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Brexit and vat.

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colinm

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Does anyone know for certain the rules regarding vat on second hand accordions bought from europe by uk citizens and imported.
 
I don’t know the reason, but in my recent online accordion shopping I did notice that the prices of some new Italian accordions advertised in the UK are significantly (50-70%) higher than the price of buying the same instrument from a US dealer. That surprised me.
 
The damage caused by the Brexiteers is becoming more evident by the day. The only surprise is the surprise of those who didn't see the coming damage.
VAT on importing instruments is Accordion chat. Brexit in general is politics. I come here for stuff about accordions and music.
 
VAT on importing instruments is Accordion chat. Brexit in general is politics. I come here for stuff about accordions and music.
Additional charges on accordions imported into Britain from other countries is a very important financial issue for everyone in the UK looking at buying an instrument from outside the UK. So it is an important accordion matter. I for instance follow the "Accordions for Sale" facebook group and specifically only look at offers from within the EU because then there is no issue with VAT or import duties (on used accordions).
 
Accordion chat:
Since the changes I no longer look at the accordion market in France, the CBA market in the UK is probably no more than a few dozen instruments - many of which were built with the Scottish market in mind, access to sheet music in Europe is now seriously curtailed, in theory there is a minimum spend for VAT to be an issue - in practice many small firms have simply left the market. The after-sales support for my French-bought 'box' is now much more unsure and costly.
The consequences of Brexit as far as my love of accordions and their music is not political - it's cultural, social and financial.
I hope we shall not be barred from discussing consequences under the spurious notion that the subject is political and therefore outside the compass of this wonderful community.
Personally I feel cut off from a culture with which I had a deep and enduring relationship. I resent this deeply, cannot imagine 'getting over it' and believe me, taking back control is pretty bleak from where I'm sitting.
 
I have a lot of sympathy with what you say Richard.

There is a fine line. For example does one say "spurious notion" or does one say "I do not agree that..."
 
The damage caused by the Brexiteers is becoming more evident by the day. The only surprise is the surprise of those who didn't see the coming damage.
It's an overtly political statement about the alleged 'damage' caused by 'Brexiteers', there may be a forum appropriate for such comments however this forum is about Accordions and should remain apolitical.

I'd prefer to read about the current trading arrangements rather than folks carping on about an historical event where their wishes were over ridden , rightly, by those in the majority.

Let's get on and move forward.
 
20%???? Wow, that's crazy! I think I paid about 2% "duty" here in the US on my first accordion from Italy.
 
Unsure but will VAT not be dependant on the EU state VAT treshold per seller?
 
Unsure but will VAT not be dependant on the EU state VAT treshold per seller?
I don't think so. But I don't know the UK rules. The Dutch rules for importing anything from a non-EU country is that there is one single threshold of 22 euro above which you pay VAT. There is also a threshold of 150 euro above which you also pay an import duty. The 22 euro threshold ends on July 1, 2021 after which you always pay VAT on non-EU import.
UK will have different rules, but it is likely that VAT and perhaps also import duty must be paid on accordions imported from Europe, which essentially means that people in the UK will think twice about buying a used accordion in Europe...
I have rarely bought any used items from other countries, but I did buy two pre-owned accordions abroad (further away than Belgium), so I understand why import duty issues are especially important for musicians.
 
Even the price of new accordions in the UK seems high. The new accordion I bought earlier this year for the equivalent price of £4,000 in the US (including shipping) is listed at around £7,000 (plus shipping) on the internet store of at least two common UK accordion outlets.
 
I think the economic consequences of the political decisions speak for themselves. I recently bought instruments from Italy: 20% VAT plus 3% admin charges at customs from the carrier, and stuck at Stansted for a month whilst paperwork was sorted.

Pre-brexit they arrived within three days and no admin or delays.....the effects of recent political decisions are having serious consequences even in our field.
 
I had a look of french laws since brexit to import second hand products from England and i found something that might be interesting, but i'm not sure it's still possible the other way around :

No customs tax apply under 135€ (yeah, i know, just work for small accessories)
Over, a TVA + custom fees apply

However, there's a very interesting exception. If the products is "Made in England", no cutoms fees apply due to a to an import-export agreement between Europe and United Kingdom. You need to be able to prove the origin of the instrument (with a certificate). I don't know for you guys, but maybe you can ask United Kingdom customs if that exception applies. If you buy second hand with no certificate, maybe you can ask directly the manufacturer for a certificate and save at least the customs fees.

You can ask me for official contacts for french manufacturers contact if needed :)
 
Thanks for that information BertrandB, yes the £135 exemption applies here.
I assume your TVA is our VAT and that is 20%, customs fees i think are about 5%, so its the VAT that is the deal killer
cm
 
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