Visiting the US, will I have to pay import fees if I buy components there?

[liamathomas7]

So I'm going to the US and I'm think about buying some parts while I'm out there due to the lower costs (than the UK)

If I did this, would I have to pay import/export fees when flying back?

Thanks

 

[madmatt30]

in theory yes,in real life maybe not.
It depends on what components,the way baggage checks & case scans are now you'll likely get pulled at the airport if you don't declare.

This will happen on return to the uk not at the us airport coming back out.

What are we talking about exactly ???

You have a duty free limit of £390,after that import duty is 2.5% & that is 2.5% of the entire cost of any item over the limit not just the difference.

I would declare electricals/components personally that are not freestanding appliances that can be switched on at customs to be shown working - tablets ,phones,mp3 players etc are fine - as long as they're unboxed they cant prove they weren't with you on the way out & already your personal belongings.

https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arrivals-from-outside-the-eu

Not worth the risk of having a £500 gpu confiscated imo.

 

[CountMike]

There's no export fees that I know of, as a matter of fact you can save on taxes if you declare purchase as for export, ask store about it. In USA all prices are shown without taxes which are different by locality.
Once you get back to your country of origin it's all subject to local laws and import taxes.

 

[Evvvvv]

If you unbox it while there, as they said no one can prove if you bought it or not, just put warranty in the wallet or something. Did it once, no one bothered to check anything.

 

[diellur]

You don't have to declare anything when you come back in, although you run the risk of being searched randomly and then having to explain why you didn't declare!

If you're buying parts, it's kind of hard to claim you took them with you - no-one would really travel with their GPU, for example. I would take a few minutes to cost up what you plan to buy, work out the duty on that and then see how much of a saving you could make. You don't want to fall afoul of the authorities, really.

 

[madmatt30]

^ thats the point really I think.

Ive known people to buy components from the usa & make a full working build from them in a case etc. diacardimg all the packaging while over there.
Then claim its a used gift from an american friend or family member if asked.

Your issue is with that £390 limit , if youre going to over that with dwclared items then you pay customs on the total of everything not the difference over £390.

It all depends on what youre actually after buying , apart from maybe ram I dont see anything in the usa that is significantly cheaper than the uk really.

At one point gpu's & cpu's were significantly cheaper in the usa.

At this moment in time though they are not.