If outside EU either send as IPR GOODS or put very low value on goods or Import Duty will be charged

If you are sending valuable and/or irreplaceable parts to me for repair from anywhere in the world it makes sense to want to insure the parts in case they get lost or damaged.  The loss or damage of an irreplaceable part would mean your piano cannot be repaired and would have to be replaced.  So in theory you would want to insure the part for the replacement value of the piano.  I have no idea if such insurance is possible so you would have to make your own enquiries about this. 

It is pointless putting a high value on parts you are sending unless you also insure them for this sum.
Usually you would have to pay extra for insurance.  Ask the couriers about this.  If you want to insure your goods for e.g. £500 do check very carefully that you will actually get this amount should the goods get lost or damaged.  If you state that the value of the goods is £500 this does not mean that they are automatically insured for this amount, but it does mean that UK Customs will want to charge Import Duty on £500 if you are sending from outside the EU!

Handling and packing  Always pack your goods well to protect them from damage - a box within a larger box is a good method.  Circuit boards should be handled only by the edges to reduce the chance of static damage.  Before being packed, a circuit board should first be put in anti-static wrapping e.g. the sort of bag a computer supplier uses for a hard drive or DVD drive.  Anti-static bubblewrap is also suitable.  This is usually pink or blue.  Clear bubblewrap is not anti-static.  Alternatively you can wrap a circuit board in paper first.  Aluminium kitchen foil would be ok but only if the circuit board does not have a battery on it!

Which service to use for sending parts 
If you are sending from outside the UK, always use a good courier but I'd recommend booking through an agency as this can be considerably cheaper than booking direct with the courier.  Normal postal services may be cheaper but generally take longer to get here and may also be less reliable.
If you are sending from within the UK then Royal Mail Special Delivery is very good.  The minimum insured amount is £500 (but you have to tell them this) and you can insure up to a maximum of £2500 for not much extra cost.

If sending parts from within the EU, I don't think it matters what value you state the parts are worth. 
This is because UK Customs currently do not charge Import Duty on stuff coming into the UK from within the EU. 
There is no way of knowing if this will always be so. 
Note that it is pointless putting a high value on parts you are sending unless you also insure them for this sum.

If sending parts from outside the EU the value DOES matter!  If you state that the parts are worth any more than about £5 (5GBP) there is a very good chance that UK Customs will charge Import Duty on the amount stated - without even stopping to ask first .... see CASE STUDY below.

If you put a high value on the parts you are sending (so you can insure them)
your paperwork MUST say that the parts you are sending are IPR GOODS and quote my EORI NUMBER
If you do not do this
a) UK Customs will almost certainly charge Import Duty.  If they do, I will simply add this cost to your bill. 
b) your own Customs will probably charge you import taxes when the goods come back to you.
c) there may be delays and your goods might even be returned to you without ever having reached me.

If you put a VERY low value on the goods it is unlikely that Import Duty will be charged
Suggested amount 5 GBP or 5 USD
The disadvantage of this method is obvious - if your repair gets lost or damaged you can only claim your 5GBP. 
Some couriers include an amount of cover free of charge e.g. £50 although how you would get them to pay £50 if you'd stated the value was £5 is anybody's guess.
On the positive side, good couriers have an extremely low percentage of loss or damage to shipments.

GENERAL SUMMARY
Pack your goods properly.
Choose a good courier.
If required, find out about insurance and satisfy yourself that it provides suitable cover.

You must complete the courier's Commercial Invoice which shows the value you want to put on the parts

If you are outside the EU and putting a high value on the parts you are sending and insuring them
1 - you must write on the Commercial Invoice that the goods you are sending are IPR GOODS
2 - you should also quote my name MICHAEL BARDEN and my EORI number which is GB 969 2804 73 000
This is very important otherwise UK Customs will charge Import Duty on the stated value of the goods.

If you are outside the EU and putting a VERY low value on the goods
then 1 and 2 above should not be necessary
but you MUST put a very low value like "5 GBP" or "5 USD" in the unit value / total value

If you are in the UK or in the EU you can put any value on the parts and insure them accordingly
1 and 2 above are not necessary

Other info you have to put on your Commercial Invoice
full description of goods and reason for export - this should say something like "main circuit board (or amplifier circuit board) from Technics digital piano being shipped to UK for repair and return.  Not for retail sale"
identifying marks or numbers - write down any part number which is printed or written on the circuit board. 
If you can't see anything obvious write "none"
type of packaging - could say "wrapped in anti-static bubblewrap in a cardboard box" or just "box"
country of export - this is your country 
country of origin or country of manufacture - this is not necessarily your country e.g. if your are sending a circuit board from a Technics digital piano the country of origin or manufacture is JAPAN
If you don't know where the goods were manufactured write "unknown"
country of ultimate destination - is UK which is where you are sending the package
weight - sometimes calculated by package dimensions rather than actual weight but ask courier
number of packages - usually quite an easy one to answer

Other notes
The courier may charge me for processing the Import.  This usually happens if the goods are sent as IPR GOODS.   I will charge you this at cost.  I will charge you because it is NOT a reclaimable charge.  Last time I was charged £12 but this may not be typical.

When returning your goods, if you have an account with a particular courier it may be cheaper for you if I arrange collection on your account.

When returning your goods I must put the same value as was put when you sent the goods to me.

Very low value goods will not be insured.

High value goods needing to be insured must be dealt with on an individual basis.

You will be charged the shipping charge and any insurance charge at cost. 

For non IPR GOODS I may also charge an export admin fee which will depend on the amount of time I have to spend preparing paperwork for your re-export and arranging shipping.

For IPR GOODS the export admin fee would be a percentage of the amount of Import Duty you are being saved by using the IPR process.  I also have to prepare and send off a Bill of Discharge to finalise the IPR process so that Import Duty will not eventually become payable.

The export admin fee may reduce as I get more familiar with the procedures but at the moment it takes me a considerable amount of time to save you having to pay Import Duty. 
If the repair is fairly quick and simple, the export paperwork could take longer than the actual repair!


CASE STUDY - EXAMPLE OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN NOT USING A COURIER
Technics main board from PX103, PX107 type digital piano.  Sent to me via United States Postal Service costing $9.04.  The customer put the value as $300 on the Customs Declaration form stuck on the box.  The package did not get held at UK Customs pending IPR procedure.  Instead it went via something called UK Border Agency (who also did not hold the goods pending IPR procedure) and Royal Mail International who paid the Customs charge of £32.25 (GBP, not dollars) and added their own handling fee of £8.  I received a note from my local post office saying there was a package for me which I could have if I paid them £40.25.  The £8 handling fee is not reclaimable at all.  I'm told that with the correct procedures I might be able to claim back the £32.25 from Customs but the amount of time it would take to do this is much more than it's worth.  The customer very kindly said they would pay the £40.25 which added nearly 30% to their repair charge.
Let's try to avoid this sort of thing in future if we can!

E&OE

Posted by Admin on February 24, 2010 | 0 comments | Permalink |