Import Duty on instruments made in England/Europe?

[whoismarykelly]

I know a few people here have huber guitars and other instruments made in Europe and England that were delivered to the US. Did you have to pay import duty on those instruments? If so, how much was it. I looked at the import schedule but its extremely confusing and one column says I may need to pay 4.5% and another says 37%. If I need to pay 37% of a $3300 guitar to get it I should probably cancel my order now. Any help?

[telesquire]

About 21%.....there's import duty plus the 17.5% VAT

[whoismarykelly]

For guitars imported into the US from England? I thought VAT only applied to stuff imported INTO England

[Jack Briggs]

If you're importing from the UK an instrument made in Germany valued at $3300 USD your import duty will be approximately $204 as of today. It fluctuates like currencies daily. The shipping will be charged separately.

Exporting from the US to the UK and American made instrument is a completely different story: costs about 22% to import US made into UK.

[whoismarykelly]

Interesting. Every single response I have gotten from several forums has said something different. Some say I will have to pay nothing at all and others say Ill have to pay several hundred dollars. What happens when you get it. Do you get a bill or do you have to go somewhere to pick up the package?

[Gretschman]

I have bought several guitars in Europe . I never paid anything on them . I never declaired them though . I just acted like it was part of my luggage .
I buy tubes all the time and pay no tax . But I have on occasion had to go to customs to pick up things and thats where they will get you .

I am not sure if used items are taxed or not .

The last guitar I bought was in Spain . It is a Brazillian Rosewood Hand made Classical . I got it through with no problem .

[whoismarykelly]

Hmmm. Well basically the builder will be shipping the guitar to me. I guess Ill have to ask him when the time comes. He only has about 3 guitars in the US though so his experience is probably limited.

[gearitis]

I purchased Made In England Celestions and a Marshall from sellers in England. I paid around 5% duty. In each case, I was billed by the shipping company.

I also bought a Fender Strat from a seller in England. US Customs tried to impose duty on that, even though the seller clearly marked on the shipping documents that it had been made in Fullerton, California USA. I had to file a dispute over the duty charges.

[Paulpuck68]

I've purchased several Huber and Ruokangas guitars and have never paid anything. However I purchased them through a dealer so the tax or duty was probabaly figured into the purchase price and they were shipped to the dealer first not directly to me.

[DestroyAllGuitars]

The duty rate on stringed instruments shipping from Europe into the US is a flat rate of 8.7% of the declared value on the export forms. There was a provision that allowed for a reduced rate of 4.6% if the instrument required electronic amplification but that provision was stricken about 2 years ago.

It is a flat rate of 8.7% and there is a usually a brokerage fee of approximately 10 to 15 dollars per customs duty invoice.

[whoismarykelly]

Great. :(