAT based on the country THEY are sending to.

So, if they charge you 1,300 euros TOTAL, then YOU only pay 1,300 euros total (and don't pay anything to HMRC, or anyone else).
Once you've paid, the SELLER must send 20% (260 euros) to HMRC themselves.

You pay the supplier, and ONLY the supplier when purchasing within the EU.
If the supplier fucks up the VAT, then that's their problem to deal with

You won't pay any additional VAT on receipt of the goods, but then you won't have any warranty with Eibach UK for the Springs or Thyssenkrup Bilstein UK on the dampers.

We keep getting people trying to take us up on warranty for these Grey Imported kits from Germany as their German suppliers will not foot any carriage bills or even entertain any warranty repairs/replacements.

You pay the price, you take your chance.

nfbr said:

You won't pay any additional VAT on receipt of the goods, but then you won't have any warranty with Eibach UK for the Springs or Thyssenkrup Bilstein UK on the dampers.

We keep getting people trying to take us up on warranty for these Grey Imported kits from Germany as their German suppliers will not foot any carriage bills or even entertain any warranty repairs/replacements.

You pay the price, you take your chance.

Click to expand...

So you would have no warranty what so ever?

Surely Shocks and Springs should be pretty buillet proof though so no issues should arise?

Has anyone had issues with the B12 kit then?

Ash

hopz121 said:

nfbr said:

You won't pay any additional VAT on receipt of the goods, but then you won't have any warranty with Eibach UK for the Springs or Thyssenkrup Bilstein UK on the dampers.

We keep getting people trying to take us up on warranty for these Grey Imported kits from Germany as their German suppliers will not foot any carriage bills or even entertain any warranty repairs/replacements.

You pay the price, you take your chance.

Click to expand...

So you would have no warranty what so ever?

Surely Shocks and Springs should be pretty buillet proof though so no issues should arise?

Has anyone had issues with the B12 kit then?

Ash

Click to expand...

You'd have the same warranty as if you'd bought them in the UK, you'd just have to deal with the seller in Germany to sort it out.

nfbr said:

You won't pay any additional VAT on receipt of the goods, but then you won't have any warranty with Eibach UK for the Springs or Thyssenkrup Bilstein UK on the dampers.

We keep getting people trying to take us up on warranty for these Grey Imported kits from Germany as their German suppliers will not foot any carriage bills or even entertain any warranty repairs/replacements.

You pay the price, you take your chance.

Click to expand...

That's a bit harsh considering Eibach UK is free to transfer stock between UK and EU parts of its company for free right?
:thumbsdown:

Either way, I'm pretty sure a phone call to Eibach HQ would likely solve any "grey import" warranty issues.
The same way as if I bought it whilst living in Germany, then moved to Spain..

Maybe the UK subsideries should take a better look at why people are buying from elsewhere in the EU, and adjust their prices accordingly

Mister T said:

You'd have the same warranty as if you'd bought them in the UK, you'd just have to deal with the seller in Germany to sort it out.

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Technically speaking you would have a warranty as a German customer with Eibach Germany and Thyssenkrup Bilstein Germany, however these warranties are dealt with through the dealers, not through the manufacturer, and from our experience with customers who've bought from these dealers, They are not forthcoming when it comes to warranties.

sk93 said:

That's a bit harsh considering Eibach UK is free to transfer stock between UK and EU parts of its company for free right?
:thumbsdown:

Either way, I'm pretty sure a phone call to Eibach HQ would likely solve any "grey import" warranty issues.
The same way as if I bought it whilst living in Germany, then moved to Spain..

Maybe the UK subsideries should take a better look at why people are buying from elsewhere in the EU, and adjust their prices accordingly

Click to expand...

If you bought a Fridge Freezer from Comet in Spain, Then brought it home to the UK and something went wrong, You would have no Warranty with Comet in the UK (purely as an example...) nor would you have a warranty with the UK Distributor of that brand of product.
It's the same for many products the world over!

With regards the pricing - Unfortunately it's not that simple. Retail customers genuinely have absolutely no idea what profit is made in Aftermarket car parts these days and people seem to be under the assumption that it's a licence to print money! It most certainly isn't.
We're only given a relatively small discount on the majority of products and to put it bluntly, as an Eibach UK Dealer, I can buy Eibach springs grey import through eBay cheaper than I can buy them as their biggest VAG UK Dealer through Eibach UK.
The same applies with Bilstein, H&R etc.
You also need to be aware of 'Minimum advertised pricing rules' (MAP for short) where most brands these days (Including Eibach, Milltek, Bilstein, Forge, KW, Tarox etc) are running MAP pricing which in some instances only allowed retailers to advertise a maximum of 10% below the retail, or in the case of Eibach, Forge, KW and Tarox, the Retail price has to be adhered to, otherwise dealers who are actively advertising a discount get their Profit margin and discount rate dropped!

UK Businesses are losing out massively and the economy will soon take a downturn where the pound becomes worth less and less the more it continues (as it's not only the aftermarket auto trade which is suffering from this same thing).

It's all completely f**ked if you ask me, but there's an insight into the modified cars industry for you all.
The difference is, If you go to a Genuine established UK dealer, You will pay a fair price (always worth ringing up and asking if any discount can be had), you will receive good service and you most certainly won't be fobbed off if you have any issues!

With regards to Eibach UK / Eibach Germany transfering stock for free, whoever has told you that, it's utter crap!

Eibach UK are an independent business the same as all other distributors of larger brands. Yes they are managed from the Top via Eibach HQ in Germany, but their business has it's own money and has to pay for it's stock, the shipping of the stock and it's overheads the same way any Distributor or Reseller has to.

What company do you work for nfbr?

Can you get the B12 kit?

nfbr said:

The difference is, If you go to a Genuine established UK dealer, You will pay a fair price (always worth ringing up and asking if any discount

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That's the stickler tho.. fair price for WHO?

As a consumer, paying nearly 30% more in the UK as apposed to Germany isn't what I'd count as fair!

(Demon tweaks price for B16 PSS9 = £1875, Bilstein.de's price for the same= 1,892 euros, which at the current exchange rate of 1.43, comes in at £1324.4... a £550.60 difference! )

Take out VAT, that's still at least a 10% price hike, even without removing any taxes added by bilstein.de, which considering I selected UK delivery, suggest's they're adding on the 20% UK VAT anyways to be EU compliant... oke: )

Maybe UK companies wouldn't be suffering so much if they were competative.
Maybe that's the fault of the companies, maybe that's the fault of the tax man.. I don't know.
Either way, if the UK economy fails, it's not the consumers fault, and if uk businesses cannot compete on an EU level, they should perhaps shout a lot louder about it, rather than be less supportive to EU consumers?
That my suck for UK companies, but that's the state of affairs, and I for one don't agree with "buying local" if it's going to sting my pocket by that much. If it was much closer pricewise, then I'd be looking local (as would the majority of people I suspect).

As for your comparison regarding fridges, you may be right, but I'd be surprised if, say, HotPoint UK didn't pick up the item on behalf of HotPoint DE, considering that in the first six months, HotPoint DE would be picking up the tab for the cost of returning the fridge, ala sales of goods act:

3.68 If goods develop a fault within the first six months of being sold,
the law presumes that the fault was there when you sold the goods –
unless you can show otherwise. You should not charge return costs
for goods that have been rejected because they are faulty.

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TL;DR; Buying from the EU is just as good as buying from the UK, might take a bit longer to arrive (surprisingly not that often!), but has the benefit of usually being MUCH cheaper.

You have the same rights to warranty no matter which EU country you buy from under EU law regardless of what some might say.
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/shopping-abroad/guarantees/index_en.htm

Maxwell said:

You have the same rights to warranty no matter which EU country you buy from under EU law regardless of what some might say.
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/shopping-abroad/guarantees/index_en.htm

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This.

sk93 said:

nfbr said:

The difference is, If you go to a Genuine established UK dealer, You will pay a fair price (always worth ringing up and asking if any discount

Click to expand...

That's the stickler tho.. fair price for WHO?

As a consumer, paying nearly 30% more in the UK as apposed to Germany isn't what I'd count as fair!

Click to expand...

You're only considering if the goods were sold at retail.
For a forum member I would offer a 10-15% discount on Eibach/Bilstein products off the retail price.

Take into consideration that the manufacturer of these products is in Germany. Their overheads are paid for in the cost price of the goods going to the UK. There's then shipping prices to the UK for the UK distributor, as well as their building costs, rates, water, electricity, staff etc. Those things are not free.

sk93 said:

As for your comparison regarding fridges, you may be right, but I'd be surprised if, say, HotPoint UK didn't pick up the item on behalf of HotPoint DE, considering that in the first six months, HotPoint DE would be picking up the tab for the cost of returning the fridge, ala sales of goods act:

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They'd tell you to return to your retailer who you bought the item off... and when your retailer is Hans Scheiße Gesicht 1,000+ miles away, he's certainly not gonna be helpful, especially if you get on the phone speaking English.

Maxwell said:

You have the same rights to warranty no matter which EU country you buy from under EU law regardless of what some might say.
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/shopping-abroad/guarantees/index_en.htm

Click to expand...

Yeah, Until you try and make a claim, then the phone goes down, or you get told you've never ordered from them. (Example: One company asked 'You english'? - I replied Yes!... phone went down). And when it's 12-18 months down the road and Paypal is no longer offering protection on that payment, you're gonna get no help all round! Yeah, OK, Ring the police and get laughed at! Ring trading standards and be told you need to 'Lawyer up' - It's not worth the paperwork/money/time/effort/stress is it?

hopz121 said:

What company do you work for nfbr?
Can you get the B12 kit?

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I'm work as Sales manager at Awesome GTI.
I also work on behalf of Volkswagen Racing UK, Neuspeed Europe and APR UK.

We generally only deal with Volkswagen/Audi group cars, but yes, I can indeed get this kit.
The UK Retail price on it is: £746.04 inc VAT + Shipping
I can offer them for £665.00 inc VAT with mainland UK delivery included (Excludes some areas in Scotland)




The all important point I'd like to make; is that I speak from experience in this. I'm not commenting for the sake of creating an argument - I've actually been in these positions.

It doesn't bother me whatsoever if people don't take my advise, But I've been there and I've experienced how terrible the after sales service is with a few of these companies shipping out from Germany with Eibach / Bilstein / H&R.

Trust me I'm on the retail customers side here! Even to the point of having an argument with Eibach.DE's CEO at Autosport Show a few months back where I arrived with a folder full of eBay prints showing how cheap I could buy stuff as a retailer from Germany, and comparing it against our UK Retailer cost prices and retail prices. This whole thing doesn't p*** anyone off as much as it does me, because I want to be able to compete with these European companies without throwing away every last penny of profit!