Having done a little research into this, I understand it as follows:

You can 'import' from any EU country without duty or VAT, so this would exclude Gibraltar. However, small countries, principalities etc, (e.g. Isle of Man) have special clauses so often as if in EU. The EU defines the import duty levied as a percentage of the goods value, including shipping. This duty is specified in TARIC (I think).

Specifically, a Camera or other camera related goods (but not a lens) are currently charged at 3.7% duty. Lenses are charged at 6.7%. (based on import from the US).

This duty, plus VAT, are payable to the delivery man when he brings the parcel to your door. Many, if not all, delivery companies will also charge a fee for handling the duty & VAT payment with customs. This is between 8 and 13 GBP for Parcel force.

I think that you can defer payment of the duty and VAT for 30 days if you agree to pay by direct debit. There is a form to be filled in, and worth finding out about if importing a 600mm f4. I have no idea how this works though.

The gift allowance for importing parcels is 36 GBP. So a company that marks a parcel as a gift can, in theory, only insure it for up to 36 GBP. Also, if customs deem the parcel contents to be worth more than that, you are responsible for paying the full import duty and VAT.

Cheers, Mark.

For UK residents,

Not sure if this link will work pasted within this forum but here goes:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...HMCE_CL_001454

If not, go to http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ and type "shopping on the internet" into the search box. There's full details of duty rates and the goods they apply to. Remember, the VAT is charged on the value after the import duty, if there is any on the item in question, has been applied. So, you pay VAT on the import duty! I came perilously close to making a loss (compared to UK high St. price) on a tripod head I bought from Canada by the time all the tax and fees had been added.

Duncan.

Edit: Whew! The link works!

I used Digatal rev to purchase a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 & some other items - The lens came with a no VAT guarantee. I was charged only around £60.00 by UPS which was refunded in a matter of days. Even though this was the only lens that I purchased with the guarantee the other 3 were items were at my expense.

I do not know how the import duty works as my total order value was £1600

I would highly rate this service I saved around £600 on the lens - they seemed very professional if a little difficult to get hold of because of the time difference.

I do not know about the warranty - has anyone claimed?

With regards to International Warranties I picked this up on Sigma's UK website.

"Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd does not condone the avoidance of the payment of VAT and import duty. Any claims on our 12 month International Warranty from the owners of products not imported into the UK by Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd must therefore be accompanied by proof of payment of import duty & VAT."

Well, it arrived....

Ordered 11th, shipped 13th and arrived 17th.

A saving of £21 with shipping considered compared with the lowest U.K. mail order/Internet price.

I am happy but I would not risk anything over £50 - I am just cautious.

That's enough to put me off buying any more Sigma. Nikon offer full worldwide warranty on all of their products, though I've heard of some problems US users have had with Nikon USA and grey imports.

YMMV.

As Sigma placed this on their website, it suggests the number of people purchasing from abroad is significant. I read about one chap who purchased a Sigma lens from HK which failed 11 months afterwards. He shipped it back to receive his warranty and was returned repaired, suffice to say he was happy.

I too have had good trading experience with DigitalRev. I bought a Canon 100-400 lens with the promise of no import duty. This I was charged on delivery, because I paid by bank transfer, the £53 duty was repaid the next day into my bank on emailing a copy of the Import duty receipt to Digital Rev no qualms or problems. Even had a courtesy phone call the following day from their agent in London just to confirm I had received the money back and detailing how to contact him if I had any problems with the lens.

The bit people should be aware of when getting items from overseas is the 'gift' 'no market value' declaration from the seller.

"Note: Some unscrupulous overseas suppliers openly advertise on the internet, or on their web-sites that they will deliberately either misdescribe items or underdeclare their value in order to evade customs charges that are legally due on importation.

You should be aware that although the foreign sender may have completed the customs declaration form on the parcel you are regarded (in law) as the importer of the goods and responsible for the information on the declaration, and any customs charges that may be due. This means that if you purchase goods from these suppliers and the declaration is found to be false or misleading you may be liable to financial penalties or criminal prosecution.

Furthermore the goods themselves will be liable to forfeiture. It is in your own interests to ensure Customs declarations are completed properly."

Be careful buying some things out of the far east on Ebay. I ordered 4 batteries for my 4500 at very good prices. I asked that they be shipped in one package, hoping to save on shipping. The company sent them in one package alright but charged me four shipping fees. Still a good deal but it eroded my savings plus really p****d me off. Then there was their Feedback policy!:mad:
Moral: read the fine print!