Brexit and import duties on coins arriving from the EU

I just realized that any parcels arriving into the UK from the EU will be treated the same as the ones arriving from the US from tomorrow. That means that it may be subject to import duties... I never ordered from a non-EU country before, so I have no clue how ancient coins are treated by the UK customs and what the procedure, if any, is.... I buy most of my coins from the EU, so this may affect me big time...

Anyone that has ever imported a non-EU coin into the UK, please share your knowledge..

 

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I buy most of my coins from the EU and the US - as I understand it anything that can be classed as investment gold, even if it has a numismatic premium is 0%, anything else is 5%. Most countries also now require an export permit - which has nothing to do with Brexit - but causes a delay. I have a few coins which were bought months ago and therefore before the deadline and I am still waiting for the permit which means they will not be shipped until after the deadline and I expect I will get charged the 5%

 

5% VAT will apply (the UK has left the EU VAT regime), offset by not paying EU VAT. The deal with the EU should mean no import duty (usually a small amount anyway, 2.5% or so, paid on anything over £135).

The problem isn't so much the VAT but the handling fee that's charged just for assessing it. The Royal Mail charge £8, while couriers charge £12. So for a £100 coin you might get a bill for £17 just to pay £5 tax.

But with the new regime, it looks as if the seller is supposed to charge the 5% VAT up front on items below £135 and pay it to the UK government, so there would be no need for a handling fee. 'Online marketplaces' are responsible for paying the VAT.

For coins over £135, the old regime applies, so 5% VAT + £8 or £12 handling fees will still be charged.

In the past I've paid fees worth 40% of the coin's value (a £45 coin that got charged a handling fee). If handling fees are scrapped on low value coins this will save a huge amount on coins from outside the EU. CNG already charge the VAT up front since they import coins into the UK before sending them out - avoiding the handling fee. But coins over £135 from the EU will now be £8 to £12 more expensive because of the handling fee, not the tax.

 

It's 5% from outside the EU plus £8 handling charge, but the new EU-UK trade deal will mean there will NOT be any tariff for goods including coins coming into UK but you WILL need customs labels.

So the answer is ZERO

 

That would be great, but the Royal Mail website and the following Guardian article indicate that import fees may be applicable after all..

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...ties-to-apply-to-eu-goods-worth-more-than-390

 

Just phenomenal, in four years since the vote to leave the EU there is complete chaos still.

 

It might be worth asking the seller to mark up the package correctly as well. The idiot I purchased from from the US recently on VCoins decided to mark it as something entirely irrelevant, probably in the hope of it skipping customs, but then I got hit with a 20% charge plus £8 instead of the 5% and don't have a leg to stand on for getting reimbursed.

 

This happened to me too, more than once. Now, I get US purchase shipped yo a friend and we hand carry on transatlantic trips. Or we did before covid stopped flying.

 

Almost every European dealer (including British) describes coins they send to the USA with a misleading (but not precisely false) description, like "metallic tokens" -- not to avoid customs duties on old coins, because there aren't any, but to avoid inviting theft, and inviting scrutiny from over-zealous customs inspectors who might decide that any and all ancient coins constitute stolen cultural heritage. So it wouldn't surprise me that American dealers would think similar fudging of descriptions is appropriate in the other direction. It doesn't make them idiots.

 

Agreed, I see it all the time and when I have sent things outside of the U.S., I always put "token" or something similar on it & never had problems.

 

Isn't the true value of the coin supposed to go on the declaration form? So describing is as a token will still make it an expensive and desirable item for thieves especially in the case of high-end coins.

Brexit may prove to be quite a headache for the collectors that were used to the simplicity of buying from the EU...

 

Usually I've seen the value of the "token" given as something like $15.00.

 

Some time ago I received two heavy coins. The description was "nails and screws."

 

But doesn't that mean that in case of theft, loss or damage they can only claim $15? It would be a big risk for a valuable coin.

 

I've had shipments sent by tracked international first class mail, which is pretty bare bones, and subject to pretty erratic tracking. I wonder if this class of mail may more easily get through customs when compared to registered mail.

I've only had to pay duty on imported coins when Fedex was used. Just a couple of days ago a coin arrived by EMS from France with an €800 value on the declaration form. Wouldn't that value normally trigger a duty fee?

Perhaps the fact that the other side of the envelope had enough stamps on it to cover the wall of my bathroom distracted the customs official.

As for Brexit, I think it will take time for the full effects to be known. The UK is no longer part of the EU VAT union at midnight tonight, which marks the end of the transitional period for trade. How that affects the relationships between UK and EU dealers and collectors consigning to auctions remains to be seen.

 

I received a package 12/31 in Houston for a 12/17 auction in London. That is pretty fast considering DHL sent me 2 or 3 emails saying they would ship the package back if I did not supply my SS #. I was not happy sending my SS # by email, but did. Did any other US Coin Talkers have to do this?
The DHL folks could (would) not say where the import fee of 0.7% originated.

 

I think this depends on how it's insured. If it's insured through the postal agency used to send it, then Yes. However I believe almost all auctions and most of the major dealers have their own insurance so they don't buy postal insurance, and it's covered in full regardless the declared value on the letter/parcel. There are also quite a few postal carriers who flat-out refuse to insure coins of any type which further complicates things if the sender doesn't have their own insurance covering the shipment. I suppose at that point the possibility/inevitability of loss/theft just gets worked in as a business expense.

 

I have not had this issue with DHL, but I have with FedEx (social security number and import fees). I believe the charge is based on them doing a custom's clearance and acting as your broker. I hate it but begrudgingly pay it because I don't know how to get around it.

Once they have your details in their files, you should be good to go for future shipments, which is the upside.

 

All the coins I've bought from London Ancient Coins in the UK this past year, and about half the coins I've bought from Spanish dealers, have been shipped by DHL Express, and I've never been asked for my Social Security number or charged any import fees.

 

I got some stuff from Roma in London, but it didn't ship DHL, fortunately. Numismatik Naumann in Austria uses DHL and I am not too impressed. Now, I didn't have to provide SSN or pay any extra fees, but DHL ended up sending the package to the USA and to the hub or whatever it's called for my area. The package was literally 30 minutes from my house...and then they shipped it to Canada! Concerned it was maybe making its way back to Austria, I called and spoke to someone. Totally disinterested, the woman I spoke to looked up the package after I explained what was going on and reported to me that my package was in Canada... Yes, indeed...

So I reexplained the situation and why it should not be in Canada and why it should in fact be in my hand since it was recently so close. Again, totally disinterested and seemingly unable to comprehend what I was telling her, she said she would move the ticket to whatever they call their next level of service and said someone would call me within 24 hours. Fortunately, my package made its way back, though no one ever did call, so I am not sure if the Canada hub realized the mistake or if customer service intervened. Granted, I have ordered more than once from Numismatik Naumann and other times the package arrived okay, but I was shocked at how poor the customer service at DHL was. I don't know if it's inhouse or what, but it was for sure an American I was talking to from the accent.