Red in Germany - Import-Fragen

[Felix K.]

bump

[Martin Ludwig]

bump

what did you exspect?

your order amount ./. dollar exchange rate, depending on day of money transfer
plus shipping (depending on your package size)
plus tax (depends on the carrier and the day, and the person who is dealing with it - actually around 7%, maybe less, maybe more depending on things you ordered)
plus 19% EU UST

= total

quite easy, but nothing for people who must have it exactly calculated.

[Felix K.]

what did you exspect?

Facts'n'figures...

[Stephen Williams]

German: Aber es stimmt doch, dass wir nochmal 19% Mehrwertsteuer zahlen, die im US-Preis schon enthalten ist, oder?


English: But it is true that we have to pay 19% VAT additionally that is already included in the U.S. price?

Hi,

If tou collect the camera from RED you would have to pay California sales tax as well.

As Martin Ludwick explained about 7% tax plus 19%, it's always different with customs charges.

Stephen

[Felix K.]

Thank you Stephen! That already helps a little. Good to know :) Seeing California is on my wish list though :)

You know, I just asked because I wanted to know how much the shipping might add up to for example, all these little things so that you could give a rough estimation about the end result like "add 25% and shipping is around 50$" so that you I know what kind of sums I'll be dealing with... :)

[András Puiz]

I see several people (in the U.K. as well) mentioning that declaring the RED as "not a camcorder but a video camera" can somehow eliminate the need for paying a customs tax.

Why is that? Can someone provide an explanation, maybe with some references to EU legislation? Thanks a lot!

[Martin Weiss]

There is a import levy on video cameras, but not on photo cameras.

If you define the R1 as a digital camera (it does not have tape) that just happens to take stills in a very speedy manner, you might get away with it.

I called the guy who dealt with setting import codes the moment I had my FedEx tracking number. I explained the situation to him, and he agreed.

I other words, being friendly and proactive can't do no harm...

[András Puiz]

So basically we need to lie in order to avoid paying this levy.

[Antony M]

So much misinformation here. Some due to typos, some due to language barriers.

The TARIC codes which customs use to determine the amount of duty charged are not something which you can "make up" or "persuade FedEx". The TARIC codes are written on the export notice which Red legally have to fill in when they ship overseas.

The fact is that the Red is classified using the TARIC code for digital stills camera. This is not "a lie", this is the only suitable TARIC category at present (maybe this will change in a year or two when digital cinema cameras become more common????).

The only flexibility is when you have bought accessories as well as your camera.
Technically customs should charge you the appropriate duty for those (different rates for LCDs, RAID drives, cables, etc).
In practise customs usually say "if it is all in the same package, we will class everything at the code of the main item".

AFAIK all that I have stated above is currently correct (as of 5 Nov 2009).

The result was that when my camera arrived I had to assure FedEx that I would pay the VAT, but there was 0 duty due.

And because I am VAT registered, I then got a full refund on the VAT.

[András Puiz]

This sounds much better, Anthony, thanks for the clarification.
So is there no import duty on stills cameras in the EU?
Any idea why that must be the case (as opposed to motion cameras)?