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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Good (& bad) news for UK Red Buyers

roryhinds said:
Fedex is crap and have a policy of just giving it to anyone who answers the door, which on a purchase like this is not good.
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Even if they have to collect a few thousand in tax and duties? Sounds like Fedex is pretty good :)
 
Normally with a purchase of any sigificant value FedEx will hold the item at customs, and phone you to ask for payment of the duty before they deliver it. I guess that once that has been paid, they don't care who they give it to as long as they get a signature!
 
I use ozforex, you can watch the market change live on line and buy when you are happy, if you buy dollars now you can leave them in your account and send them when you wish, using the ozforex wire system, just setup the details of the payee in your account, hopefully RED will be able to supply us with details for wire transfers online. I just sent 16K USD and was very happy with the way it all worked.
 
Please shop around for the best exchange rates when you're ready. The credit cards are terrible. There are companies which charge a flat service fee and a small percentage above the interbank rate. Also, I would bet that the pound will get marginally stronger, but keep in mind that higher interest rates may be offset by sullied data of increased inflation, thereby lowering the pound's strength.
 
I have used Caxton FX in the past with success. There are other companies too - some of which slightly cheaper but not always UK based so not, as I understand, under UK banking regulations.

As regards inport duty and VAT, these are the tarrif codes and duty rate that I have. Vat payable of course too.:

Camera body
8525 80 19 90 duty 4.9%

Lenses
9002 11 00 90 duty 6.7%

Viewfinder if not packaged with and attached to camera
9002 90 00 90 duty 6.7%

Storage (Ram or HDD)
8523 51 10 00 duty 0%


Please dont take any of this as correct. This was advice given to me by the Customs tarrif classification advice line over the phone. I am interested to know if anyone else gets a different classification or duty rate.

Cheers

james w
 
jamesedwelland said:
I have used Caxton FX in the past with success. There are other companies too - some of which slightly cheaper but not always UK based so not, as I understand, under UK banking regulations.

As regards inport duty and VAT, these are the tarrif codes and duty rate that I have. Vat payable of course too.:

Camera body
8525 80 19 90 duty 4.9%
...
Viewfinder if not packaged with and attached to camera
9002 90 00 90 duty 6.7%
...
Click to expand...

So if the viewfinder IS attached to the camera, does it only get charged at 4.9% like the camera body? :shifty:
 
ericyoung said:
So if the viewfinder IS attached to the camera, does it only get charged at 4.9% like the camera body? :shifty:
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Hi Eric

No, it's sold & itemised separately.

Stephen
 
jamesedwelland said:
Camera body
8525 80 19 90 duty 4.9%


james w
Click to expand...

Hi James,

Not convinced that is the right one! I think Red should put the category on the export documentation in any case.

Stephen
 
Obviously if you buy it in USA you will pay any local sales tax. VAT payable in UK too on import, but you can claim that back if you are VAT registered.

Even if you do sneak it through customs how can you claim the purchase price as a business expense if you have imported it illegally? Makes no sense to me...
 
This has been discussed before, these are my thoughts:

1) start talking to a customs official NOW, before your camera ships to get all the info you need (do not trust upon any website / forum for this information)

2) personally I would not try to sneak in $17500+ worth of equipment, you can get into serious trouble if they catch you

3) with that amount of money I would expect you run a business and can get the VAT/tax back anyway

The sooner you start talking to customs the better (I'd say).

I know we Europeans hate the taxes we have to pay. But such things are the way of life. Maybe it's time to start your own business (doesn't take much) if you don't have one?
 
I'd like to add that what ever customs tell you its means very little when it comes time to ship.

I've had many discussions with customs only to have them apply a completely different rule when the item was shipped.
 
I agree. Sort out a business plan! The only reason I mentioned the import code classification numbers is that when I spoke to UK customs and excise there seemed to be a little guesswork involved so I was interested to know if other uk buyers obtained the same codes and rate

cheers

james w
 
If you were to go to the states to pick up your camera you could do a bit of shopping too with the current great exchange rate. I suppose another thing to think about is that the rate of sales tax in California is much more than other states. So maybe ship to new york, fly there, have a nice weekend with a bit of shopping and fly home with your new camera. Hooray.:bleh:
 
johannperry said:
So maybe ship to new york, fly there, have a nice weekend with a bit of shopping and fly home with your new camera. Hooray.:bleh:
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A friend of mine did this with some macbook gear. Ordered the gear on a particularly good deal, had it delivered to his hotel, carried the hardware home with his hand luggage and sent the other stuff he bought back by post in the empty packaging boxes. I think the best he did was get a free trip to NY!

..um try that with $20,000 worth of red I think it might be a different outcome.:shiftyph34r:

Mike C
 
When I had my RedRockmicro shipped last year, FEDEX paid the import duty and billed me for it. Seems sensible eh: they know where I live..:watsup:
Let's think clearly about this: we constantly travel all over the world to film. So the problem is not just importing the goods once. I was stopped this morning coming back from Madrid because I had a big bag for a short haul trip! (full of camera equipment). Totally random.. Imagine I had had a previously illegally imported RED camera system in that bag and the official was having a bad day and got arsy with me; took my name and address demanded I produce all my importation documents with 28 days etc etc.
It's not worth the stress:shiftyph34r:
Also as others have pointed out, we can't claim this massive purchase against tax unless we legally import it.
 
When I talked to customs they said camera would come under code
8525 801990 which is 4.9%. This is the code for professional video cameras without a recording device attached.
The viewfinder if not attached to camera and calculated as a separate item would be 8528 5990 90 if under 38mm in size or 8528 5990 10 if over 38mm . This is for a LCD viewfinder, bad news is that it's calculated at 14%.

Good news, even if viewfinder is bought as seperate item, if it is intended to be used with this camera and is attached to camera at time of shipping then it is charged at 4.9%, the same rate as camera.

When camera is shipped in to the UK it is the courier, eg parcelforce, fed ex, that looks at the box or paperwork and decides what customs code to give it. So with a red camera unless there is a guide to which code should apply on the box or paperwork then there is a very good chance they will take the safe option of classifying it as a camcorder which is 12%.

I have used travelex before for overseas payments, ring them up, ask to set up a business transfer account, they will need copies of your id sent to them.
They don't charge a fee but will give you a little less on the exchange rate than what you see on xe.com. Much more competitive than any bank or credit card. I'm sure there are others that are equally as good.
 
Columbus said:
Good news, even if viewfinder is bought as seperate item, if it is intended to be used with this camera and is attached to camera at time of shipping then it is charged at 4.9%, the same rate as camera.
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Do you think that means it has to be physically attached to the camera during shipping (not sensible or even possible I suspect) or just boxed with it?
 
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