How do europeans buy amp modules from abroad?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jump to Latest
F

faltinsen

Member
Joined 2015
#1
Hello guys, i am a newbie living in europe. I am looking to build my first amp and i found that many modules recommended here are made in china or USA (such as classdaudio.com) or somewhere else. Since there is very high VAT in europe, I wonder how do other fellow Europeans buy these products? do you just pay the high VAT? or do you buy from some local dealers? or do you just buy european made products like Hypex?
 
#5
I'm sure there are some. Remember that VAT varies from country to country and by what the item is classified as. I'm typing this on a laptop I bought on eBay from the US (I didn't realise at the time) which including all the charges was cheaper than the replacement Samsung part!

I suppose we just go out and use the public services it pays for! 😉

Here in Sweden I'm amazed at how many people buy tools mail order from the UK. I try to buy locally whenever I can but component shops are few and far between in the frozen north.
 
#7
faltinsen said:
Since there is very high VAT in europe, I wonder how do other fellow Europeans buy these products? do you just pay the high VAT?
Click to expand...
You have to pay custom duties as well. Note that custom duties and VAT are calculated from the price including shipping costs.

Edit: As Åke says, it may happen that a package slips through and you don't pay anything, but don't count on that! 😉

or do you buy from some local dealers? or do you just buy european made products like Hypex?
Click to expand...
It depends. Many products are not available from European dealers at all, in all other cases you need to calculate how much it would save you. Don't forget there are also other downsides, for example the costs if it should become necessary to return the unit for warranty reasons, or longer delivery times.
 
Last edited:
#12
MickRS said:
If you buy a kit, the vat should be less, as it will be designated as 'electrical parts',
Click to expand...
No, the VAT is always the same, but the custom duty may be lower. However, custom duties are usually the least significant part in the overall calculation. If the OP would let us know his country and a specific product, we could look up the actual duties in the TARIC database. (VAT varies from country to country, custom duties are identical in all EU)
 
#13
thanks guys for info. tusker, i live in norway but i often go to netherlands and i think the vat at netherlands is about 21% and norway vat is 25%.
I know that some ebay seller are willing to send their stuff as ''gift'' and label a low value to help avoid tax. I wonder if any one have asked the audio webshop to do that as well?
 
#14
I'm living in Germany and never had serious problems with import taxes/buying from china via Ebay, BuyInCoins, DX.com, and anything else you can find via Dein China-Shop Preisvergleich - PandaCheck .
22€ is free but effectivly 26€ because you don't have to pay fees less than 5€ here but effectivly-effectivly many if not most sellers write "module 10$" on it and you have to pay nothing unless you're one of the lucky 0,2-20% (depens on the size of the package) which have to open their package one the local customs agency anyway 🙂
 
#15
faltinsen said:
thanks guys for info. tusker, i live in norway but i often go to netherlands and i think the vat at netherlands is about 21% and norway vat is 25%.
I know that some ebay seller are willing to send their stuff as ''gift'' and label a low value to help avoid tax. I wonder if any one have asked the audio webshop to do that as well?
Click to expand...

Norway is not member of EU, so it should not differ if you buy from China or Germany unless you have some kind of agreement with EU
 
Last edited:
#17
faltinsen said:
tusker, i live in norway but i often go to netherlands and i think the vat at netherlands is about 21% and norway vat is 25%.
Click to expand...
I checked the EU Market Access database:

Country: Norway
Product Code: 851840
Product description: Audio-frequency electric amplifiers

8518.40 Audio-frequency electric amplifiers

Origin Tariff
MFNduty 0 %
EUduty 0 %

Trade Defence measures (anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard):
There are no Trade Defence measures for this product.

Taxes and Additional duties:
Value added tax (VAT) is levied at a rate of 25.00% of the duty paid value.
Click to expand...
So you only need to pay 25 % VAT, there are no custom duties.

I know that some ebay seller are willing to send their stuff as ''gift'' and label a low value to help avoid tax. I wonder if any one have asked the audio webshop to do that as well?
Click to expand...
Well, it can't hurt to ask, but it comes down to credibility, i.e. will the customs officer believe that it is a gift? The better approach may be to ask for a lower declaration, many Asian suppliers do that without asking, they know the drill… But don't forget: Even if we like to assume this, customs officers are not stupid! 😉

And here's the legal disclaimer, so don't say the guys at the DIYA forum told you to do so: 😉 Since you are the importer of the goods, it is entirely your responsibility to provide the correct values for customs purposes. Even if the seller declared it wrong, you must tell the customs the true value and provide the necessary paperwork. They will hold you responsible for any 'error' the seller made, worse if they should find out you told the seller to do so. To make a long story short: Tax evasion is illegal.

That being said, people get rarely hanged these days for importing falsely declared audio equipment. 😉 And there is always the chance that the package 'slips through', especially small packages like envelopes. So just do it, but be prepared to pay 25 % of the invoice amount. And if the package arrives and no one asks you for money: just smile!
 
Last edited:
#20
i have ordered so many times from different seller in usa, europe, asia and never paid any customs fee with low shipping cost around $10 only. Some tricks that i always do :
~ before buying anything, always confirm to seller if he can declare lower value ( my country limit is $50 for free customs fee). usually personal seller will have no issue, but big company wont entertain this.
~ use air mail without insurance for cheaper shipping cost, never use dhl/ups/fedex which cost you several times higher cost.
~ only buy small package,not a heavy item such as heatsink or transformer. my heaviest package was 500gram from usa and no additional customs fee.
~ try to find if anyone around who imported in bulk what you are looking for. I buy talema transformer from local seller for 30% more expensive than web price, but i`ll have to pay higher price if i import it directly. and i'm so lucky to have bella-audio.com who sells hashimoto transformer which is cheaper than europe distributor.

good luck with your purchase, sometimes you will always count each day after your payment until your package arrive, wondering if it can pass your local customs 🙂
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom