Importing to the UK?

yearnslow

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Anyone ever had a flashlight impounded?
I know lots of guys on UK knife forums that have had some trouble with HMRC, but it's probably because they're potentially dangerous items, as opposed to being a tax issue.
What about flashlights? Do they bother?
 

mohanjude

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Anyone ever had a flashlight impounded?
I know lots of guys on UK knife forums that have had some trouble with HMRC, but it's probably because they're potentially dangerous items, as opposed to being a tax issue.
What about flashlights? Do they bother?

Not as far as I know? I could not think of a good reason for impounding unless there is a sinister reason. May I ask if you simply probing the issue or have you had this happen ?
 

Dubois

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Her Majesty's Border Agency will sometimes collect VAT, Duty and an administration fee for going to the trouble of charging you VAT, but I've never heard of a torch being impounded. What grounds would they possibly have (other than non-payment of VAT)?
 

yearnslow

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Sorry, I didn't clarify. I was thinking in terms of importing something bought of for example, ebay, or Amazon US etc, so I suppose it is a VAT question really?
 

FoxyRick

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I've bought a lot of both knives and flashlights (and many other things) from outside the UK.

I have never had anything impounded or questioned by HMRC. HMRC will (or rather should) only impound something if it is illegal to own, buy, transfer or import here.

Knives should only be a problem if importing something that is specifically illegal to buy, or that resembles such. There are certain knives, like balisong, automatic and push-daggers that are outlawed. Anecdotal evidence has it that HMRC has been known to (wrongly and illegally) seize knives that are assisted-opening (claiming that they are automatic) because of their ignorance and arrogance. Getting them to admit to their mistake is likely to be very difficult, so I simply don't import those sort of knifes any more.

Flashlights should not be a problem at all, unless they have a hidden knife blade.
 

FoxyRick

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Sorry, I didn't clarify. I was thinking in terms of importing something bought of for example, ebay, or Amazon US etc, so I suppose it is a VAT question really?

VAT is payable on purchases of £15 or above, as declared on the shipping customs form. For items sent as gifts, I think it is still above £36. VAT is currently 20%. Many items used to come through with no charge anyway, until the post office realised that they were missing out on their 'handling fee' and now they seem to make sure to point out to customs anything that should be VAT'd. Note that if an item is above the limit, then the shipping cost will be added on as well for the VAT calculation.

There is also an import duty in addition to VAT. This is only payable if the amount due is over a certain amount, and the rate varies. I have imported goods up to a few hundred pounds value and have not yet had to pay duty.

So:

If parcel value is above £15 (or £36 for a gift):

Charge VAT at 20% of item value + shipping cost
If duty is above a certain amount, add that on as well
The courier will add a 'handling fee' of £10 to £15 depending who it is. (This might be illegal but no one can fight it)
The courier will collect payment from the purchaser. In the case of the post office, they will refuse to deliver until their handling fee is paid. THIS IS ILLEGAL but no one can stop them.
 
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mcnair55

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When I lived in Berlin a couple or three year back i had a pack from the US&A stopped by the Zoll(German Customs).I had a note posted through the door asking to attend the Zoll office and open the goods in front of them to prove the item was of the low value stated amount on the customs docket.Once satisfied the goods were of a low value i was free to leave with my goods and no further fees were payable,the guy next to me was not so lucky though,he had bought some sort of music device and they wanted money from him.

A year or two back a guy on here was offering a battery pack to charge things like mobile phones etc,the pack was free as it was a sample and you had to write a review on it.Mine was stopped and the PO wanted a fee in the region of about £14 if i remember to have it released.I refused to pay as the goods were free although the stated value on the pack caused the stoppage.They informed me they would keep the goods for 3 months then return to sender.

I have bought and sold toys from the US&A on several hundred occasions and never had any serious issues.The tip is keep the value to the level deemed below the customs thresholds for any extra duty to be paid.

On some sales you will see the seller saying they will not alter the customs docket by sending as a gift for instance.

Postage from the US&A is quick,allow 5 working days.Last light i bought got here in 4 days.
 
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gravelmonkey

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I once had a ZL SC600w come over to the UK, have what looks like a 2 month holiday in Heathrow World Distribution Centre before (im guessing now) being returned to Zebralight who refunded me!

Hit and miss re. Customs, I've had £££ packages come through with no charge and £ ones get stopped and held 'till I pay!

As said before, no laws against flashlights/torches (yet) so they have no reason to confiscate them.
 

yellow

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sorry for the off topic
(but imho the question is answered already)

only impound something if it is illegal to own,
... I somehow was under the impression that knives (any!) are illegal in England.
:thinking:
(and not much better in Berlin also)
 

mcnair55

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sorry for the off topic
(but imho the question is answered already)

... I somehow was under the impression that knives (any!) are illegal in England.
:thinking:
(and not much better in Berlin also)


Ok in the UK if you buy the following

(a) a folding pocket-knife if the cutting edge of its blade does not exceed 7.62 centimetres (3 inches).
 

FoxyRick

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sorry for the off topic
(but imho the question is answered already)

... I somehow was under the impression that knives (any!) are illegal in England.
:thinking:
(and not much better in Berlin also)

Our government and police (and the sheep who believe the almost outright lies that are often written the media) would like that to be the case, and are working slowly towards it, but they aren't there yet.

It is not illegal to actually own any type of knife in the UK. However, it is illegal to acquire, sell, give, manufacture etc. certain types of knives that are listed somewhere. Examples of such knives are: automatic knives, push daggers, balisongs, knives with knuckle guards for punching, many martial arts weapons and curved swords. If you own one of these since before the knife was added to the list, then that is OK to own. But don't ever try to sell it! The only thing you could legally do with it, other than keep it in your home, is to surrender it to the police.

Any knife not on that list is OK to own, buy, sell, whatever. I own many Busse knives, Fallknivens, Benchmade, etc. From big field knives to little folders. Nothing illegal about them and I can import them without issue (other than VAT etc).

Assisted openers are potentially a 'grey area' for us. They are not classed as automatic knives in UK law (which very clearly defines what an automatic knife is) but all of us UK knife people are just waiting for the police to take someone to court for having one, and claim that is is automatic. The chances are that the court would then rule that the assisted opener is now classed as an automatic knife. This will then become law - it's how our ridiculous system works. HMRC have been stopping some assisted openers completely of their own accord so importing one is risky. If the parcel gets checked (unlikely but possible) then it might get confiscated. So, the sensible people do not carry them on the street!

As to carrying knives in public (which includes in a vehicle as for some reason our cars are classed as public places in our law)...

Anything with a fixed or lockable blade, or with a blade in excess of 3 inches, is illegal to have in a public place without good reason or lawful authority. That is, the owner must be able to justify and prove that he/she needs the knife, at that moment in time, for a specific purpose. Such as: work, hobby (like fishing or bushcraft). If the owner cannot prove such need, then he/she is committing the offence of having a knife illegally. The police are very keen on getting anyone they can for knife offences so if carrying such a knife, the owner really must need it and be able to prove it. You are guilty until you prove your innocence here!

A non-locking folding knife with a blade of 3 inches or less is exempt from the above, unless on school property where it is still illegal to have. So, I EDC a Swiss Army Knife. No worries...

...unless a police officer decides that he wants to try to get me for possession of an offensive weapon. This is a completely separate law from the above. A knife (unless it is one on the list) is not inherently an offensive weapon, even in the UK. It is a tool. If a knife is used or carried as a weapon though, or anyone thinks that it might be, then the offensive weapons act will be rolled out. Police officers like to search people and if they find a knife which is exempt from the above, they will accuse the owner of having an offensive weapon. A Swiss Army Knife??? Get real... but that's what they will try. In this case it is up to the police to prove possession of an offensive weapon. and unless the owner was doing something silly, then it would likely not even get to court. It might though, and the police will certainly try to make the owner think that they are in serious trouble even if they have done nothing whatsoever wrong. Welcome to England! The sensible people therefore do not carry any knife if going to the pub, night clubs, football or rugby matches etc, even though they would be doing nothing illegal whatsoever unless they were carrying the knife for fighting with.

As a brief example of how our government and police try to manipulate all of this: Any attack or possession of anything with a blade or point, such as the common burglars tool the screwdriver, or even sticking a pencil into someone, is classified as a 'knife' crime and reported as such and used to make laws about knives which are in fact in the minority of such offences.

As a final note: Many police officers carry leatherman-type tools, with a locking blade. Since they could not give a specific reason for having the knife other than the 'just in case' that anyone might come up with (their job does not require a knife in any way) they are breaking the law. I've never heard of one being arrested though...

Edit to add: It is illegal in the UK to buy or sell any knife described as a fighting knife or similar, as that makes it automatically an offensive weapon and thus illegal to acquire.
 
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mohanjude

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This is one of the most informative posts I have read - accurate and comprehensive - I am going to use this as a reference every time somebody tries to confuse me with UK knife laws. Thanks

Our government and police (and the sheep who believe the almost outright lies that are often written the media) would like that to be the case, and are working slowly towards it, but they aren't there yet.

It is not illegal to actually own any type of knife in the UK. However, it is illegal to acquire, sell, give, manufacture etc. certain types of knives that are listed somewhere. Examples of such knives are: automatic knives, push daggers, balisongs, knives with knuckle guards for punching, many martial arts weapons and curved swords. If you own one of these since before the knife was added to the list, then that is OK to own. But don't ever try to sell it! The only thing you could legally do with it, other than keep it in your home, is to surrender it to the police.

Any knife not on that list is OK to own, buy, sell, whatever. I own many Busse knives, Fallknivens, Benchmade, etc. From big field knives to little folders. Nothing illegal about them and I can import them without issue (other than VAT etc).

Assisted openers are potentially a 'grey area' for us. They are not classed as automatic knives in UK law (which very clearly defines what an automatic knife is) but all of us UK knife people are just waiting for the police to take someone to court for having one, and claim that is is automatic. The chances are that the court would then rule that the assisted opener is now classed as an automatic knife. This will then become law - it's how our ridiculous system works. HMRC have been stopping some assisted openers completely of their own accord so importing one is risky. If the parcel gets checked (unlikely but possible) then it might get confiscated. So, the sensible people do not carry them on the street!

As to carrying knives in public (which includes in a vehicle as for some reason our cars are classed as public places in our law)...

Anything with a fixed or lockable blade, or with a blade in excess of 3 inches, is illegal to have in a public place without good reason or lawful authority. That is, the owner must be able to justify and prove that he/she needs the knife, at that moment in time, for a specific purpose. Such as: work, hobby (like fishing or bushcraft). If the owner cannot prove such need, then he/she is committing the offence of having a knife illegally. The police are very keen on getting anyone they can for knife offences so if carrying such a knife, the owner really must need it and be able to prove it. You are guilty until you prove your innocence here!

A non-locking folding knife with a blade of 3 inches or less is exempt from the above, unless on school property where it is still illegal to have. So, I EDC a Swiss Army Knife. No worries...

...unless a police officer decides that he wants to try to get me for possession of an offensive weapon. This is a completely separate law from the above. A knife (unless it is one on the list) is not inherently an offensive weapon, even in the UK. It is a tool. If a knife is used or carried as a weapon though, or anyone thinks that it might be, then the offensive weapons act will be rolled out. Police officers like to search people and if they find a knife which is exempt from the above, they will accuse the owner of having an offensive weapon. A Swiss Army Knife??? Get real... but that's what they will try. In this case it is up to the police to prove possession of an offensive weapon. and unless the owner was doing something silly, then it would likely not even get to court. It might though, and the police will certainly try to make the owner think that they are in serious trouble even if they have done nothing whatsoever wrong. Welcome to England! The sensible people therefore do not carry any knife if going to the pub, night clubs, football or rugby matches etc, even though they would be doing nothing illegal whatsoever unless they were carrying the knife for fighting with.

As a brief example of how our government and police try to manipulate all of this: Any attack or possession of anything with a blade or point, such as the common burglars tool the screwdriver, or even sticking a pencil into someone, is classified as a 'knife' crime and reported as such and used to make laws about knives which are in fact in the minority of such offences.

As a final note: Many police officers carry leatherman-type tools, with a locking blade. Since they could not give a specific reason for having the knife other than the 'just in case' that anyone might come up with (their job does not require a knife in any way) they are breaking the law. I've never heard of one being arrested though...

Edit to add: It is illegal in the UK to buy or sell any knife described as a fighting knife or similar, as that makes it automatically an offensive weapon and thus illegal to acquire.
 

yellow

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wow, so 3" possible but not recommended. Lockback/gravity/auto ... all illegal.
:thinking:
wonder where that fear is coming from nowadays.

PS: I just ordered my 1st OTF auto, just because I finally decided I want one.
I must live in a country of crime an terror, as such gadgets are allowed
[I live in Austria ...)
:rolleyes:
 
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