Andrew Fildes wrote:
Shouldn't attract duty if it's second-hand, surely?
======================================================================
I agree, common sense says that only new items entering the country
should be dutiable, and then only if duty has not already been paid in
another country. This normally holds true for accomapnied goods: for
example, if you buy a camera from a retailer in Australia at normal
high street price and then decide to take it with you on a trip to the
UK, you would be well advised to take with you the proof of purchase,
so that the customs officers can see that it was not bought "duty
free". If it was, they might sting you for duty if its value is above
the allowance generously provided for by HM Govt for travellers'
personal belongings.
The story seems to be different, however, for unaccompanied goods,
which are not deemed to be persoanl effects. For instance, I once
ordered an Olympus 35SP camera priced at US$105.00, from Jaap Korten's
Wide Angle site in Rotterdam. The camera was duly despatched by Jaap
and was received, some two months later, by the Post Office here in
Jakarta. Now, that camera must have been about 25 years old but duty
was still assessed at Rp 380,000 (around US$42.00, based on the
commercial value it was considered to have. (I never paid it because
the PO 'lost' the camera and, in the end, they had to pay me!)
My 2 cents (3 cents with duty)
Regards,
=====
Ray
"The trouble with resisting temptation is
you never know when you'll get another chance!"
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