Buying watches from European dealers
Discussion
Looking for an Omega and seen a few of the model I am after in Switzerland, great discount on UK price.
Assume the dealers have to declare the full value so I get hit with import duty and VAT?
Watch is £4300, UK price £6200
Alternative is flying over but only worth it if they are based in a city I can easily fly to
Assume the dealers have to declare the full value so I get hit with import duty and VAT?
Watch is £4300, UK price £6200
Alternative is flying over but only worth it if they are based in a city I can easily fly to
Yep. Assuming it’s steel, it’s 4.5% on top of £4300 = 4494
Then add the courier cost and insurance paid by the seller (say £50?) and put 20% on that = 5542. Then assume another 50 in admin and handling by the UK importer side of the counter. Say 5600 total.
Or more simply just add about 25% to the foreign price. and you’re more or less in the right area.
If you go there to buy it, no doubt you know you should be using the red channel to declare it, and paying the 4.5% plus VAT on the total. Chances are you won’t get stopped going through the green channel, but you can never guarantee it. You’ll get told you can post the packaging, warranty cards, receipt etc home so you’re not carrying them. OTOH HMRC have access to serial numbers of watches retailed in the U.K.
Tax sucks hoop.
Have you considered used on say chrono24 or the like?
Then add the courier cost and insurance paid by the seller (say £50?) and put 20% on that = 5542. Then assume another 50 in admin and handling by the UK importer side of the counter. Say 5600 total.
Or more simply just add about 25% to the foreign price. and you’re more or less in the right area.
If you go there to buy it, no doubt you know you should be using the red channel to declare it, and paying the 4.5% plus VAT on the total. Chances are you won’t get stopped going through the green channel, but you can never guarantee it. You’ll get told you can post the packaging, warranty cards, receipt etc home so you’re not carrying them. OTOH HMRC have access to serial numbers of watches retailed in the U.K.
Tax sucks hoop.
Have you considered used on say chrono24 or the like?
BlackTails said:
Yep. Assuming it s steel, it s 4.5% on top of £4300 = 4494
Then add the courier cost and insurance paid by the seller (say £50?) and put 20% on that = 5542. Then assume another 50 in admin and handling by the UK importer side of the counter. Say 5600 total.
Or more simply just add about 25% to the foreign price. and you re more or less in the right area.
If you go there to buy it, no doubt you know you should be using the red channel to declare it, and paying the 4.5% plus VAT on the total. Chances are you won t get stopped going through the green channel, but you can never guarantee it. You ll get told you can post the packaging, warranty cards, receipt etc home so you re not carrying them. OTOH HMRC have access to serial numbers of watches retailed in the U.K.
Tax sucks hoop.
Have you considered used on say chrono24 or the like?
Have things changed recently? I imported a watch recently and there was no import duty. Well technically the import duty is £0.20 but as that below the threshold for collection it is not applied. All you should have to pay is 20% VAT.Then add the courier cost and insurance paid by the seller (say £50?) and put 20% on that = 5542. Then assume another 50 in admin and handling by the UK importer side of the counter. Say 5600 total.
Or more simply just add about 25% to the foreign price. and you re more or less in the right area.
If you go there to buy it, no doubt you know you should be using the red channel to declare it, and paying the 4.5% plus VAT on the total. Chances are you won t get stopped going through the green channel, but you can never guarantee it. You ll get told you can post the packaging, warranty cards, receipt etc home so you re not carrying them. OTOH HMRC have access to serial numbers of watches retailed in the U.K.
Tax sucks hoop.
Have you considered used on say chrono24 or the like?
https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/headings/9...
Adam. said:
Looking for an Omega and seen a few of the model I am after in Switzerland, great discount on UK price.
Assume the dealers have to declare the full value so I get hit with import duty and VAT?
Watch is £4300, UK price £6200
Alternative is flying over but only worth it if they are based in a city I can easily fly to
Geneva flights can be dirt cheap. Assume the dealers have to declare the full value so I get hit with import duty and VAT?
Watch is £4300, UK price £6200
Alternative is flying over but only worth it if they are based in a city I can easily fly to
Import it and you'll pay 20% VAT, thus cancelling out a portion of your savings.
Buy it here and you'll get better peace of mind if something goes wrong however.
I've bought twice from the East, both much much cheaper than UK, even after added VAT. One watch was excellent, the other I had to return which was a complete pain.
In your shoes I'd go over if it's Geneva/airport doable, do your due diligence in the shop, and fly back with it. Have a sunny weekend!
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