Importing Cameras from US

[unexposure]

Hey there,

I was wondering how many Euros one can save when importing a camera(Body) from US to Germany. I don't really get it how the math on tollfees etc. works.
Only real thing I found out, is that 19% tax gets ontop of the buying price. But I don't really understand the TARIC-thing.

Has anyone here experience in this and may help?

[Sebastian]

No need to bother with custom fees, the import tax will already make the whole thing unattractive.

Just a little example:

• The 5D Mk2 is currently sold at 2,499.95 USD at B&H.
• The cheapest way of shipping to Germany at B&H will add 59.25 USD on that, making it 2,559.20 USD in total.
• 2,559.20 USD currently equal 2,012.90 EUR
• Add 19% import tax on that and you get 2,395.35 EUR. (Yes, you also have to pay the import tax for shipping costs.)
• Now compare this to local prices in Germany: Surprise, surprise, you'll get the 5D Mk2 for around 1,900 EUR from reliable internet dealers.

Regards,

Sebastian

[unexposure]

No need to bother with custom fees, the import tax will already make the whole thing unattractive.

Just a little exampe:
...

Regards,

Sebastian

Thanks a lot Sebastian.

I had my calculation based on the pricing for 60D. (1099$ + ~60$ shipping)*0,19 tax still sums up at around 100€ below european price. So I was wondering if there would be such a custom fee.

[Sebastian]

I had my calculation based on the pricing for 60D. (1099$ + ~60$ shipping)*0,19 tax still sums up at around 100€ below european price. So I was wondering if there would be such a custom fee.

I guess(!) "9006 59" should be the proper TARIC code for digital SLRs which results in a customs duty of 4.20%.

For your 60D, this would mean ((1099$ + 4.20%) + 60$) + 19% ~= 1434$ ~= 1123€ (or maybe even ((1099$ + 60$) + 4.20% + 19% ~= 1437$ ~= 1126€ - I'm not totally sure on this) which is above the current German 1150€ street price.
On top of that, when buying in Germany, you won't have to bother with your customs office and won't run into hassle in case of a warranty issue.


HTH,

Sebastian

PS: You would buy cheaper if you buy the camera in a local store in the US on a holiday or business trip and bring it back without declaring at the airport customs. On the other hand, this would be illegal (evasion of taxes)...

[unexposure]

Thanks for that! The 4.2% was the number I was missing. So it's not really a deal for me.

[DetlevCM]

Hey there,

I was wondering how many Euros one can save when importing a camera(Body) from US to Germany. I don't really get it how the math on tollfees etc. works.
Only real thing I found out, is that 19% tax gets ontop of the buying price. But I don't really understand the TARIC-thing.

Has anyone here experience in this and may help?

Try Switzerland might be a better option. I once got a suggestion to use digitec.ch - but they don't ship to Germany and I wasn't planning on going there.
But it might be a better option.

Edit:
And you can possibly get back Swiss taxes too EEA and you can do tax free shopping

[fl_dutch]

You also might want to take a look in the netherlands: www.kameraexpress.nl - they are always cheap. But with body pricing there are no big differences between germany and other countries at the moment because of the cheap euro. If it comes to the big white ones, that might be another story...

[Grummbeerbauer]

Try Switzerland might be a better option. I once got a suggestion to use digitec.ch - but they don't ship to Germany and I wasn't planning on going there.
But it might be a better option.

Edit:
And you can possibly get back Swiss taxes too EEA and you can do tax free shopping

And you would have to pay duties and import VAT since Switzerland is not part of the EU... so the same considerations apply.

But with body pricing there are no big differences between germany and other countries at the moment because of the cheap euro. If it comes to the big white ones, that might be another story...

I think it is not so much the Euro being cheap, but the Yen being excessively expensive... which is causing big trouble for the Japanese industry... after all, not all market segments seem to take price increases justified with "currency issues" as lightly as us stupid photographer folks.

[DetlevCM]

Try Switzerland might be a better option. I once got a suggestion to use digitec.ch - but they don't ship to Germany and I wasn't planning on going there.
But it might be a better option.

Edit:
And you can possibly get back Swiss taxes too EEA and you can do tax free shopping

And you would have to pay duties and import VAT since Switzerland is not part of the EU... so the same considerations apply.

But with body pricing there are no big differences between germany and other countries at the moment because of the cheap euro. If it comes to the big white ones, that might be another story...

I think it is not so much the Euro being cheap, but the Yen being excessively expensive... which is causing big trouble for the Japanese industry... after all, not all market segments seem to take price increases justified with "currency issues" as lightly as us stupid photographer folks.

-> Not so sure about import duties.
Switzerland is part of the European Economic Area - and you definitely do not pay import duties on stuff bought in Norway (also non-EU but EEA).
If you import a camera commercially then maybe, but privately, i doubt it. Additionally, you could easily buy it in Switzerland use it for a couple of days and then bring back as a used item

[futzy]

Just to be sure.. there is NO import duty on camera bodies to Slovenia which is a part of EU.

0% on body but there is a duty on lenses and anything else... So KIT is a problem since if you do not have a receipt
for body and extra lens you pay duty. But just bodies are not taxed.
You pay only VAT. And I guess it's the same for all EU countries.

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/measures.jsp?Lang=en&SimDate=20110217&Area=US&Taric=8525803000&LangDescr=en

For lenses: 6.7% duty...
http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/measures.jsp?Lang=en&SimDate=20110217&Area=US&Taric=9002110050&LangDescr=en

[AmbientLight]

Switzerland may actually be your best option, because the Swiss government has a trade agreement with Japan, making imported Japanese products somewhat cheaper than elsewhere.

Problematic is only that you will lose some of the benefits once you have to go through customs with your new gear. Tax back is also not a big factor in Switzerland, because Swiss VAT is comparatively low.

I suggest to visit digitec.ch (they are really good) and compare for yourself.

[leGreve]

Basically it doesn't pay off importing camera gear... in some cases it will even be more expensive.

Customs tax and freight are what you need to take into account. You can't wing this in any way.

For people in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Australia and Ireland:

Check out:
http://www.shopusa.com/shopusa

They will handle everything for you in regards to customs, tax and freight. You don't have to worry about a thing. I wont go into depths explaining the concept, only say that I saved a bundle ordering Pelicases from the US west coast, having them sent to my ShopUSA postbox and then to Denmark.

[AmbientLight]

The information I have posted above has become outdated.

Prices in the Eurozone compared to Switzerland have aligned in such a way that I now find myself importing gear from Germany into Switzerland. This made sense for me for more expensive gear. I managed to save almost a thousand Swiss Franks in one deal (including tax back and customs).

Of course in such a market situation you can safely forget trying to import anything from Switzerland to Germany, where you would have to pay extra at customs.

[Albi86]

One thing is not clear to me:

If I go to Switzerland to pick the stuff personally, how can they demonstrate it wasn't mine already?

Let's put it the other way around: I go to Switzerland and I get checked at the douane. They will find my smartphone, my laptop, etc etc. They are my personal effects bought in my home country, I won't have to pay fees to carry them with me in Switzerland. Now imagine I go back to my country: how can they proove I bought my camera there and didn't have it with me when I arrived?

[AmbientLight]

For proper tax procedures you will need to bring a tax back voucher (in Switzerland you won't get much, though), then you have to get that stamped by border police. At the other side of the border checkpoint you will need to pay taxes for importing. Don't try to sneak past that point, because there is often video surveillance. In addition there are frequent controls at all parking spaces and fuel stations in the vicinity of the border (Zollgrenzbezirk). It only makes sense to buy across border in case the combination of price difference and customs procedures make it profitable. As I have stated before, buying professional gear in Germany is currently better for me, while buying cheaper lenses/gear (e.g. CF cards) is not.