Tax on shipping Ukes between European countries

Is there any tax or customs duties levied against Ukes shipped between European Union countries?

No, if the countries are members of the EU, it's much like sending a parcel within the same country.

Thanks Mivo. I was thinking that when I planned my next European holiday I could bring a Uke I wanted to sell and save the buyer ( assuming that they are European) a lot of customs duties.

hollisdwyer said:

Thanks Mivo. I was thinking that when I planned my next European holiday I could bring a Uke I wanted to sell and save the buyer ( assuming that they are European) a lot of customs duties.

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As I understand it, the rule is: as long as the the tax on the goods in the country of origin is paid, there's no customs duty to pay when shipping between EU countries which has made it easy for me in the UK to buy from Germany, in particular. I've bought a quality recorder, several ukes and harmonicas from Germany and Aquila strings direct from Italy.

I'm not sure how that will affect your situation. If you bring one in with you on Holiday, chances are, you won't get charged customs duty and if you then sell it on to a friend well who will know?

Maybe not quite ethical but, I suspect, not an uncommon situation.

Tax rates that are outrageously high beg to be avoided. How much extra does a European pay for,say, a $2000 Mya Moe Uke that is shipped in from the USA?

hollisdwyer said:

Tax rates that are outrageously high beg to be avoided. How much extra does a European pay for,say, a $2000 Mya Moe Uke that is shipped in from the USA?

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If the shipping is 100 USD the total comes to 2555,44 USD if imported in the Netherlands.

For import into the UK there's 3.2% import duty and 20% Tax. I'm not sure exactly how it's calculated but I assumed the 3.2% on $2000 and the 20% on the total with shipping added. This came to 2596.80 USD It will be a little more if you assume the 3.2% is on the cost of the instrument + shipping so as a ball park figure it's 2600 USD.

For Germany, it is 19% VAT and 3-something% (probably 3.2% like in the UK) import tax for musical instruments. Noteworthy is that the 19% VAT is applied to the shipping and insurance fees as well, not only to the instrument's value. That had struck me as obscure, but apparently it is rightful. The value of gifts cannot exceed around €45, meaning you cannot bypass the costs by saying something is a gift.

Mivo said:

...Noteworthy is that the 19% VAT is applied to the shipping and insurance fees as well, not only to the instrument's value. That had struck me as obscure, but apparently it is rightful.

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I think that must be common as it's true for the UK and that was the basis of my calculation. My uncertainty was how the 3.2% import duty should be applied.

We have a similar rule for gifts. From the USA it's 50 USD. My daughter recently lost out as some friends in the USA had sent her a quilt they had made and declared its value as 100USD and she had to pay VAT though not the 3.2% import duty which has a higher threshold.

Mivo said:

For Germany, it is 19% VAT and 3-something% (probably 3.2% like in the UK) import tax for musical instruments. Noteworthy is that the 19% VAT is applied to the shipping and insurance fees as well, not only to the instrument's value. That had struck me as obscure, but apparently it is rightful. The value of gifts cannot exceed around €45, meaning you cannot bypass the costs by saying something is a gift.

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Correct. Plus very often when import tax is involved, the shipping company can claim fixed claims for handling and even pre-financing your tax, which raised the price even higher. A 2000 $ ukulele with 150 $ worth of shipment and insurance can thus run an extra tax of around 473 $ and usually something like an extra 50-80 $ of tax handling by the carrier company. So bringing in a 2000 $ ukulele to the EU by mail can cost around 500-700 $. One can moan about that, but then again it's unavoidable unless you bring it in as luggage (which technically is the same, but remains under the radar).

Note that Norway, Switzerland and most of former Yugoslavia are not part of the shared tax zone of the EU - if your package crosses those borders, there will be import duties.

This means that the dollar price of a ukulele does not look as attractive once you have added in shipping and tax.

A standard Flea, for example, is priced at $189. Direct conversion to GBP at present exchange rates gives approx. £130GB. Southern Ukulele Store in England sell them for £179GB. Once you've added in shipping tax and import duty you're not going to get it much, if any cheaper than buying from a UK outlet and buying from a local outlet saves a whole load of hassle in dealing with importing the instrument. The only advantage of buying a Flea direct from the USA is that you can choose from the whole selection of different designs and patterns as UK retailers only tend to stock a limited range. A similar argument applies to buying more expensive instruments from an outlet like Hawaii Music Supplies; they will carry a range of instruments that are not so easy to find locally. OTOH, there are brands available here that are not found elsewhere, though they mostly tend to be low to mid price instruments. However there are also quality small makers in Europe who produce custom instruments as good as you'll find anywhere and often at surprising reasonable prices.

My understanding on VAT, confirmed via eBay is that- "If the seller is a private individual selling their own used property in the EU or UK then no VAT is payable." This is because VAT on the new item was presumed paid on the final retail sale of the new item to the individual.

Dealers are subject to different rules, depending upon their size. So, my read is, if you are selling a used personal ukulele, then there should be no VAT required to be collected.

Non-EU countries may require the payment of import duties on initial import, even if the item is used. The gift exclusions from import duties are usually quite low.

There are some dangers regarding vintage instruments due to CITIES woods and materials.

Tootler said:

This means that the dollar price of a ukulele does not look as attractive once you have added in shipping and tax.

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Yep. I didn't know about the low amount permitted for gifts when I had imported my custom/spec tenor, so the total ended up much higher than I had anticipated. It was worth it, but I learned from it that unless it's something very specific that I want, and really can't find a substitute, I'll buy ukuleles within the EU.

For example, the Opio Concert that I plan on getting costs $405 at HMS, and €499 locally in Germany (free shipping). $405 is €367 as of right now. So at the first glance it's much cheaper buying it from the US. But once you add VAT, import tax, insurance, the fee the postman takes for collecting duties, and international shipping costs, you arrive at pretty much the same or higher price, without the conveniences of buying locally (can return it within 14 days without having to pay return shipping, and you have it a day later). It's closer or even favorable when you get free international shipping, but that requires a higher purchase amount than the Opio in my example, and few places offer it.

This also removes a good chunk of temptation from the second hand offers here on the marketplace posted by non-EU members. That severely limits the choices when it comes to buying used, but there are advantages to that, too.

It would seem that the only advantage in buying 'overseas' and shipping it in is if you are buying a 2nd hand custom that would never be available locally.

Talking about agents collecting a fee to process your imported instrument, you should watch them very carefully. You would think that they are the 'experts' on customs law but often they are not.
I once imported a National Resophonic guitar from the USA to Oz. The seller hadn't ever shipped anything overseas and found that UPS and Fedex were horrifically expensive. I found a better method and looked up the Australian customs laws regarding the importation of such an instrument. Strangely resophonic guitars were duty free but ordinary acoustic and electric guitars weren't. I had the seller quote the particular customs regulation that indicated duty free status on the shipping label. When it got here I received a bill from the customs agent wanting to be paid back for the duty which they had paid on my behalf. I refused pointing out that they were obviously no expert in their field as no duty was payable on my import . I never heard from them again.

hollisdwyer said:

It would seem that the only advantage in buying 'overseas' and shipping it in is if you are buying a 2nd hand custom that would never be available locally.

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I sort of (not always, just right now) think that customs are a bit of an exception in general, especially if you are somewhat of a collector, or you really admire a luthier. For example (an extreme case one), if I really wanted a Moore Bettah, because they are no doubt among the finest ukuleles available, with unique inlays, made by a super-nice guy (whose only fault, though admittedly a substantial one, seems to be that he prefers dogs to cats), the additional costs probably wouldn't matter. If it's a MB I want, and I could afford it and I'm willing to wait a year or three, the extra 25-30% in costs would just need to be swallowed.

With the better factory stuff, though, and even K brands, you can get them for the same, or less, directly in EU too, even if you may have a smaller selection or may have to wait longer. I talked to Andreas David, who imports and sells KoAloha in Germany, about some of KoAloha's less common models -- he'd order them with his next shipment, but that would be months off. Similar situation with Kamaka, there's only one European distributor and they only keep a relatively small stock with only occasional new shipments (probably when it's worthwhile to rent a freight container and such).

In a way, I like it. To a degree it prevents impulse buys and/or makes you look into alternatives you might not otherwise have considered. Europe does have some great luthiers, too. (I really need to get a Brüko, they are made about two car hours from where I live.)

I'm glad I looked in to local Luthiers too Mivo. I am very happy with my Barron River 8 string. However there are a lot of overseas builders that I would love to have access to without the extra costs.