Tom Curry Guitars

Import Guitar

February 5th, 2006

Import Guitar

I want to import a bass guitar from the US- import charges.?

I am a bassist and I am in the process of buying a new bass guitar. However the make of bass I have chosen is American.
I need to know what charges would be payable on the bass, which is worth around £240 in sterling.
Can anyone simply explain to me import charges in the UK? Is there anyway of calculating the charges before I place my final order.
I don’t want to place an order then find out the bass is going to cost more than I expected.

Customs will treat a bass guitar as an electric guitar for import purposes. The TARIC code for electric guitars is 9207901000 and the import duty is 3.7%.

Then you will have to pay VAT (17.5%) on the imported bass.

Make sure it is packed in a flight case (you may have to pay extra for this). Make sure that the price quoted is a final cost. In the USA quoted prices often exclude local sales taxes which will be added to the bill. Check shipping costs and method of shipping, and how long it will take.

By the time you have bought the bass, paid for the shipping costs, insured it and paid the duty and VAT you will not make much of a saving over UK shop prices. This of course is not an issue if the bass you want is not available in the UK.

You will also have to wait for it to be shipped over to the UK.

Don’t forget to insure the bass as it is very possible it will be damaged, even if properly packed in a flight case.

If you let me know what bass you are getting, I will see if I can find a UK source to get a comparison cost.