Gear Purchase from European Website

[BLee88]

Thanks, everyone for the feedback!

All the talks of duties and VAT had me go on a research frenzy call me crazy but I actually love detailed research on laws and regulations.

So far, my research indicates that (this posting does not constitute legal advice in any way or an offer of legal representation):

1) items classified under subpart 9506.29.00.80 (watersports equipment, other) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) are free from duties (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAAegQIBRAC&usg=AOvVaw2bpbyRdPtSMkppHxRsPrUR) unless brought in from China, North Korea, or Cuba. Unfortunately, I could not find a direct reference to 'SCUBA' or 'underwater' in the HTS and this is the most relevant classification that I can find so far.
2) items brought into the US that are <$800 in value are considered de minimis imports and are exempt from duties (Section 321 Programs | U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
3) there appears to be a mechanism for being exempt from VAT when the items are being sent outside of the jurisdiction but it requires a fair amount of paperwork. Probably worth it though at the 21% VAT in the country which I am considering.

Did anyone that purchased scuba gear from foreign websites need to pay duties? How about VAT?

Also, does anyone have firm advice on warranties provided by Scubapro, assuming that the site is an authorized dealer?

Thank you!

 

[BLee88]

If you find that something you need/want to order wont ship by the vendor to the US, let me know,

You're awesome, thank you so much for the offer.

Don’t forget US import taxes, these might bring the prices into line

Can you provide further info on this? Thanks!

Importing dive gear into the US is usually much cheaper as long as it is declared as "SPORTING GOODS for use underwater".

I couldn't find this classification on the tariff schedule. Would you please tell me a bit more? Was this just text written on the declaration? Thank you so much!

 

[tridacna]

Beware: Scubapro USA will NOT provide warranty service for products purchased outside of the USA. The BC has a serial number. They will know where it was sold.

Given some of the previous known issues with the Hydros BC, I would not buy a non-warranteed product.

 

[KenGordon]

there appears to be a mechanism for being exempt from VAT when the items are being sent outside of the jurisdiction but it requires a fair amount of paperwork. Probably worth it though at the 21% VAT in the country which I am considering.

The retailer should not collect the VAT if the goods are leaving the EU directly. In the U.K. when you, as a trader, fill out the VAT forms there is a box for such transactions. There should be no reclaim involved. If you are a tourist and buy VAT rated goods in person then you have to mess about with special paperwork at the airport to get the VAT back.

Some online shops will do this properly and not charge the VAT. I can’t help with which ones, although next year everyone in the U.K. will be playing this game.

 

[Zef]

Beware: Scubapro USA will NOT provide warranty service for products purchased outside of the USA. The BC has a serial number. They will know where it was sold.

Given some of the previous known issues with the Hydros BC, I would not buy a non-warranteed product.

Here is a link to ScubaPro's warranty: https://www.scubapro.com/scubapro-warranty

I can't find any info in their warranty that would indicate what you are expressing.

What the ScubaPro warranty does say is:
"To obtain warranty service, you must deliver the affected component or part, together with your proof of purchase to any authorized SCUBAPRO dealer."

and

"No salesperson, dealer or representative is authorized to make any modifications to this warranty or to make additional warranties on behalf of SCUBAPRO."

If what you state is true then that is a great reason to NOT buy ScubaPro products.

When I had an issue with my Aqualung Drysuit I contacted AL and they gave me the option of working through a shop or sending it directly to them. I wound up working through the shop I bought it from but according to my discussion with AL I could have taken it to any AL shop.

But I do understand your point...a bunch of years ago my wife and I were in the market for a new car. We had just moved to Belgium and were originally planned to be here for 3 years. We are Subaru fans and faced the issue of there being very few Subaru dealers in the region of Belgium we live in coupled with the fact that buying a European spec car would present issues with importation into the US due to different safety standards. When we looked into buying and shipping a Subaru over from the US we found that Subaru of America does not have a reciprocal agreement with Subaru Europe for warranty issues/service. We wound up not buying a Subaru.

-Z

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

Perhaps 2 other things to be aware of:
Regulators will by default come with a DIN screw not an A-clamp (yoke / INT).
Europe is using another metric system (people here will say the right one ), so you may get things labeled accordingly or devices displaying Degree Celsius and Meters by default (although most will be switchable to Imperial System).

 

[Zef]

Perhaps 2 other things to be aware of:
Regulators will by default come with a DIN screw not an A-clamp.
Europe is using another metric system (people here will say the right one ), so you may get things labeled accordingly or devices displaying Degree Celsius and Meters by default (although most will be switchable to Imperial System).

I still see A-clamp (also referred to as yoke and international setup) regulators being sold in shops here in the EU, and I have been to shops in Belgium, France, Netherlands, and Germany in the past year. There are plenty of divers here that are using A-clamp regulators.

1st stages are purchased by the shop from the manufacturers' distributors as either DIN or A-clamp for further retail sale. Europan divers seem to be making the switch to DIN with new regulator purchases more readily than divers in the US, so some shops may be limiting or only special ordering A-clamp 1st stages as they are the less popular configuration here.

-Z

 

[NAM001]

wonder what the odds are of private sellers adding a vat when they should not just to make their auction look like a good deal and then add the vat and tax when as a private person they should not. I would bet most in the US have no clue who is supposed to and who is not. I see tha same thing here when a private seller sells something on ebay you get charged tax I asked ebay how the buyer knows if the seller is a business or a private seller. they cited privacy. I asked why they could not put a symbol by the sellers name to indicate you were buying form a business. again they said no. most time you can tell especially when it shows thousands of sells by the sellers name. I am thinking that ebay charges sales tax for everything. cant prove one way or another.

 

[NAM001]

For those that may know. I bought a mk25 from some place in europe. atfter I received it , there was an article about EU standards. I remember something about differences in threads on scuba regulators from europe. should I be concerned about this reg or any other item form the EU having aspects to it or any product that may not compatable to the imperial versions?

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

threads on scuba regulators

That may be an issue, that's right. I'm not deep into the matter but a quick search reveals several possibilities just for the hose >>> look here <<<
I would be very carefull as the difference may not be in the visible range and the device may seams to fit.