Hi, I am looking for some information on import charges and vat if I win something in an auction in the USA? I am asking this question for gold silver and copper coins. Also apart from import charges and VAT is there any other charges? Also, is there any particular information that needs to be added by the auction company in the customs form? Thanks a lot for your help. Ek.
@baseball21 - So the auction house based in US and the delivery will be in London UK. @panzerman the problem is the value of the item needs to be mentioned. The auction house will give the correct information. There is no other way.
@baseball21 - I understand that but I am looking for more detailed information on that based on gold silver and bronze/copper coins. That is the main reason of starting the thread.
Import VAT will be 5% for anything other than 'investment gold' which is defined as post-1800. That has zero Vat on it. i.e. sovereigns etc have no VAT. The courier or post office will also charge an admin fee for collecting the import VAT which last time was £11.50, I think. I'm not sure why the value being declared is a problem. Anything else being imported would have costs, so coins being taxed up to 5% has to be a better option than mis-describing it and risk having VAT at 20% imposed. £50 per thousand isn't going to break the bank if you are spending thousands in the first place. People are being unreasonable in their expectations if they expect the auction house or anyone else to lie about contents or value as they get no benefit from it, and a possible shedload of hassle in the future just to help the recipient commit a crime in not declaring taxes. Or put another way, would you go out your way to break US law when exporting to there, given you obtain no gain for doing so and risk being pursued for offending? If people are unwilling to follow the rules - don't buy in the first place.
Hi @robp , first of all, thanks a lot for the information. This is exactly a kind of thing I was looking for. I would really grateful if you can kindly help me with a few more questions. I am in favour of describing items properly. Can you please tell me apart from mentioning the exact product (item) in the package + cost, is it necessary to mention that this is a 'numismatic item' anywhere? Just to confirm, when you say 5% on any other item you mean coins (silver, bronze and copper) irrespective how old or new will be? In the case of investment gold - Is there a rule that it is tax-exempt if it is sold at a price that does not exceed 180% of the open market value of the gold contained in the coin? If that is the case then if I pay more than double how much tax will I be charged? Is it 5% or 20%? Another thing to clarify if my understanding is correct - the statement 'sold at a price that does not exceed 180% of the open market value of the gold contained in the coin' - to me this means if I am buying a sovereign which has a spot price of it is £320 I should not purchase it above 576 pounds. Is this assumption correct? Is there a possibility of any other charges (I have absolutely no idea what it can be and assuming import vat and import charge is the same thing) in terms of import apart from the 5% VAT? I really do apologize to ask so many questions. The reason I am asking this is that I don't have a problem in paying anything which is valid. I would like to know the process and be prepared about what extra I have to pay apart from the hammer price and BP. Thanks once again @robp. Hope to hear from you soon. Kind Regards, Ek.
Quoting a numismatic item won't do any harm as it clearly identifies it as a coin. I'm not sure, but it might have to be 100 years old or more to qualify for 5%. I have never imported a modern coin, but recall another discussion where someone was charged 20% for something more recent. Not sure how that went as I think the shipper might have been economical with the description. The metal is not important unless 'modern' gold. Pre-1800 gold should attract import tax. The question of 180% is open to interpretation based on the below copied from the HMRC site. (b) a gold coin minted after 1800 that is: of a purity of not less than 900 thousandths or has been, legal tender in its country of origin of a description of coin that is normally sold at a price that does not exceed 180 per cent of the open market value of the gold contained in the coin A sovereign will normally sell for melt plus a small premium, so shouldn't attract tax. An individual may wish to spend a sum in excess of this 180%, but I think this is not viewed by the importing agent as relevant, because 95%+ of all sovereign sales fall well within the 180% - it's a coin traded mostly as bullion rather than a collectable item. The only exceptions to this I could foresee would be patterns such as the Victoria 1868 double florin, which would clearly sell at over 10x melt every time. I haven't imported a 4 figure sovereign for about 10 years, so the present rules (2013) may not have applied then, however, the last coin had the full value declared and was treated as investment gold by the courier, so must be assumed correct. If you want to insure something, then you have to declare the full value. There's nothing else I can think of that would normally attract a charge.
Thanks a lot @robp Actually, I was talking about a proof sovereign will go over 200%. One last thing. If an invoice has both gold (it is within investment gold category) and silver and bronze items then the import charges will sill be applicable only on the silver and bronze coins (and not on the gold item). correct? Or is it necessary to make a separate invoice? Thanks once again. Ek.
The tax applied will depend on the commodity code supplied. Call it the right thing and the correct tax will be levied. As long as it's clear what is what, there shouldn't be an issue. Keeping it on one invoice has to be easier. Anyway, you have no input as this is the responsibility of the person shipping, and if they are an established auction house then should know what to do.
