Hello,
this is my 1st post here in the forums.

My story in a few words is the following:

I am from Greece and I like (love actually) swords, especially the one from the movie Excalibur. So after years of searching I found that the Albion's Discerner (Very Special Thanks to Mr. Lindsey and to Albion Armorers) is my perfect sword. So I bought the Discerner Limited Edition from Albion Armorers.
Unfortunately the sword stuck in the customs in Athens, Greece.
So after a long search I learned that if I send it to someone in UK, he could send it to me through the simple Post Office and this will pass from our customs. (Dont ask me why, this is what they told me)

My questions so far are:
Is it easy for anyone that leaves in UK (even if he is a student to a UK university), if he pay the taxes of course, to import a sword from USA?
How much are the taxes in UK in analogy of the sword cost?
If it is sent it as a gift from USA would the receiver still pay the same amount in taxes?

I am in a very desperate position, so please if anyone can help me I will be very gratefull.

Thank you in advance.

Thank you for your reply.

Still you made me wonder a few things.

You said If the sender insures the sword, then the sword's full value will have to be written on the customs declaration

So lets say that the sword in reality cost me $2000 but the sender sent it to me with an insurance of $100, the customs will tax me for $2000 (how they will know the real price) or they will tax me respective of the $100 insurance?

Thank you in advance,
Zack

Kel is right Z ..... insuring & declaring the true value is the best way to go, regardless if the VAT hurts !

I know of a fellow collector who recently had a couple of very expensive swords stolen, passing thru customs, and did not have anywhere near the full value declared .... so he is now totally out the money (talking $ thousands $ here) as well as some incredible one of a kind custom pieces !

Not worth trying to save a few bucks when the cost can be the whole kettle of fish !

What's that line Aretha Franklin sings ...... "You better THINK" ! Mac

Mac is absolutely right. Being willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a sword and then trying to scrimp on insurance is a fools errand. Always insure for the full value. It only takes one time and you'll be kicking yourself for the rest of your life.

Thank you very much for your replies.

All of you are right about how risky it is to put a lower insurance value on the sword than its real value.

Unfortunately when the sword cost almost $2000 the tax will be very high here in Greece.
When I am saying very high I am talking about 82% of its value.
Thats a robbery if you ask me.
If it was a about 20% I wouldnt risk it at all.
The logicaly would be to put the actual VAT of the country.

Imagine if I had to pay 82% for a $2000 sword that means $1640 more.

Anyone knows how much percent of the value of a sword is the tax in UK?

Thank you in advance,
Zack

Speaking as somebody who has never been to Europe and knows little to nothing of customs laws, I was wondering if this might work for you (folks do this kind of thing to get complicated stuff between the US and Canada around here fairly easily, usually to save on shipping charges):

Have the sword shipped to a friend in the UK. Then either have yourself and the friend drive to a mutually agreeable halfway point, hand deliver the sword, and you drive it home, or (if your friend can't make the trip), take a long weekend and drive to the UK and back yourself.

Good luck!

82 % ..... Yikes !

Good grief, Charlie Brown .... that is robbery !

Time to start voting somebody out of office there !

Man, I feel for you & your countrymen, Z ! Best of luck whatever you decided to do, Mac

Z. Kornilakis wrote:

Thank you very much for your replies. All of you are right about how risky it is to put a lower insurance value on the sword than its real value. Unfortunately when the sword cost almost $2000 the tax will be very high here in Greece. When I am saying very high I am talking about 82% of its value. Thats a robbery if you ask me. If it was a about 20% I wouldnt risk it at all. The logicaly would be to put the actual VAT of the country. Imagine if I had to pay 82% for a $2000 sword that means $1640 more. Anyone knows how much percent of the value of a sword is the tax in UK? Thank you in advance, Zack

I still don't know what to do. :(

The problem in this story is that to import a sword in Greece you need a Special Licence of Import for the particular item.

The items that need this kind of Licence are all kind of hand weapons (pistols, rifles, etc.) chemical weapons, explosives and other similar products. Unfortunately swords, spears and bows fall in that category.

The joke in this is 1st, that they put swords (even if they are just decorative) in the same category with explosives and guns.

But the funnier part comes when in reality you can go to shop in Greece that sells swords, bows etc. and you can buy them easily without no one to ask you of any kind of licence. I already bought 3 swords in the past from different parts of Greece, and never faced any problem.
But to import them you need a licence (because they are weapons).

Yes they are dangerous. Every piece of metal can be dangerous in the wrong hands, but even if this is right then why the heck I can buy them freely from shops?:wtf:
No logic.
Welcome to my country :(

Just occurred to me that Aaron may have it with checking with local retailers. They may charge a fee, but it might not be as bad as the VAT. Also, have you actually called up customs and had an honest straight shooting conversation with a supervisor?
I found out that Hooka's could be shipped if unused as "decorative brassware" and make it through US customs. Where if its labeled Hooka they presume its drug related and seize it. However, where you got to love our uneducated customs officers, this commonality might play in your favor. I don't know what would work in your situation... maybe "Stage/Movie prop"...?
If you have it shipped unsharpened its not really a weapon is it? I'm just thinking about the classification area.
Being smaller than the US, the officials on your side may have more time to poke through each parcel than the guys here do.

Just some thoughts.
But always insure.

Import duty to the UK from US is around 20% of thevalue of the goods. I can dig out an invoice for a precise figure if you want but it's around that (It is in reality VAT but it's collected as customs excise duty due to a peculiarity of the system dealing with non-EU countries) Between member states in the EU there can be no normal import duties and VAT should only apply where the gods are transfered as part of a business supply. Shouldn't apply for a package between individuals for no profit and not part of a business but don't rely on that as I've not looked at a situation like this. Also be careful the Greek customs people don't stop the package and claim you're avoiding VAT by routing it via UK. If you have a friend who runs a business importing, or who's an acountant or tax lawyer they should know the rules for this. Sorry can't help more but I'm a corporate tax specialist not VAT/Customs.

I think Aaron's idea sounds good: find a licenced retailer and ask them to import for you. May not get rid of the duty problem but would obviate the licence problem. If there was an Albion stockist in Europe they could import from them but I don't think Albion use stockists (don't know though - maybe they do).

Probably find that licence law is a hang-over from some old statute from when swords were military tools. In the last 30 years the UK has wiped some really old and useless laws of the books that had simply gone unchanged because no-one thought about it. Due to the amendments, witchcraft is now officially not an offence, it's not a capital crime to take a leak in the Thames off Westminster Bridge, and the US is now officially recognised as a country (apparently they forgot to ratify it properly until the 1970's I'm told!)



Hope you find a solution
Daniel

I think what was not entirely clear in the above emails from Mr Kornilakis (don't know your first name, sorry) is the distinction between the tax issue and the licence issue. I'm assuming they're completely separate. IE you can't import at all unless via a licenced route, and even if you do, the tax wil be 82%. So you would have to import via a dealer and via another EU country to get the best of both worlds. At least that's what I assumed.


Yes, Aaron, you are now an official country ! Bet you sighed a huge sigh of relief knowing that. You can sleep easier at night now !



Daniel