Buying from USA

[lottie lou]

Do I have to pay import duty on purchases of material from USA if it is for personal use?

[lottie lou]

[Digeroo]

Does this help?

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&propertyType=document&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014

[Jeannine]

Lottie the only time I paid duty on fabric from the US was when I spent almost 200 quid on it and I didn't pay much, I regularly bought smaller amounts 30 or 40 quid which went through with no problems

XX Jeannine

PS sorry about the quid... but my US laptop doesn't have  sign for pounds sterling!!

[lottie lou]

Kerumbs Jeannine, that's one heck of a lot of material.  What was you making?

[Jeannine]

A store was going out of business and was offering for sale at a very very low price my favourite Kona solids so I bought the lot. Even with shipping it cost me leass than $2 a yard..

XX Jeannine

Ps I am still using it, it has now crossed the pond twice.

[Ellen K]

Ummm .... I would say: be careful.

The seller will fill in the value of the goods on the Customs Declaration form and, if it exceeds about £20, you will be charged by HMRC.  They add VAT and duty and, to add to the bill, Royal Mail or Fedex or whoever is delivering will pay it on your behalf and charge you for this service.

These days, I dont buy much from the US, unless it is something that I really cant live without.

[Rallychef]

I am a scale model builder and often buy kits from abroad, not every item gets 'caught' (in my experience about 50% of items) .here is a link to a duty calculator

http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/

Don't forget Royal Mail will have paid this amount on your behalf, then add an additional £8.00 fees for doing this for you, Then hold your package to ransom until the fees are paid.

regards Ian D