Aloha,
Since the new year I have this far received three shipments from the UK. Two bought through websites of well known companies and one from a gentleman here on the forum. Customs has handled the packages somewhat differently but on all three there were an initial fee of round 6,50 GBP. Some of them then also got other taxes and tariffs added on. To that also adds the extra time for admin and so on. The real bummer will be when things are backordered since two packages will amount to double charge.
Oh well, it is what it is. Just the new reality that we as europeans all have to face, regardless of what side of the channel we live.
And oh, this is in no way an attempt to start a discussion on the pros and cons of Brexit. I assume we all have other venues for discussing such things. :grinning:
Looking forward to some happy wrenching this weekend. Have a great day everyone!
Best regards,
Simon
33 Euros (£29.50) to ship a speedo bracket from Belgium to the UK. Previously that was 17 euros...The last time I looked Belgium hasn't moved and neither has the UK, so the actual cost hasn't gone up...All the countries of Europe, including the UK must have a death wish for their businesses....
Was one of the parcels your piston rings Simon?...Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
Yes Ian!
Was going to drop you an email later in the evening to say they arrived. But now you know this way instead. Very happy that you had a set to sell me!
Best regards,
Simon
Does anybody know what the situation is if I buy parts, VAT paid, in the UK and then travel with them to Europe, for my own use?
You'll be sent to a labour camp....:laughing: ....Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
That's a bugger, I still have to pick up the big end you sold me last year from Torrington
And I won't be able to load up with my usual car load of Cheddar bacon and pork pies before I get on the ferry:sob:
Put it in your jacket pocket on the ferry...They won't even know it's there and I promise not to tell...Ian:sleuth_or_spy:
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
I've got some handlebars as well. I suppose I could stick them down my trouser leg but that might raise other issues.
Pete, the Dutch rules which I assume are general EU regulations state that you can bring goods to the value of €430 in person. In the real world, with second hand parts and 'one-offs' which don't obviously look like luxury goods, it's going to be unlikely that they will place a high value on a few bits of old bike junk.
Food is a real shame. I always used to bring a cool box back and pork pies will now be a thing of the past...They don't keep for long of course but other items that could be frozen will be missed. The British shop in Belgium is now sourcing items in the Republic of Ireland but John O' Brien tells me that they don't have Melton Mowbrays...
My daughter has just received a parcel from the UK - ordered in December but unfortunately not despatched until 4th January. Items to the value of £44.50 - it's not clear if that included UK VAT...They arrived today with a Belgian VAT charge of €13.39 and a UPS charge of €14.75 + VAT - A total extra of €31.34....It will be the last thing that she orders from dear old Blighty...
This wretched virus has made things worse of course. I've got a year's worth of eBay odds and sods to collect when it's all over...No idea of the total value any more.
I regularly order parts to be delivered to my brother who stores them in his garage in exchange for the case of German beer when I come to collect them.
I can't remember what is there now after a year of covid but I suppose I'll just have to cover it all in crap and claim it's scrap.
I did get a delivery sent directly to me in Germany recently valued at less than £20 without VAT which just arrived in my postbox without any tax demands, so I guess I was lucky.
Not that I would be encouraging people to circumvent paying taxes which we all know are there for our benefit (??? )
Take the new parts out of their packaging
Wrap them in oily paper towel, put in a plastic bag secured with rubber bands.
Use old dirty oil and perhaps some newspaper.
At the border, they are your riding spares because as they all know these old bikes are very frail & break down all the time ..
Put your new bars on the bike & the old ones in the pannier which is there in case it falls off the stand & bends the bars so you can ride home legally .
email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au
Someone posted on a Norton Commando group that they ordered a load of parts from UK to be sent to Spain. They went straight through customs with no fees or VAT. It will probably be like buying from America, some things arrive on the doorstep and some get opened and a customs fee and handling charge added. Just pot luck.
email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk
here goes again..
what about parts that I bought from UK Companies before Brexit and had delivered to a UK address for later collection?
If I have the receipts showing that they were bought before the 1st of January, with all pre-Brexit taxes paid could I be required to pay tax when I finally take the parts to Europe? That would be double taxation and I don't think my chances of getting the UK VAT back would be very high. Particularly as some parts have been waiting since way before Covid!
I'm sure I am not the only one with a hoard of stuff, now languishng in Blighty, waiting to be taken to a new home on the "continent".
I am in the same situation Pete. My idea is to unpack all the parcels and put it in my car, when I am finally able to pick up my parcels. I am not taking my parts packed in the boxes as that will definitely make work of the customs officials a lot easier if they are going to calculate tax. I don't think it will matter to them if there is a pre-Brexit postage date on the parcels, they will charge us anyway.
Bastiaan
email (option): wdmotorcycles@gmail.com
The only date that counts to a Customs Officer is the date of import...and only a VAT registered company can deduct the VAT on items invoiced on an overseas address....This bloody virus has meant that most of us with a UK hobby or connection have a ton of stuff to bring over...I've been cycling more too and have remembered that I have a Holdsworth frame and several sets of wheels in my dad's garage....I've owned it since about 1974....at some point as well, I'll probably want to bring quite a lot over from the house that I grew up in...It's going to be a damned sight less easy than when I moved over here with an overladen 109" Land-Rover.
When my brother died almost 20 years ago, I bought his B31 from the family and took it with me to Germany.
No problem, just registered it.
One day, when I cannot ride it any more, I want to give the bike to my grandnephew who, as a toddler, loved the bike. What is the betting it will cost me to an arm and a leg in taxes to give him his grandad’s bike? :angry:
Also...I'm just getting into my stride on this subject!
I sometimes, when I visit Blighty, chuck a bike in the back of the van to use while I am there and then take it back with me when I return to Europe. Will this still be possible? Or will we need something like a Carnet de Passages.
if anyone is fed up of my rants, just say so and I'll shut up....maybe :laughing:
Is the B31 still on the DVLA register ? Swansea told me when I brought my Commandos out that the registrations remained valid for if I should wish to re-import.
Bringing a bike over to ride in either direction is OK as long as it's registered and you take it out again. That will work both ways. I can't imagine they'll note everything down but a van has much more chance of being stopped.
I think when I go to France next with my bike in my Van. I will make sure to have my V5C, insurance document and green card for the bike, to hopefully dispel any suspicion that the bike is being transported for export. Ron
email (option): ronpier@talk21.com
I thought we in the UK were supposed to carry log book, insurance etc when we were in the European Union pre brexit?
Pre EU UK registered vehicles were only allowed in some other countries for a limited time period, I would imagine that may be the case again now, isn't it the case that if you have a second home in France a UK citizen without a second EU citizenship is now legally obliged to return home to the UK for a set period too?
An old vehicle not currently registered anywhere may be classified differently depending on its current location, I have at least one machine which is as yet unregistered because I'm yet to get it into a state that it could be in the UK.
Ron
email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk
You might well be right Rob. But I never even thought to take documents with me and I never heard that my companions did either. But it will be on my agenda from now on. Ron
email (option): ronpier@talk21.com