Could anyone shed any light on this? As far as I know VAT and Import tax is applicable to any item over the value of ?18 imported from non-EC countries. So would it still apply if I were to buy a 2nd hand camera from an individual in the states? Or say I bought one from ebay etc.... would I end up getting stitched up by the costs?
If I'm not able to buy from abroad the best camera I could afford would only be a Sony DCRTRV19 - can anything worthwhile be filmed with a camera like that, or would I end up selling it as soon as possible to buy something else? The video quality sounds good for a single CCD camera, and it is my 1st camera afterall so it's likely my poor lighting skills etc will make my films look crappy and amateur anyways, but how much of a difference is there between a camera like that and say the DCRTRV900 (which is what i'm looking for 2nd hand)?
The manual control options on the DCRTRV19 sound limited and I'm worried that there'd not be alot I could do creatively with that camera?
Hi Wu,
Sadly you are right about the import duties for items from non-EU countries. There are two options for high-value items: 1) you have the sender send it to you and risk it, or 2) you take a cheap flight to the US and pick it up and bring it back.
The "risk it" option works reasonably regularly because Customs just can't look at every piece of mail coming in. If you do try this route, make sure your sender uses regular US Mail rather than DHL, UPS, FedEx etc as these companies will "conveniently" pay the duties for you then bill you prior to delivery. With regular mail, you at least have a chance of getting it through. Also, it might be worth asking your seller if they'd mind issuing you an invoice with a lower value than the purchase price, as this will reduce the duty if you do get done. Finally, ask that they send any insurance documents separately (as these can also be used to determine value for the purposes of tax).
The second option isn't as silly as it sounds. Depending on where the seller is, for a larger ticket item the plane fare may be considerably cheaper than the duty. You can get a return to New York/Washington/Boston for under ?200 these days.
Finally, have you considered that the camera in question might be NTSC rather than PAL? In which case, you're wasting your time if you want to use it in the UK. See the other thread in this forum on NTSC cameras.
Ben C
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filmmaking.net
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Please note the opinions expressed here are those of the author only and do not constitute legal advice. The author cannot accept and liability whatsoever for inaccurate or outdated information contained within.
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Benjamin Craig
Editor-in-Chief, filmmaking.net
You also have to take into account the fact that America uses a different voltage to the UK, which means you will have to pay yet more money for a power converter.
