Reply With QuoteWish I’d known this 2 weeks ago ...there were no sports watches
on display ,the same with every authorised dealer in Singapore.
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Bar Daytona everything is available. BLNR, hulk, Cameron etc. And below UK RRP. Catch is they aren’t on display but the guy said if I bought a Black Bay they would become available lol. No good to me as 20% UK VAT on top makes it not worth it but for anyone with a looser tax regime in their countries worth bearing in mind. If they say it isn’t available ask if it’s available if you buy a Tudor. Example price £5950 Ish on BLNR. Black bay at £1950 after haggling on the Tudor. So good pricing
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Wish I’d known this 2 weeks ago ...there were no sports watches
on display ,the same with every authorised dealer in Singapore.
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Interesting. I am in Kuwait this week so might take the opportunity to have a look and see what the dealers have there.
Worry is it will be all diamond-encrusted bling!
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Damn it , i’d actually buy both if I was there .
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That's odd, my wife was there last week and asked and they said they had nothing... basically laughed in her face... ready to make purchase there and then.
How often do people get stung for the VAT when flying home with a new watch? I can't remember the last time I saw somebody actually working in Customs in Edinburgh.
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If the Customs Officals are anything like the people who worked in the Department that I was with for 34 years they will spend most of their days in meetings with consultants who resemble failed applicants for The Apprentice pouring over 70 page project documents on how to make a perfectly good computer system fail - as that is seen as progress and good value for money.Originally Posted by henk
Walk through nothing to declare guys, no one gives a toss.
Last edited by Wallasey Runner; 19th November 2017 at 17:26.
I was stopped by customs at Heathrow just today after that flight back from Doha! Luckily I had nothing untoward but the lesson is always pay the VAT.
Serious question Ryan, What exactly do they do? Lock you in the bays when walking out of the airport and check your wrists?
No in my case they were doing mass checks. They asked me and others to follow them to another room. Asked where I'd been. Did I know rules 're not bringing in drugs, excess tobacco, alcohol, meat items, purchases over £390. Did I pack my bags? Did I know what was in there? Then they checked them. Only thing is bought were some Sony noise cancelling headphones in Singapore and that was around £300 So less than the limit.
Point is if I'd had watches in there at the least of have had to pay the VAT. And if I'd not declared them they could have confiscated them or prosecuted. It's not worth it - On a Rolex we are talking over a grand in VAT being evaded. If you'd gone to a shop and nicked a grand worth of stuff you could expect to get hammered by the law and so it's maybe a good idea to adopt the same approach 're VAT.
Unlikely they'd ask about anything on your wrist but if you had boxes in there you'd definitely have to explain
Ryan from this forum i have guessed that you travel frequently in and out of the country.
I am in the same position in that over the last 5 years i have been to Spain over 50 times and as a result i am often stopped coming back in to Manchester and asked about cigs/alcohol etc even though i don't bring any back even though the cigs would pay for my flights.
I now think i am on a database and would not consider bringing a watch back although as the prices are now higher in Spain it hasn't been a recent problem.
Surely as Spain and the UK are part of the EU ( for now) you could buy a watch and bring it home without a problem ?
Sorry yes you can BUT you have to provide the paperwork to show you have paid the tax in Spain if you are stopped and some of the dealers in and around Marbella could be a little discreet with the amount paid for the watch and the amount of tax paid.
The key thing to remember is that the burden of proof lies with you to demonstrate that the appropriate tax has been paid.
I fly every week - both inside and outside the EU - and honestly can’t remember the last time I saw a customs officer in T5, let alone got stopped by one. I’ll check when I come back from Kuwait this week.
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Do you have any evidence/link to back up this statement?
In my case it was T4. You are correct in So far as usually there aren't customs officers en masse. Particularly in the evening. This am there must have been a good 15 or so - it was clearly a planned exercise.
Point is if you aren't evading VAT/allowance limits etc it doesn't matter if there are 500 officers or 0 officers - there's nothing to worry about :)
Personally I'd not take the risk on an expensive watch - but I do understand that some countries (e.g. US) have customs that aren't particularly worried about importation of watches etc.
I've flown a lot over the last few years, and have been stopped and questioned once coming back from San Francisco. I only had hand luggage and I suspect it was that fact that got me pulled aside (I effectively commuted to SF for a period - don't even ask).
I was quite surprised as you rarely even see anyone there. The bloke had a quick chat with me, looked through my bag, laughed at my ludicrous job situation, and sent me on my way. Having said all of that, had I been packing undeclared watches he would have found them and I'm sure I would have been done for it. Which I would have deserved.
I thought the burden of proof rested on those making the accusation.
Me too.
I’ve travelled with hand luggage only, as well as with a big suitcase on occasions. If customs have some kind of profiling I have no idea what it might be.
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Yes, we have a duty to declare on arrival.
They asked me where I'd travelled from prior to pulling me over. Hand luggage only long haul is relatively rare. Maybe my shifty face didn't help either
For holidays, agreed, but I travel hand luggage 99% of the time for work, unless I have to fly back from a destination that doesn’t allow laptops/iPads in hand luggage.
Can’t help on the shifty face ;-)
Absolutely. I just felt they identified my situation as being slightly unusual so decided to have a look. Fair enough really.
Yep, my face is way beyond help!
You’d have thought so - but as I understand it they can require you to provide receipts etc otherwise they can assume that you are attempting to evade duty and have the power to confiscate the goods.
I have a receipt for 2 of the watches I own. How does one provide a receipt for a watch bought cash in hand from a member? I certainly don't have any of the PMs of the sale any more.
Bank statements ?
Would just show I had withdrawn some money and little else.
Any watch I’ve bought F2F from here has been done by bank transfer with the watch name as the payment reference.
I've mostly done the same, but also cash in hand. So if the burden of proof is on me, then I could end up in legal or financial trouble just for taking my speedmaster on holiday with me.
VAT not duty.
Sorry- you’re quite right. I’ve recently been following a similar thread on a photography forum. Unlike watches photographic equipment is subject to duty (6.7 percent) in addition to VAT. My mistake.
Interstate topic this. Anyone any idea what percentage of tax free goods in U.K. Airports is sold to British residents who're going to bring them back?
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Nail hit on the head.
They used to reckon that 90% of exported British-made rolling tobacco - came back in illegally.
Personally I used to reclaim my VAT on every big purchase as I left the UK. It all came back later and I saved a fortune.
Innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof is to determine you've evaded tax, searching your possessions is just evidence gathering.
Can’t see that happening. I frequently travel and always have two watches with me. The only way you’re likely to get grief from Customs & Excise is if they belief it’s new and you’re evading paying vat. So as long as you’re not carrying original full packaging and your watches dont have stickers on you’ll be fine
Last edited by NigeG; 20th November 2017 at 09:17. Reason: Spelling mistake
It is not a court of law , with customs and excise they can say we think you owe £XXX and it is up to you to prove otherwise .
( I. used to own a business that had a complicated partial VAT registration and had an investigation.)
This
Just an idea but what if you said one of your friends who lives there bought it for you as a present? I'm sure it's been thought of before, but it could also be true! Would you have to pay the tax?
Yep you would need to pay the VAT
What's to stop someone buying a watch, posting the empty box back home and wearing the watch back.
Also, what if you were really anal and took your watch abroad with its original box. No reason why you couldn't but what if you get stopped and they find a watch in a box. Surely that's going to be guilty until proven innocent.
What's to stop you going forward in time, to a place when you don't have the watch with you and going through customs then?
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
1. Morals.
2. Really anal would still have the receipt.
Interesting how this isn’t view as tax evasion.
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If the government was really worried about this as tax evasion then presumably they'd shut all the airport shops selling high value goods tax free
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Most of the shops in airports have an "arrangement" with customs. If you buy anything with a credit card, they will either confirm or deny any purchase made within the last 28 days.
So if you buy something tax free on leaving the country, when you re enter tax isn't payable?
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
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