Import costs of pre-owned camera lens from the EU (Netherlands) to the UK

[Deeetona]

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So can everbody draw the line where they see fit?

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[roydonian]

They always have!  I inherited from my father his Leica IIIb, which I understand had been smuggled into the UK (albeit not by him).

Time for a bit of Rudyard Kipling...

Five and twenty ponies,

Trotting through the dark —

Brandy for the Parson,

Baccy for the Clerk;

Laces for a lady, letters for a spy,

And watch the wall, my darling,

While the Gentlemen go by!

In the 21st century, perhaps we could replace "laces for a lady" with "lenses for a Leica"?

 

 

 

 

[Derbyshire Man]

On 1/14/2025 at 11:24 AM, roydonian said:

They always have!  I inherited from my father his Leica IIIb, which I understand had been smuggled into the UK (albeit not by him).

Time for a bit of Rudyard Kipling...

Five and twenty ponies,

Trotting through the dark —

Brandy for the Parson,

Baccy for the Clerk;

Laces for a lady, letters for a spy,

And watch the wall, my darling,

While the Gentlemen go by!

In the 21st century, perhaps we could replace "laces for a lady" with "lenses for a Leica"?

 

 

 

 

There's nothing new under the sun, neither the brigands charging for safe passage pf goods nor those trying to avoid it. If only more effort was made extracting taxes from those who practice transfer pricing such as Apple, Starbucks, Amazon, eBay, Google on all of the income they extract from the countries they operate in which then ends up being covered by middle class suckers on PAYE or when buying lenses!

Personally I pay my taxes but little about them is on the basis of fairness!

[Zeitblom]

Am 14.1.2025 um 08:53 schrieb Deeetona:

... including its U.S.-based investor, Blackstone. The company or its stakeholders may have grounds to pursue civil damages for reputational harm or other financial losses resulting from such illegal activities.

Using cannons to kill sparrows?
Take a look at the illegal transactions of the billionaires who are currently discussing their next fraudulent transactions in the supposedly harmless Swiss village of Davos.
If the bloodsucker Blackstone is affected, who has the audacity to install one of his deformed employees as the next German Chancellor, I am happy to have made my contribution to civil resistance.

[Derbyshire Man]

I find this to be quite confusing, if you’re buying the item second hand from a European dealer, unless the prices are listed VAT free they will be including European VAT. I strongly suspect there is a risk of double taxation much of the time. Buying an item from a non registered private individual has never been VAT due if bought in the UK, so why on earth should it be when bought from a private individual in Europe?

Then again, since when did taxation make any sense? It’s all a kludge of what’s politically possible (ie charge as much as possible to the pay as you earn salaried middle classes and onshore bricks and mortar businesses). 

[Ted Lemon]

I just bought an item (it was untaxed for export) from a Japanese company via eBay. UK Customs added a 20% VAT duty on this import, which I expected as the item was deemed high-value (https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty). The item's HS code calculates duty (see here: https://wise.com/gb/import-duty/hs-code). I have also recently imported kit from Leica shops in Germany and Spain. Items were untaxed on export, and duty was added to the import. For items over £135, expect to pay 20% or whatever the HS code determines the tax fee. For purchases from individuals, it depends on the value given on export (assumed posted). This process can be er...adapted, but the issue will be that if the item goes missing, then it's valued if insured as how much the export label says its worth, and also, on import, the item could be confiscated or just held up and then valued by customs plus you then pay an additional handling fee.

If you make a high-value purchase from an individual in person (say, a second-hand M body) and carry it across the UK border, you should declare it if its value is>£135.00. 

Edited February 23 by Ted Lemon

[pedaes]

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10 minutes ago, Ted Lemon said:

I have also recently imported kit from Leica shops in Germany and Spain. Items were untaxed on export

Funny old world since the the dreaded B. If you order new items through the Leica UK website it comes direct from Wetzlar (and presumably also "Classic" kit) and  you just pay the advertised price, with free postage.

Edited February 23 by pedaes

[Ted Lemon]

12 minutes ago, pedaes said:

Funny old world since the the dreaded B. If you order new items through the Leica UK website it comes direct from Wetzlar (and presumably also "Classic" kit) and  you just pay the advertised price, with free postage.

The Leica Classic kit is held by the Leica country entity advertising it. My purchases of classic kits came from the country they were designated by on the Leica Classic website. If you go to Leica Mayfair, their classic kit is showcased separately from the new stuff. 

[pedaes]

17 minutes ago, Ted Lemon said:

their classic kit is showcased separately from the new stuff. 

I know, I have seen it. Sorry I wasn't clear, I was referring to the items Leica Wetzlar hold, and it was just an example of different approaches.

[earleygallery]

People take cameras on trips. I really don’t think the lens is going to attract any attention. Obviously different with new boxed items. 
 

However, I think someone here has already alerted the authorities to keep an eye out for you on your smuggling trip 😜 

[Alberti]

On 1/12/2025 at 1:13 AM, zeitz said:

There is no VAT in the US.

sure there is - but it is called Sales Tax. It is not unified tho. (too bad, I would love to see such a unified Tariff.). The EU VAT differs per country and a part goes to the central administration in Brussels. In fact, that way the income tax is lower.

[zeitz]

9 minutes ago, Alberti said:

sure there is - but it is called Sales Tax. It is not unified tho. (too bad, I would love to see such a unified Tariff.). The EU VAT differs per country and a part goes to the central administration in Brussels. In fact, that way the income tax is lower.

Sales Tax is a tax imposed by the states, counties and local municipalities.  It can vary widely even in a county depending on what the municipality adds.   The United States Government does not have a Value Added Tax.  US Customs does not collect the state Sales Tax.  So there is nothing paid to the US Government at the time of import other than duty / tariff.  What the states do about collecting their tax also varies by state and is confusing.  In reality it is seldom paid.  Nominally the state Sales Tax is about 6% but can go much higher, but still lower than EU VAT.

Sales Tax, Value Added Tax and Tariff/Duty are regressive taxes because they are not based on ability to pay.  Income Tax is considered more socially responsible because it is adjusted based on one's ability to pay it via progressive tax rates.  But the US has turned the annual filing of Income Tax into an ordeal because of the shear number of forms, credits, exemptions, deductions, qualified/non-qualified distributions, long-term / short-term gains, carry over, withholding, filing extension, Minimum Alternative Tax (which is a mandatory maximum tax), etc, etc, etc.  None of the US Income Tax forms are self calculating.  The result is that this annual process that is a pain at best or a need to buy software (which the Government already owns but won't give you) or eventually to hire a tax expert or even a lawyer.

[TomB_tx]

2 hours ago, zeitz said:

eventually to hire a tax expert or even a lawyer.

Of course: the lawyers created the system.

[zeitz]

There is a US Federal Excise Tax that we may pay but never see.  For instance there are excise taxes on gasoline, tires, airline tickets and other stuff.  We don't see the tax because it is buried in the price and is not listed as a tax on the receipt.  (This tax was invented in 1917 to help pay for WWI.  Of course once a tax is created, it is never eliminated.)

[jaapv]

On 2/23/2025 at 4:04 PM, Derbyshire Man said:

I find this to be quite confusing, if you’re buying the item second hand from a European dealer, unless the prices are listed VAT free they will be including European VAT. I strongly suspect there is a risk of double taxation much of the time. Buying an item from a non registered private individual has never been VAT due if bought in the UK, so why on earth should it be when bought from a private individual in Europe?

Then again, since when did taxation make any sense? It’s all a kludge of what’s politically possible (ie charge as much as possible to the pay as you earn salaried middle classes and onshore bricks and mortar businesses). 

I don”t know about the rest of the EU but over here we have the so-called Margeregeling which means that VAT on secondhand articles is not charged over the full price but over the net profit. 

[Ted Lemon]

14 hours ago, jaapv said:

I don”t know about the rest of the EU but over here we have the so-called Margeregeling which means that VAT on secondhand articles is not charged over the full price but over the net profit. 

When I purchased my lens from Leica Spain (for delivery to the UK), they said the VAT on used goods was the difference between the bought and sold price—the net, as you say. The invoice says, 'Transaction under the Special Regime for Used Goods (REBU) of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Law 37/1992.'

[costa43]

I frequently travel between the UK and Europe by plane and road, maybe around 10 trips a year. Never has anyone questioned my camera gear. Sorry but you’d have to be a real _____ (fill in the blank) to declare a used lens purchase in your possession and voluntarily pay the duty/VAT on it. The VAT has already been paid by an individual for the full amount. That makes it tax free in my opinion, at least that’s how I justify it to myself🤣 it’s also a nice excuse for a trip, buy a lens, book a hotel and walk around a new place for a couple of days. Probably cheaper than the VAT charge with Leica gear and infinitely more enjoyable. 

Edited April 20 by costa43