Exporting Goods to UK from Norway – do I pay VAT and Import Duty?
Question
I was wondering if anyone could help with advice regarding VAT & Import Duty from an item purchased from Norway & bringing back to the UK.
The item is 2nd hand and was purchased originally from a company in the UK and exported to a Norway.
Since then, the original purchaser has put the equipment back up for sale on a website and I would like to buy the equipment & bring it back to the UK.
The equipment is technical film and TV equipment & is advertised for approximately £23000.
would I have to pay VAT & import duty & could anyone give me an idea of what it may be.
Thanks in advance
Answer
Hey there,
If you were to buy these goods and import them in to the UK then yes VAT and duty would be liable upon importation.
The best way to get an idea for how much the VAT and duty would be is to classify the goods exactly in accordance with the UK trade tariffs (https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff). If you can find your goods via this link then it will tell you the VAT and duty percentage rates for them.
It’s not an exact science because the HMRC calculations are complex so until the import customs entry has been lodged you won’t know an exact figure.
Roughly speaking, if we presume that the VAT will be 20% standard rate, and duty rates tend to be between 2% and 10% for most goods then likely something like £4600 VAT and £460-£2300 for duty. Presuming you are a VAT registered company then your VAT will of course be reclaimable.
Do get in touch if you need any more help with this.
Simon
Answer
Following on from the above answer – please note that Duties/Taxes are applicable when Importing from outside of the European Community so therefore this will apply to anything shipped from Norway!
This will of course depend entirely on the status of the cargo as some shipments are exempt from Duties/Taxes for various reasons such as importing food products or returned goods.
If you require any more help, please feel free to contact me at below address..
Thanks and regards,
Gary
Answer
I would advise that the circumstances in which goods can be reimported into the EU free of duty and VAT are outlined in Notice 236 ‘Returned Goods Relief’ which can be viewed via the following link:
Notice 236: Returned Goods Relief
The Notice can be viewed on the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk by typing ‘Notice 236’ in search box & selecting the following links from the search results:
Notice 236: Returned Goods Relief > Notice 236: Returned Goods Relief.
The list of the conditions to be met can be found in sections 5 and 6.
If the goods are not eligible to be imported under Returned Goods Relief (RGR), you should note that most goods imported from outside the EU will attract both customs duty and import VAT at the appropriate rates at the time of importation.