 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: crusius
Date: 2019-05-30 08:11
Hi all,
I'm thinking about buying a clarinet from overseas (about $2-$3k) and have it shipped to the US. Does anybody know what the customs duty is? Thanks!
Edit: found it right after I posted this (of course): The duty is 4.9% (https://hts.usitc.gov/?query=clarinet)
Post Edited (2019-05-30 08:15)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sonicbang
Date: 2019-05-30 11:09
4.9?? Lucky you... Every single time I buy something from the US I have to pay 27% tax + 2% customs fee. Even after the shipping cost! Living in Hungary is so much fun.
Mark
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: John Peacock
Date: 2019-05-30 12:48
Same problem in the UK. The duty is "only" 4.9%, but then you have to pay VAT on top of that at the standard tax rate of 20%. To add insult to injury, the VAT is charged on the total+duty. And they charge you based on item plus shipping costs. So if you have, say, a $500 instrument with $50 shipping, the total charge is $142, which amounts to a 28.5% markup on the cost of the instrument. I'd be surprised if the US didn't have the same problem: they charge the duty just because they can get away with extortion - but the tax has some logic to it. If you would pay sales tax when buying something in the US, then for sure customs will apply an equivalent charge when you import things.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2019-05-30 16:55
28.5% - I knew it amounted to more than 25% we were getting stung for in the UK when buying both new and USED instruments from outside the EU, but didn't realise it was that much. It's scandalous we're being charged that for buying used stuff.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sonicbang
Date: 2019-05-31 00:19
If VAT wasn't apply for used products, I guess everybody would sell their stuff unpacked and marked as used😁
Mark
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: crusius
Date: 2019-06-06 23:33
So I pulled the trigger, and the clarinet package has now been in the KY warehouse for a week, being scanned daily. I guess it is waiting for customs to do something with it.
Does anybody who went through this remember how long the process took?
Post Edited (2019-06-06 23:33)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Lowry
Date: 2019-06-07 00:02
Took a week for a clarinet arriving from South America, from a country with no US tariff ... still had to clear customs, though.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: oian
Date: 2019-06-07 21:00
A couple years ago I bought a used Contra Alto Clarinet from Canada (I live in the U.S.). After a week I called customs and was told the item couldn't be located , but that it was probably waiting to be processed somewhere. A couple of weeks later it showed up, fortunately there were no custom fees/taxes charged. It seems odd that you can order something from China with very low shipping charges (usually less than point to point in the U.S.) with no duty or taxes!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
