Import duty and tax on bringing in a cpap from us to uk

This may have been discussed already but does anyone have any experience, good or bad on importing a cpap?
Any tips or things to watch out for?
I know uk HMRC is pretty hot at the moment but I feel overwhelmed by the legal speak on all of their websites and cannot figure out where I stand in terms of charges.

All advice gratefully received.
Cheers

Can you call and talk to someone?

If it's shipped from a business you will likely get taxed. If it's shipped by a friend and marked as used you MAY get way with it. It's a bit of a lottery.

This takes you right to the relevant page of the UK government website:

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

This is from a site which gives advice on shipping and importing for small businesses:

http://www.shippo.co.uk/faqs/what-dutie ... ve-to-pay/

If you scroll down, you will find a worked example.

As to the gift suggestion - please don't anyone get their hopes up. There are clear rules about what counts as a gift, and this is clearly not a gift.

Or you could smuggle it.
I mean, if you have traveled to the US to buy it, simply unpack it and carry it in your carry-on,
minus any packaging (of course). If you brought along an older model, have a companion carry it.
I assume this is for your own personal use, not for resale.
If you are selling it, then pay the taxes.

chunkyfrog wrote:Or you could smuggle it.
.

We used to get cheese from the Netherlands. A cousin of friends was a flight attendant and we would all pitch in a buy wheel of cheese that he would bring back in his luggage. Eventually the "club" got so big he started an import business and made it legit. We all still got a good deal since it was at cost.

I would suggest that the seller might run/use the unit for 20 minutes or so prior to shipping it and by doing so, it can honestly/accurately be declared as "used" goods. (but only if that distinction will make a difference in duty fees) Also, maybe send the tags-manuals- asst. ephemera in a separate packet, too.

All good advice thank you. I am going ahead and will provide update on the outcome. Many thanks all.

Old thread but maybe it will be read.

It seems that CPAP machines should be subject to zero import duty rate:

Import tariffs are always a slightly grey (gray!) area since there is a qualitative choice.

To me it seems that they would best fit within category 9019200000: "Ozone therapy, oxygen therapy, aerosol therapy, artificial respiration or other therapeutic respiration apparatus"
https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff/commodi ... &year=2016

Ie they would be artificial respiration or perhaps "other therapeutic respiration apparatus".

Which is zero 0 % VAT / import duty from a 3rd party non-EU country (ie America).

INteresting!

Thank you.
A useful addition to the thread.

I've traveled to many countries with my CPAP. It was never questioned as far as duties or other taxation are concerned. The included a number of E.U. countries (the U.K. is still E.U. at this time). It was not even questioned when I traveled to and returned from Cuba with a special license in 2003.

D.H. wrote:I've traveled to many countries with my CPAP. It was never questioned as far as duties or other taxation are concerned. The included a number of E.U. countries (the U.K. is still E.U. at this time). It was not even questioned when I traveled to and returned from Cuba with a special license in 2003.

Go back under your rock - this is NOT about travel but about purchasing.

the almost guaranteed way where you can avoid paying the taxes is to fly to the US, get the vendor to mail the item to your hotel, and u hand carry it back on the flight.

Throw away any shipping boxes to avoid any questions at the customs. 1 machine should be fine, but 2 or more might invite some questions and u might be slapped with a fine for not declaring ur purchases.

While u r there, might as well take the chance to buy additional masks/accessories/expandables.

BlackSpinner wrote:

D.H. wrote:I've traveled to many countries with my CPAP. It was never questioned as far as duties or other taxation are concerned. The included a number of E.U. countries (the U.K. is still E.U. at this time). It was not even questioned when I traveled to and returned from Cuba with a special license in 2003.

Go back under your rock - this is NOT about travel but about purchasing.

Really! I re-read all the posts, and this is not in any way clear! The only reason one might possibly conclude this is that the original title contains the word "import."


I assume that an American doctor treated you and prescribed CPAP, and that you lawfully obtained it in the U.S. Obviously, it was fully paid by insurance, fully paid out-of-pocket, or (most likely) somewhere in-between. Given that it was prescribed by an American doctor and that you were a resident of the U.S. at the time, I can't imagine that there would be any duty or other taxation would apply!

D.H. wrote:


I assume that an American doctor treated you and prescribed CPAP, and that you lawfully obtained it in the U.S. Obviously, it was fully paid by insurance, fully paid out-of-pocket, or (most likely) somewhere in-between. Given that it was prescribed by an American doctor and that you were a resident of the U.S. at the time, I can't imagine that there would be any duty or other taxation would apply!

You know what that means........