Katana Owners Club U.K.

Hi all. I want to buy something from tailand for a bike. Is there any hidden charges like purchasing things from america

Whenever i have brought from Thailand i have never had any problems. Sometimes if anything doesnt work i normally chuck it away and get another. I use this place (never put one on a bike though )

http://www.asianbeauties.com/?gclid=COH ... 4Qodg1Kl1A" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pete

Same rules apply John, if you want to try to avoid getting caught by customs ask if they'll put it as gift on customs form & put lower value on form too.

If you're not in a hurry for the bits get them to send surface mail as these normlly slip thru' ok

I have had loadsa bits, some in the last month or so from Thailand and Singapore.I have never had a customs bill for any of the stuff i have bought from Thailand.......unlike stuff from the USA which always gets impounded and you end up having to pay import duty............theivin c@nts!

What you buyin m8 ? nudge nudge wink wink!

Maybe a seat for the moped Newark autojumble on Sunday so will wait for that

ive had stuff from there, never had a customs bill either. theres shedloads of honda step thru stuff on ebay thailand!!!!

Read the HMRC website, for the rules on when you will get charged for goods sent from overseas. I just got stung on some parts from Canada, robbing post office add money on for handling your customs VAT bill as well. If you read the rules then you wont be upset if you get a bill, took me a week to cool down. robbing barstewerds. I have had parts for bikes from all over Asia and never been charged before, but they don't usually cost a great deal of money. But I do know people who have.

Having Gift on the label does not stop you getting a vat bill, neither does the parts being secondhand. Its worked out on the value of the goods INCLUDING shipping costs. If you get them to put a lower value on the ticket then this does help, but the postal insurance will only be for that value. So don't buy a Rolex for £2000 and get them to put it down for £20 value.

JACKJABBA wrote:Read the HMRC website, for the rules on when you will get charged for goods sent from overseas. I just got stung on some parts from Canada, robbing post office add money on for handling your customs VAT bill as well. If you read the rules then you wont be upset if you get a bill, took me a week to cool down. robbing barstewerds. I have had parts for bikes from all over Asia and never been charged before, but they don't usually cost a great deal of money. But I do know people who have.

Having Gift on the label does not stop you getting a vat bill, neither does the parts being secondhand. Its worked out on the value of the goods INCLUDING shipping costs. If you get them to put a lower value on the ticket then this does help, but the postal insurance will only be for that value. So don't buy a Rolex for £2000 and get them to put it down for £20 value.

That's why I mentioned the gift box as the value allowed doubles to £36, also if value is below the value allowed ie £18 for goods £36 for gifts, postage ISN'T included.

The reason to have items sent by Surface mail is the parcel will travel by normal mail NOT Parcelfarce. Royal Mail charge £8.50 handling fee as opposed to Parcelfarce's £13.50. Also EMS, Airmail etc seem to "attract" customs "ferrets".

Insurance on parcels is done over the counter when postage is paid, customs label can be filled out at anytime. I had a parcel from USA last week with customs value marked as gift with $20 value, but it was insuranced for $80!!
If customs pull the parcel they will see the true value, it's the risk you run.

I regularly have parcels arrive from Japan & other parts of Asia and always have them sent either surface or SAL if seller doesn't offer surface, not had one go missing or been caught for fees.

I can't say the same for when they came EMS.

Katman, I am not disputing what you said, anything is worth a try.

My sister lived in Japan for many years, she use to send xmas gifts every year. She always put gift on the customs form and would not believe that we were having to pay vat on them when they arrived. That's the reason I say that it doesn't stop you paying VAT, as some people think that if its a gift they should not have to pay anything. I sent her an empty box valued at £500, after the third year it happened.

Like I say the best policy is to check the rules before ordering, then if you don't get a bill its a bonus, if you do then you were expecting it.