Importing Headunits from other countries

Mattitude · 17 Aug 2008 at 13:06

Just wondering the downsides if i were to do this? there are some on the bay and they seem a lot cheaper talking £70.

Dup · 17 Aug 2008 at 13:07

Well, import tax and their radio frequencies are different to the UK so some if not most stations will not work.

Mattitude · 17 Aug 2008 at 14:49

how much has the item got to be to become taxed?

danza · 17 Aug 2008 at 14:54

Over £18 iirc.

Lashout_UK · 17 Aug 2008 at 14:57

Japanese headunits can typically accept UK frequencies if you use a band expander, US headunits don't typically tune in UK intervals and can miss a lot of stations. No workaround for this unless the HU can tune in even intervals (or be modified using factory parts from other European models).

Plus you pay customs charges & import tax/VAT - My HU which was about 90 quid purchase price cost about ~32GBP in total import charges, along those lines.

mejinks · 17 Aug 2008 at 14:57

Mattitude said:
how much has the item got to be to become taxed?

It depends what head unit, some are fine, but generally, you can buy band converters from the bay.

You don't pay tax if it has Happy Birthday written on it

Lashout_UK · 17 Aug 2008 at 14:59

Mejinks, that doesn't work anymore. They'll check anything, even things marked as 'gifts'.

It's just luck of the draw.

Goods sent as a gift are not free of import duties and import VAT. However, customs duty will not be collected if the amount is less than £7, and import VAT is not chargeable if:

- the value of the gift does not exceed £36
- the customs declaration is completed correctly
- the gift has been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in this country
- the gift is for the use of either yourself or your family
- there is no commercial or trade element and the gift has not been paid for either directly or indirectly
- the gift is of an occasional nature only eg for a birthday or anniversary.

We examine postal packages arriving in the UK from outside the EU for prohibited or restricted goods such as drugs, indecent or obscene material, weapons, endangered species and counterfeit goods, and to confirm the description and value stated on the declaration is correct. We also check the customs declaration to determine if customs duty, excise duty and import VAT is chargeable.

We will sometimes need to examine the contents of a package particularly when the sender has not completed the declaration fully. In such cases the opening, repacking and resealing of the package is carried out, under our instruction, by Royal Mail staff.

danza · 17 Aug 2008 at 15:00

mejinks said:
It depends what head unit, some are fine, but generally, you can buy band converters from the bay.

You don't pay tax if it has Happy Birthday written on it

It has to be worth less than £36.

mejinks · 17 Aug 2008 at 15:16

Lashout_UK said:
Mejinks, that doesn't work anymore. They'll check anything, even things marked as 'gifts'.

It's just luck of the draw.

awww bummer. There are some really nice amps I would love to get from America, but being so heavy, im sure they would open them

Mr Footlong · 17 Aug 2008 at 15:35

My last 2 head units I have bought from HK and even after some import duty, I have saved a bundle. I saved almost £300 on my JVC multimedia unit. It came with the standard uk radio bands/ranges supported, no need for nasty band/range expanders/shifters. Make sure you have all the facts about the unit you are buying and you should do fine

.

I can't remember the last time that I didn't get taxed on something coming in, but you can ask/have the option of the package invoice being marked as the item being a lot cheaper than it actually is. Chek the t&c's regarding lost/damaged orders with the buyer though before looking at this option.