Importing film - Norway to UK - Duty?

[Nomad Z]

I'm considering buying a few boxes of Fomapan 100 5x4, and see that Fomaphoto in Norway is quite a lot cheaper than Maco Direct in Germany. However, I suspect there will be duty/VAT to pay if I order from Norway. Unfortunately, I can't find anything that will tell me what the duty is likely to be. If I assume VAT is added at 20%, it still works out cheaper than buying from Germany, so the duty is the decider.

Does anyone know what the duty rate would be for film from Norway to the UK? (Country of origin is Czech Republic, which is in the EU.)

[sig]

No duty out of Norway. Most likely no VAT (prices normally incl VAT anyway if you need to pay them). There might be duty on the UK side.

Send them a mail, the supplier will know.

[.... _]

looks like no customs duty on stuff less than £135 but if duty payable is less than £9 it is waived anyway. So unless you buy a lot of film no duty.
However VAT is payable on anything over £15 from outside EU.
Make sure Norway aren't charging you VAT. They probably aren't which is why it seems cheap. If EU countries are charging you VAT which they should be, then you don't pay VAT (or duty) on import.
If you do have to pay duty it is calculated on purchase price plus shipping cost plus insurance cost combined and added to that total. Then you pay VAT on all of that.i.e. you pay vat on the duty too. I think duty is 12% but not sure about that since it varies greatly depending on what it is.
See customs and excise site for full details.

[.... _]

just checked and the fomfoto norge site does not include MVA (VAT ?) on its prices quoted in Euro. 21.47 euro price for export would be 30.87 euro if norwegian tax was included. So yes it looks like its cheaper(providing total < £135 ) from norway unless shipping and insurance costs a lot.

[.... _]

looks like duty of film is 6.5% but never 100% sure about what customs charge for anything. You need to watch them carefully as they often charge when they shouldn't relying on the fact the general public don't know if they should be charged or how much.

[Fotohuis]

Further you have banks costs due to the currency conversion. Depending on bank etc. can be sometimes over Eur. 20,- for one transaction.

[Nomad Z]

Thanks for this, tog. Yes, no tax on the Norway price. Do you have a link for the 6.5% import duty for film?

What's interesting is that shipping for 3 boxes (1kg) is 12 Euro, while shipping for 6 boxes (2kg) is 32 Euro. Apparently, they have to ship the larger quantity tracked. Same for 5 boxes, while 4 boxes gives the choice of untracked or tracked, but the untracked price goes up to 18 Euro. Stays at 12 Euro for 2 boxes, and drops to 5.88 for 1 box. Cheapest postage per box, therefore, is on 3 boxes.

If UK VAT is charged at 20%, and duty isn't, the cost would be 91.69 Euro, or about £71.79, which is far cheaper than AG at £97.83 and Maco at £84.78. The only question would be any handling charges by the courier for the addition of VAT. It's tempting to order 3 boxes and see what happens.

[Nomad Z]

Originally Posted by Fotohuis

Further you have banks costs due to the currency conversion. Depending on bank etc. can be sometimes over Eur. 20,- for one transaction.

They take PayPal, who I don't think levy a charge for conversion, although their rates are not quite so good. (I should recalculate based on PayPal rates...)

[Nomad Z]

Apparently, there is a fee, but it's pretty low. PayPal cost in GBP would be £74.60, so not much extra.

[StaaleS]

Originally Posted by tog

just checked and the fomfoto norge site does not include MVA (VAT ?)

Yes, MVA == VAT. Exactly the same thing, a value added tax.

[.... _]

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/buying.htm

http://tariff.businesslink.gov.uk/ta...nDate=27/07/12

But I now find that Norway are in the "Eurpean Economic Area" which suggest they are zero rated. Conditions apply. See the link to european economic area in below. Sig may be correct in that there is no duty from Norway if you have correct documentation.

http://tariff.businesslink.gov.uk/ta...nDate=27/07/12

A word of caution. It is likely your parcel will get huing up in customs and come via Royal Mail. They will charge you any duty and VAT before releasing it. Problem can be you have to go to post office and argue your case with some clerk who is clueless and will tell you its not for them to calculate duty and VAT and that you have to go to customs to get it recalculated. IT can be a nightmare to resolve if you get a wrong charge. Do you really want the agro.

Paypal will RIP you off for currency conversion. They are theiving B******s

[StaaleS]

Norway fits in the "European Economic Area" bracket, in case you didn't know. Almost, but not quite, an EU member.

[.... _]

Originally Posted by StaaleS

Norway fits in the "European Economic Area" bracket, in case you didn't know. Almost, but not quite, an EU member.

Yes that is what I just found out. But you need special forms completed to get zero rating and they may not be available to everyone and/or seller may not include them with sent item in which case you could get caught out.
Shouldn't be a problem if he orders less than £135 total cost anyway. It's just a lot of hassle.