Exporting furniture to Europe, custom fees, general dubious behaviour.

[Citracal]

Comrades in tools,

Hoping someone might have some information/advice on the situation in which I find myself. Have a family friend in The Netherlands (I'm in Scotland) who is eager for a particular table. Now I'm sure he could find a maker over there to do it for him but he knows I'm starting out and would like to help me out. It is just work on the side, I don't have a legitimate business, but probably about 7-8k worth of work so I'm definitely eager to do the job. The making is not the issue, it's the getting it there.

How have people been getting on here with exporting to Europe? What sort of import fees are clients having to pay on furniture?

Would it be easier to just deliver it myself via ferry and treat it like a holiday?

Any information would be helpful, thank you all!

Alex

 

[imageel]

I'd deffo go with with the holiday scenario - it's a one off, can't imagine anyone at customs will kick up a fuss.
I suspect doing it via official routes would be a nightmare of red tape and ending up costing you big-time..

 

[Distinterior]

I'd deffo go with with the holiday scenario - it's a one off, can't imagine anyone at customs will kick up a fuss.
I suspect doing it via official routes would be a nightmare of red tape and ending up costing you big-time..

So, hypothetically, let's assume Citracal has booked his Channel crossing, driven down all the way from Scotland and he turns up in a van large enough to transport £8000 worth of table he has made, but hasn't applied for or got the relevant paperwork for exporting it from the UK or Importing it into the EU .....Can you possibly imagine how long he may end up sitting at the departure point whilst trying to get the relevant clearance paperwork....?

To suggest that the UK Customs and EU Customs are just going to wave him through with a smile and a " Bonnes Vacances", is , to say the least, wishful thinking.....

That's going to be some holiday treat!

 

[Adam W.]

I would suggest going on a holiday to Holland and making the table there with local stuff.

 

[MF1000]

https://www.gov.uk/export-goods

 

[Steliz]

Take it yourself. If you are asked, do not say that you are delivering it to a customer. It is your table and you are moving it to another address. Another point to make, if you are asked, is that it is more than 6 months old.
When I moved house I paid a mover and I had to complete the paperwork that listed all of the items and stated that it was all mine and was more than 6 months old. No problems at customs.

 

[Citracal]

Yeah taking it myself might be out of the question just due to the potential ball ache that it could wind up being.

I'd deffo go with with the holiday scenario - it's a one off, can't imagine anyone at customs will kick up a fuss.
I suspect doing it via official routes would be a nightmare of red tape and ending up costing you big-time..

I've definitely done this before for smaller things but sort of hard to hide a dining table amongst your belonging.

So, hypothetically, let's assume Citracal has booked his Channel crossing, driven down all the way from Scotland and he turns up in a van large enough to transport £8000 worth of table he has made, but hasn't applied for or got the relevant paperwork for exporting it from the UK or Importing it into the EU .....Can you possibly imagine how long he may end up sitting at the departure point whilst trying to get the relevant clearance paperwork....?

To suggest that the UK Customs and EU Customs are just going to wave him through with a smile and a " Bonnes Vacances", is , to say the least, wishful thinking.....

That's going to be some holiday treat!

"Bonnes Vacances" got a good laugh out of me

Take it yourself. If you are asked, do not say that you are delivering it to a customer. It is your table and you are moving it to another address. Another point to make, if you are asked, is that it is more than 6 months old.
When I moved house I paid a mover and I had to complete the paperwork that listed all of the items and stated that it was all mine and was more than 6 months old. No problems at customs.

Personal belongings more than 6 months old can be transferred free of import fees but you need to provide proof of residence in the EU country they are being sent to.

Has anyone on here actually exported furniture legitimately from the UK to a client in the EU? It's absolutely possible of course but mostly I'm curious as to what sort of import fees to expect on top of tax.

https://www.gov.uk/export-goods

Thank you that is informative!

 

[Inspector]

Curious if the relative did the holiday instead and brought the table back themselves if the importing would be any easier? Just bringing a gift from the family back sir.

Pete

 

[MF1000]

There is a limit on bringing ‘gifts’ back of around £250 as I recall

 

[Distinterior]

It's such a shame we are no longer a member of the EU, as transporting this type of item across EU borders wouldn't have been a problem then......Oh, wait a minute..!!..??

 

[Noel]

Out of interest what wood is the table made from? Locally harvested/sourced or from elsewhere?

 

[Inspector]

There is a limit on bringing ‘gifts’ back of around £250 as I recall

I kind of figure the relatives would have to pay taxes etc when they got home but thought all the export/import paperwork might be less of a hassle if needed at all.

Pete

 

[pgrbff]

If i buy anything from the uk i am charged local, italian, vat and duty if the item was not manufactured in the uk. The small items fiends bring me in their car are not discovered. I imagine you will have to produce an invoice and the lower the value the less vat will have to be paid. Call a local shipping company and ask them for a quote, ask them how it works and then say it might be cheaper if you take it yourself. You will need your relatives eori or tax code. I imagine the shipping company might do the paperwork for you for a fee. I have helped friends buy large items like cars so i have a fair idea.

 

[themack]

I think it will give you a headache not worth having. If you export certain woods, you need a phytosanitary report, even if it's already been made into a table. You live in Scotland or Lake District (according to your mini profile), so it's a fair trek in any case. Consider ferry/tunnel and petrol/diesel cost, time and then the nailbiting, nerve wrecking wait at customs in Dover.
Perhaps building it there is the best option.

 

[pgrbff]

I'm not sure if customs will be able to determine exactly what wood the table is made of and I'm not sure there are that many phytosanitary restrictions on timber, again ask the shipper. I have just imported some Goncalo Alves and Pau Rosa I bought from eBay using ups to ship. I gave them the tariff code and everything went OK. Just make sure the wood isn't cites listed, do a Google search. It really isn't that complicated. Maybe call a company like Brooklands International Freight Services Ltd Airport House, I used them in the past and even got a refund when things went pear-shaped.

 

[Ashcraftwoodturning]

I recently supplied a spinning wheel bobbin to a customer in Holland. The timber I used was beech from B&Q that had a FSC sticker on it. I asked Dutch authorities if that would suffice. They, very helpfully said it goes partway but did not elaborate!
B&Q were very helpful and printed out 2 certificates relating to FSC compliance. I produced a delivery note showing species of timber, Latin name, fsc documentation and other bs including the words 'clean and processed'.
Also the value. As that was below €150 it did not attract their vat. I believe it had to undergo phytosanitary inspection on import. It got through without much problem. I later had more info from B&Q giving me details of the forest in Poland where the timber was felled, so I'll know next time and add that.
From what I can make out, the tax is paid their side as are any inspection fees.
Good luck.

 

[CaptainBudget]

As a "hands-off" approach to export I would suggest contacting a company called Davies Turner; my employer is a small/medium sized manufacturer and we use them precisely for this reason. They've done everything from small boxes to 1.5T pallets and take care of everything.

There are two ways of doing this, DAP (delivered at place) where you pay them, and the recipient has to pay the local tax (you charge no VAT).

DDP is where you pay the import tax and bill the recipient (Davies Turner will include the tax in their quote but would need a value for the finished item).

I have found them to be very reasonable and extremely helpful, they should help you out with all the paperwork, etc. (it's just a few specific lines on the delivery note/invoice)

Hope this helps

 

[Nick.]

It will likely depend on how closely you are looked at at the border control (I know that's stating the obvious, but vans are probably more likely to be checked depending on how busy they are)
Anecdotally a colleague had a nightmare visiting Ireland recently - all paperwork in order for sample machines in back of van to show customers (show/bring back & not sell), but it was his personal tool kit that they spent ages on to ascertain if it was for sale or not... It's not easy if you are stopped.