Importing materials

[Russell griffiths]

Ok then in a former life I lived in Australia, and I also have family in the states. 

I built our last house in oz, and I'm seriously considering importing some of the materials for our new house. 

Just wondering if anybody had done it and what your thoughts were. 

I am finding that if you can buy it in the local merchants then it is ok, but as soon as you want anything slightly different than the red box house you are going to pay through the nose for it. Where as in the states and oz the different materials are just standard details over there. 

Annoyed with England again. 

Cheers russ. 

[Jeremy Harris]

We imported our MVHR/A2AHP from Denmark and saved over 40%, plus we reclaimed the 25% Danish VAT from HMRC OK, so you can do it.  The problems are really around any taxes or duties that may apply, the fee payable to clear customs and the transport cost, but there are still savings to be made.

 

I also bought some of the borehole stuff from the USA, as it was a fraction of the price there, and even with shipping and duty/tax it was still cheaper.  Again I could reclaim the VAT in the same way, but not the import duty.

 

I think a few here have bought from places like Germany, where it seems that things like kitchen and bathroom stuff can be a fair bit cheaper, and I know of one person who hired a van to drive over and buy a few thousand pounds worth of stuff in Germany and bring it back here, as that was cheaper than shipping, plus he got to see what he was buying before purchase.

[joe90]

Not sure we will still be able to claim VAT back from the EU after the brexit negotiations but buying anything from the US should be ok thanks to our mate Donald Chump.

 

i,ll get my coat.

[Dudda]

Renovating an old house in the West or Ireland and so far have bought my windows, all first fix plumbing, all airtight membranes and tapes from abroad. I expect I'll buy a lot more as I get closer to second fix. 

[Jeremy Harris]

2 minutes ago, joe90 said:

Not sure we will still be able to claim VAT back from the EU after the brexit negotiations but buying anything from the US should be ok thanks to our mate Donald Chump.

 

i,ll get my coat.

 

I suspect that what will happen is that if you buy something from, say, Germany, post-Brexit, then it will have to be sold minus German VAT, as it's for export outside the EU.  When imported to the UK VAT will be charged on the price of the item and the shipping cost and you will be able to reclaim that back from HMRC, in the same way that I reclaimed VAT charged on imported US goods.

 

The down side is the UK could decide to charge duty on imports from the EU, and you cannot reclaim import duty.  However, import duty depends on the class of goods, and is pretty low for a fair bit of stuff I've imported (generally no more that 4 to 5%, with a lot of stuff having no duty payable at all).

[Fallingditch]

5 hours ago, Russell griffiths said:

Just wondering if anybody had done it and what your thoughts were. 

 

I have bought all sanitaryware and fittings from online plumbers in Germany. A lot of electrical switchgear from online electrical suppliers in Germany and Belgium. A Brink MVHR unit and and Hybalans ductwork from Builders Merchant in Holland.

 

I have access to a VAT number so they very kindly ship with 0% VAT.

 

My bank has very low currency charges so I pay by direct transfer and avoid surcharges from scredit card companies.

 

Clearly theres a bit of risk, but for higher value goods manufactured by European companies, I would recommend it. Without fail the customer service is good.

 

In the scheme of things, its probably saved one percent of the build - I just find it galling to have to pay double in this country just because the goods have crossed the North Sea of the English Channel.

 

Note: there are some German manufacturers whose goods are priced similarly in the UK and Germany - two examples are Hager and Miele.