Buying at foreign auctions : uk and local tax considerations

[john_coburg]

Afternoon all,
Please excuse a numpty question, but what are the import duty and VAT considerations for Brits buying at overseas auctions? ASsuming it is ex-EU, can i assume we are likely to have to pay UK VAT on the total (hammer + commission + shipping + anything else), but not the local sales tax ? e.g. buying at Sotheby's in NY, we would escape the 8.825% sales tax, but pay 20% on the total ?

That would make various lots at the recent Phillips sale look even more ridiculous, for those outside Geneva - which the (vast?) majority seemed to be. They pay the 25% commission and then an extra c. 20% VAT to import. That's really adding up. What do most people do in such scenarios? Bid (and pay if they win) in the UK and then if the VAT is considerably greater than the cost of a flight in and out of Geneva, just go and pick it up? But wouldn't that cause the auctioneer to need to add local sales taxes to the total amount? Or can the buyer declare they're leaving the country imediately and somehow avoid paying it? You can't do that in NY, for example. Pretty sure the 8.825% gets added no matter where you're from/going, so long as possession is taken in NY.

So.... buying at auction would seem to need a fairly decent understanding of UK and local tax systems, to ensure any costly miscalculations aren't made?
Is there something i'm missing here? Are internationals bidding at auctions somehow treated differently? I sincerely doubt it, but wondered if there was anything i'm missing..?

John

[Wallasey Runner]

I bought from the Japanese auction site Buyee twice. The auction house rules and UK duties are not connected. You pay whatever fees the auction house advertise and when the watch eventually arrives in the UK HMRC will charge 20% of the declared value in VAT and you will also pay a couriers fee, though no more than £20.

Some auction houses may offer a duties included service like the e-bay global shipping program, but those are usually more expensive as they include a brokers fee built in.

Just check what the auction house charge, then add 20% on and that should make you weep

[Kingstepper]

Buying on-line from abroad don't think any local sales tax has ever been deducted.

[walkerwek1958]

unless the watch is quite rare, and something you really want, buying from an overseas auction makes little sense. There's also the risk of buying from photos and a description. There's no substitute for handling the watch and inspecting; like we did at proper auctions in the old days.

In the halcyon days of $2=£1, and more 'relaxed' application of import taxes, US ebay was a happy hunting ground if you didn`t mind an element of risk, but those days are long gone.

The crazy 'buyers premium' thing, together with the internet, has ruined auctions. I saw some daft money being paid via internet bids for mediocre watches at the last auction I attended.